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
earned looking overtime played team win
We played Gonzaga, we played Arizona, we played all these overtime games, and I told (my team during a late-game huddle ) I thought we've earned the right to win this game. I felt, looking at them in the eye, that they were looking back at me saying, 'Damn right we do, and we're going to get it done.' And that was encouraging.
game george last mason played tough
We played George Mason last year; they played us to a very tough game out there.
evenings kicked nine
In my nine years, this is one of the more disappointing evenings I've had in this job. They kicked out butts inside.
evenings job nine sad seniors won
In my nine years, this is one of the more disappointing evenings I had in this job because it's going to be sad to see some seniors go who've done a lot for us, won a lot of games.
changed complexion foul key leads losses maybe michigan playing serious trouble
In our losses to Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, we've had serious foul trouble at key times. Maybe we've had leads or were playing good, but it changed the complexion of the game.
bad confident decision good himself knock taking wood
I really do feel ? knock on wood ? confident that the right decision will be made. What is the right decision? Well, it's different for every kid. But I don't think he'll make a bad decision. I don't think he'll be taking chances. I think he'll have to feel pretty good about himself to make that decision.
decision
I really do feel comfortable that the right decision will be made.
beat great illinois three worried
Illinois is not going to be worried because they beat us two times or three times. They're not going to have a letdown. They've got a great team.
both good guarantee illinois michigan playing state teams
Illinois and Michigan State are both going to play pretty good defense. They're playing a little better than we are defensively right now, and I guarantee you both teams are going to run.
capable current good proven water
I'll say it like this -- there's a current under the water that I don't know where it's going sometimes with this team. But I do think it's capable of making a very good run, and I don't think that's a dream. We have proven we can play with anybody.
davis game honest paul proud second vowed
I look at the stats and kind of see a different game than I watched. I didn't really like the game I watched, to be honest with you. But the stats say we did some things well. And I was very proud of Maurice Ager and Paul Davis at halftime. They vowed we'd be better defensively in the second half, and we were.
afraid confidence consistency couple eight losses lost maybe nobody playing record start
I look at our record and eight losses is more than I'd like to see, but I also look at it like, I haven't lost any confidence in this team. I'm disappointed maybe in the consistency of a couple guys, but I haven't lost confidence in what I think we can still do. ... There's nobody I'm afraid to play, and I just want to start playing better, consistently, ourselves.
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.