Although Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn has yet to announce whether he’ll look to become a professional basketball player now that his collegiate career is done, one thing he said he hasn’t ruled out is a career in coaching.
In a recent interview, Nairn said, he’s open to the idea of orchestrating things from the sideline in the future. During his time at Michigan State University (MSU), Nairn was known for his leadership skills.
He was the first freshman to be named team captain by head coach Tom Izzo, and he remained captain throughout the remainder of his time in East Lansing. Along with serving as captain, Nairn was also active in the team’s recruitment process, particularly last year.
“Wherever God takes me, that’s where I want to be, but it (coaching) is definitely something that I could see myself doing,” Nairn said.
“I definitely love the game and want to be around the game as long as I can.”
Nairn added that, if he did move into coaching, MSU would be a great place to start.
“Like I said, if it is God’s will for my life, I’d be happy to go through with coaching,” he said.
“There’s no better place to be in the country than here.
Along with head coach Tom Izzo, another MSU legend also commended Nairn on his ability to rally the team together. Golden State Warriors (GSW) forward Draymond Green, who spent the summer before Nairn’s freshman season working out on campus said, he was amazed by how hard Nairn pushed his teammates.
“As a freshman, you don’t come in with that mentality of, ‘I’m out in front of everything. I am the voice. I am the motivation. I am the hardest worker’,” Green said.
“You saw that leadership quality all the time. You saw it in workouts in the gym when he was the one pushing everybody. He’s the one bringing all the energy to the workout.
“Then you also saw it in the weight room. Like, this dude is jumping around, flying around the weight room, making sure guys are doing what they’re supposed to be doing, flying around the weight room motivating guys to get two extra reps. Things like that that may seem so small, but those things go a long way. Those things are the difference between being good and great.”
Nairn played a reduced role for the Spartans this season, averaging just 1.7 points and 2.9 assists per game. He had his best collegiate season as a junior, where he averaged 3.5 points and 3.6 assists per game.