Former Spartan Assistant Praises Izzo for Relentless Attitude
ESPN analyst and former Coach of the Year with Indiana University, Tom Crean, recently joined the "Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams" and discussed Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo and what makes him one of the most successful and memorable coaches in all of college basketball.
Nobody can put it into better words than Crean, as the two have a relationship that goes back decades. Crean spent many years on the Spartan sideline next to Izzo, starting as a graduate assistant during the 1989-'90 season when Izzo was an assistant.
Crean then coached as an assistant under Izzo from 1995 to 1999, when the Spartan legend first got the head coaching position from Jud Heathcoate. The two are both Michiganders as Crean is a Mount Pleasant native and has a special place in his heart for Izzo and the support he has given him.
During the interview, Crean was asked about Izzo's memorable quote that he issued following the Spartans' loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament.
Izzo said, "I don't plan on being happy until we accomplish what I think Michigan State University should accomplish."
Crean responded with a perfect encapsulation of what Izzo's motivation and mantra is as a head coach. Relentless tenacity and hunger for the toughest battles while still being eager to achieve more is what has been built into the fabric of Tom Izzo basketball.
"I've always said this about Tom [Izzo], he's he's not happy unless he's unhappy," Crean said. "He's at his best when he's unhappiest, right? And it's not that he's never happy; he thrives on the challenge, and I always said this about him as well: He never lets the sun go down on a problem."
The former Spartan assistant and Indiana head coach elaborated on why Izzo is able to get the most juice for the squeeze with each and every team that he coaches and why his players continue to stick around for three to four years instead of becoming a one-and-done program like many others.
"Tom is a daily grinder of making you understand you have greatness in you," Crean said. "And that grinds on you, and it lifts you, but at the end of the day, that's why those players all come back. They absolutely love him; I'd like to think that I inherited a lot of that.
" ... At the end of the day, it's hard to get greatness out of people, and you can't give in when they're ready to give in, and I think that's him. He's an incredible person, incredible family man, loves his family, loves his team."
Crean credits a lot of his success and basketball attitude to Izzo and what the two were able to learn from each other over their years in East Lansing together. There never seems to be a shortage of people who praise and commend Izzo for how he has changed their lives on and off the court.
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