KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Tom Izzo has welcomed high school coaches to his Michigan State practices for years.
"Sometimes I had them open the day before we left for the final four," Izzo said. "I get a lot of coaches that come then."
However, no coach was quite like Manny Dosanjh.
"He's dumber than I was when I was his age because I used to do dumb stuff like that," Izzo said.
The dumb stuff Izzo is talking about is actually very impressive.
"You just jump in your car and make that trip," Dosanjh said. "Get back to work the next day."
While Dosanjh was working at Orangeville Prep, a high school in Canada, he would drive down 4.5 hours on his off days to East Lansing. He wanted to listen and learn. He wanted to soak everything up like a sponge. After practice was over, he would drive 4.5 hours again to go home.
"As much as I can learn to bring back to these guys, the better they are going to be," Dosanjh said.
The advice was so valuable, he kept returning and making that drive once a month for more guidance.
"It got to a point where I wanted to do whatever I could to provide for my current job at Orangeville so I could drive to watch Michigan State practice," Dosanjh said.
Dosanjh quickly became a familiar face in East Lansing.
"He did it the second time, and the third time, and he just kept coming," Izzo said. "He just wanted to learn and hang around. That impressed us."
It impressed Izzo enough to give Dosanjh an opportunity as a grad assistant. When DJ Stephens was hired at Western, he gave the young coach his first Division 1 assistant job.
"He was hungry and he wanted to get into the business," Stephens said. "Obviously, that is going to be impressive. I think any young guys that really want to get into the business have always taken those steps."
Those steps still have Dosanjh pinching himself.
"It's a dream to wake up everyday and serve these players, this university, Coach Stephens, our staff," Dosanjh said. "There is nothing I would trade or rather be doing. Just super fortunate."
He never would have thought after several long road trips just to make his high school team better, it would lead Dosanjh to the opportunity of a lifetime.
"Couldn't have imagined it," Dosanjh said. "Never dreamed of it. Didn't even think it was a possibility."
Izzo believes Dosanjh has what it takes to become a head coach someday. He says the WMU assistant just needs to help turn the Broncos into a winning program.
Western Michigan will play Ohio in the opening round of the MAC tournament on Thursday.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.