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Tom Izzo Gave Passionate Response to Transfer Portal Opening During NCAA Tournament

The transfer portal opened on Monday, prior to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Eva Geitheim

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo.
Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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The NCAA transfer portal opened up on Monday, but Michigan State coach Tom Izzo says he will not be talking about the portal anytime soon. Instead, Izzo is solely focused on leading his team in their upcoming NCAA Sweet 16 matchup against No. 6 Ole Miss.

Izzo emphasized in an empassioned rant during his press conference on Tuesday that he intends to do what's fair for his current players, rather than looking at who he could add in the portal.

"What my team's done has been incredible," Izzo said. "And I'm not ready to move on. ... I'm going to worry today about the guys I got in this program, that have done an incredible job this year, and that's it. And if that costs me later, so be it. But Tom Izzo isn't cheating the people that he has that have been loyal to him for this chaos that is going on out there."

The Spartans have reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time in the past five years, and for the 16th time since Izzo became the team's head coach in 1995, and Izzo is determined to maximize this team's experience in the tournament.

"You don't understand," Izzo said. "When I came back Sunday night ... there was nothing on my mind but giving these guys a chance to win one more game, get to Elite Eight, and one more game, and have a memory that will last their entire life, their kid's life, and their grandkid's life."

"But these guys that gave me everything they could give me are going to have a chance, and I'm not going to screw it up by spending any time on other stuff other than," he continued. "I don't eat, I don't sleep right now, so why in the hell would I do something else that might benefit me a year from now, and, really, it's not going to benefit me now because I don't know what I have. I don't know how much money I have, I don't know which players are leaving or staying, I don't have any idea. So, why would I do that? Waste of time."

The transfer portal opening in the middle of March Madness has been controversial, and the timing has received criticism from multiple people, including former NFL star J.J. Watt and ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale. Teams currently in the tournament will each have to navigate how to deal with March Madness and the portal simultaneously, but it's clear Izzo will take the approach of only focusing on the tournament while he's still in it.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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