MSU Basketball: Tom Izzo Issues Statement on Roy Williams' Retirement
EAST LANSING – College basketball is home to an immense amount of history thanks to its coaches, players, and teams.
On Thursday afternoon, fans around the country watched North Carolina's Roy Williams retire, officially stepping down as head coach.
Legendary UNC coach Roy Williams is announcing his retirement after 33 years pic.twitter.com/7e1jppw6ZP
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 1, 2021
The 70-year old is calling it a career after 33 seasons with Kansas and UNC.
With the sport witnessing a Hall of Famer moving on, Michigan State's Tom Izzo issued a statement in response to his decision.
"Roy Williams is one of the best coaches and best people in college basketball," Izzo said. "I've had the privilege to coach against him many, many times, and I've always had great respect and admiration for not only what a great coach he is, but for how he has run his program and the class he has brought to college athletics. It will be different to look at the North Carolina sideline and not see Roy there, but I wish him my very best after an incredible career as one of the great coaches in college basketball history."
Izzo finished 2-7 in matchups against Williams' led teams, including a grueling 89-72 loss in the 2009 national championship game at Ford Field.
Williams' 903 victories rank third among active coaches, trailing only Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke).
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