Every coach, if he turns out to be great or terrible, has to get a start as an assistant somewhere. He's obviously still very passionate about the game, and about MSU, and his time in the media has to have improved the non-basketball skills that coaching demands.
I don't think that, in a situation like we're about to be in next year, that a single assistant coach hire will make the smallest difference in how much we suck for that year. However, if he turns out to really have a knack for it, by the time we climb out of the rebuilding years, he may really be an asset to the program. Plus, it couldn't look bad for our reputation that a former MSU player is being given the opportunity to become an assistant coach, and would look even better for us if he turned out to be a darn good one.
Perhaps I'm a bit bias; I've always liked Shane Power. As long as he doesn't turn out like Shane Walsh, I can only see how his hiring could be positive or neutral.