Izzo: MSU Athletics Back on the Come Up, Wants to be Part of it
Tom Izzo is the face of Michigan State athletics. He's had the most success of any current Spartan coach, and depending on how you look at it, is arguably the most successful coach in school history.
Ironically, though, as Michigan State athletics finds itself back on the rise, Izzo's program has taken a bit of a step back when you compare the results of recent seasons to the deep tournament runs he's been known to have. The Spartan icon wants his team to be part of the movement.
"I just got to make sure now that the best is yet to come," Izzo said on Tuesday. "And I really do believe that. I love where we're at as an institution. I think our president, AD, football coach, myself -- I mean, look what Adam [Nightingale] has done over in hockey. It's getting to remind me of back in the days, and back in the days were pretty good. And that's the goal for us to be one of those spokes in the wheel that helps create a real strong wheel."
Izzo made sure to acknowledge Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith and what he's doing in his first year at the helm.
"I look at our football season, and I think Jonathan is off to a great start. ... I think if you look at the marketing there, even in our student section has gotten better and better. And so, I give a lot of credit to a lot of people, and now, it's time for us to, hopefully, put the next four or five weeks together."
Izzo and the Spartans haven't appeared in the Final Four since 2019, and while that's far from a concerning drought for most programs, it's not the standard for Izzo, who has been there eight times as the Spartans' head coach.
"It's just getting back in championship caliber," Izzo said. "And that's the biggest thing I want to see this team rise up to. Last year ... we lost five games we were leading in the last 2, 3 minutes. That's inexcusable. The coach has to take responsibility for that, which I do. And hopefully, we're fixing that. We've done a lot more with the last-second shots and working on shot clock stuff at the end and maybe the education of it."
Izzo and the Spartans will start exhibition play with a matchup against the longtime coach's alma mater, Northern Michigan, on Sunday, Oct. 13.
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