ROSEMONT, Ill. – There will come a point in the 2024-25 college basketball season that Tom Izzo will turn 70 years old. He might even notice that birthday, given the milestone.
He is not the oldest coach in high-major basketball. He has not officially been in his position longer everyone of his stature, the active Naismith Hall of Famers. There is something about him, though, beyond the eight Final Fours and the NCAA title, that indicates him as the dean of 21st century college coaches.
And however much — and however famously — he might express his concern about the direction of NCAA athletics, Izzo insists he’s in no rush to join superstar coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Jay Wright and “Nick Saban, my good buddy” who recently retired.
“I swear to God, I feel healthier now than I did four or five years ago,” Izzo told The Sporting News. “Not that I was unhealthy, but I think I’ve tried to learn how to manage some of these changes. And COVID. It was a rough five years when you think about all the things that everybody went through, not just coaches.
“What keeps me going is I’m too stubborn to give in to these stupid new rules. I still want to do it, and there’s a couple of us in our league – Matt Painter is one – I still want to do it the right way, making some adjustments to the new way. But I still enjoy the kids. I still enjoy the practices. I think I enjoy the games.”
Izzo allowed that he does not have “as much respect for the profession,” explaining that coaches “haven’t stuck together very well” and instead allowed the athletes to make all the rules.
“The change, as it’s gone, has been difficult for everybody,” Izzo said. “You know, and I know, that’s why a lot of guys are out. Maybe they don’t come out and say that.”
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Izzo said he adjusted to the challenges of managing a modern program that’s impacted by name/image/likeness payments and the transfer portal at the urging of staff members like associate head coach Doug Wojcik.
“He just said, ‘You can’t let these things eat you alive, no matter how they look.’ And I think he was right,” Izzo said. “I think everybody’s struggling with the direction things are going.
“I will tell you this: When you have things like unlimited visits, that might not seem like a big deal. Do you know how many weekends you get off right now? None. Zero. That part – you’ve known me almost my whole career – working isn’t a problem, but everybody needs to be rejuvenated. You don’t get that time now with some of these rules.”
Izzo said the effects of the transfer portal are “way worse” than dealing with NIL payments, although he continues to express concern regarding the ability of young people to properly handle the windfalls being made available to many of them. He is not insisting all players should be forced to remain at their original school choices; he suggests one reasonable accommodation would be immediate eligibility for those players whose coaches are dismissed or change jobs.
“I don’t think anybody would be successful if they just thought: I went in today and my boss told me something. I’ll just go next door and I’ll work for Wal-Mart instead of Kmart. Everybody would be moving. And so I’m not going to worry about who’s moving. I’m going to worry about who’s staying. Who wants to be here?”
This will be Izzo’s 30th season as Michigan State head coach. In the first 29, he failed to reach 20 victories only three times, including the season shortened in 2020-21 by the pandemic. There has not been an NCAA Tournament without the Spartans since 1996-97; his total of 56 March Madness victories is tied for sixth among coaches. His teams won 10 Big Ten regular-season titles and six Big Ten Tournaments.
The numbers don’t capture what Izzo has meant to his sport, or particularly his players. He has demanded toughness and execution and commitment to team. And somehow, in that environment, he has seen few of his players transfer out and even fewer who’ve rushed to the NBA Draft before they were set to become prominent selections.
His 2024-25 roster includes two sophomores, wing Coen Carr and big man Xavier Booker, who entered with high-end rankings but played limited minutes as freshmen. Somehow, with the door to the transfer portal beckoning, they remained Spartans.
“Booker is a hell of a player. It’s taking him a while,” Izzo said. “It took Draymond Green four years. And Denzel Valentine. It took Jaren Jackson one. It’s not the length of time it takes. It’s do you get to your final destination. I feel comfortable with myself and my own skin about that. And if it’s not right for somebody, God bless them, I’ll help them get somewhere.”
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Booker, a 6-11 forward with perimeter shooting skill, averaged 3.7 points in 9 minutes a game as a freshman. He had eight DNPs. He did get double-figure minutes in seven of the final eight games.
“Starting out last season, obviously it didn’t go as I planned it to. But … one of my main goals in life, one of the things I tell myself, is just stick through it no matter how hard things get,” Booker told TSN. “My parents always tell me that: Stick with things. Life isn’t going to be easy. Why take the shortcut, the easy way out of things. I knew it was going to be a process. I’m still learning the process.
“Going through those tough times build character, makes you a better person, makes you a better player.”
Even though last season did not go as anticipated for Michigan State, with the Spartans finishing 20-15 despite returning their starting backcourt from a Sweet 16 team, Izzo continues to grow more secure with how he operates the program.
“You know where I think I am better today than I was three years ago? I think now I’m saying to myself: Be who you are. If you don’t like something, say it. If you want to coach a certain way, coach it. Don’t worry about a kid’s going to transfer because you told a kid he can’t dribble when he can’t dribble, or he can’t shoot when he can’t shoot. I’ve got to get back to being who I am, and that’s spending enough time with guys that they know I love them, I care about them and I want the best for them.
“I just think spending time with guys gives me the license to be who I am. That’s not as crazy as it used to be back in the day. I’ve adjusted a lot. But still demanding? You’re damn right.”
