EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State kept its man: Tom Izzo.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were left with Plan B.

Izzo turned down a chance to perhaps double his salary and possibly coach LeBron James in the NBA, choosing to stick with the Spartans to chase NCAA championships.

"The grass is pretty green here," Izzo said Tuesday night at a news conference.

Izzo acknowledged that being unable to speak with James played a part in his life- and career-altering decision.

"That was not the only factor," he said. "Was it a big factor? Sure."

Izzo, vowed, however he would not flirt with another suitor — a decade after declining a contract to coach the Atlanta Hawks — by saying he would be a "lifer" at the school.