Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo
Thomas Michael Izzois an American college basketball coach. Since 1995, he has been the head coach for the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team, presiding over a prolonged period of success. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth30 January 1955
CityIron Mountain, MI
deal felt hold struggled tough tried worst
It's not an excuse. He just struggled as you saw. It was one of his worst games. I felt for him after, and I felt for him that he tried to hold it all in, but it's been a tough deal for him.
beat best bruce defensive hurt missed pick shooting shots stay streak teams tried
You have to pick your poison. We just tried to stay up on the shooters and not sag as much on the inside. Dials did hurt us, but he didn't beat us. On that day, they missed some shots that I think were contested. And I think they missed some shots that weren't. They weren't on a hot streak like they are now. They were still shooting well. But, lately, they've been on just a barrage. Bruce (Weber) has one of the best defensive teams in the league, and if they can do that to Illinois, that's scary.
brutal mouth tried
I've tried to just keep my mouth quiet. It is a brutal, brutal, brutal schedule. And if you go through everyone's schedule, which I've done, there's no one even close. But so be it.
address mentally physically problem proves theory tough tried
I think it proves my theory that you just have to be physically and mentally tough as nails. That's been a problem for us. We've tried to address it, and we're going to address it from here on out.
adjust adjusting anyone care coach defensive gonna liked people perceived start teams tried wants worst
This was one of the worst defensive teams I've had. I tried to adjust to people. People are gonna start adjusting to me. ... I don't think anyone wants to be perceived as a jerk. Sometimes a coach wants to be liked. I don't care if I'm liked anymore. We will be tougher.
forced tried
He probably tried to do too much because he was forced into that position.
fact five free gone guys last loved paul please shot throws whether
I loved the fact that they showed the grit. We went to different guys at different times. Whether it be Paul and Mo with the free throws or Shannon with the big shot and the step-back, I think each one of them did some different things. They can play better, but please don't underestimate what they've gone through in the last five days.
consistent guys trying understand
I'm trying to understand why we haven't been as consistent as we need to be. I'm only disappointed when guys don't play to their potential, and we haven't had enough guys do that together.
close few time tired
I'm tired of being close this year. It's time we got a few more things done.
believer goes ncaa schedule strength totally
I'm not a big believer that the NCAA goes totally on strength of schedule and things like that, so I think you still have to have wins.
advantage believer hurt ohio respect shipped state time winning won
I'm not a big believer in that. The one time it really hurt was when Ohio State won the thing (in 2002) and got shipped west. That was awful. In that respect it would be an advantage losing, but for the most part winning is more of an advantage.
good ncaa playing record seasons straight tournament turn win worthy year
I'm not a record guy. I don't need to win 700 games, I don't need to have 20 straight 20-win seasons ... and I don't need to get in the NCAA tournament every year if we're not worthy of being in it. If we're not playing good enough or we can't win a game, it just doesn't turn me on.
bit five happy ready six tapes ton tonight video work
I know a little bit about them. I can't say I know a ton about their team, but I'm happy to know that my video guy's got five or six tapes on them already, so tonight we should get a lot of work done and be ready to go by Friday.
best looks ncaa recruiting respect sell teams tournament understand university win
I kind of respect and understand his theory, because it's a lot like mine. He looks at it like the only way he's getting to the NCAA tournament is to win his league, so if he can go out and play some of the best teams and sell that in recruiting and it makes the university some money.