Tom Izzo: A Teacher Above All Else

By Jonathon Chun

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was already cemented among the best college coaches in NCAA. He is the face of a program that has made the tournament 18 consecutive years and has dozens of banners in the rafters at the Breslin Center.

After this season’s run to the Final Four, some would make the case that he is now the best college basketball coach.

Photo: Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press

“This is one of the most impressive jobs that I’ve ever seen from a coach period,” WKAR sports reporter and television anchor Al Martin said. “I’ve never seen a team that, and you could make the argument that there really is no clear-cut NBA player, next level type of pro player on this squad, but seeing what Izzo has done and nurtured that whatever he’s had with this team, it’s the best coaching job that I’ve ever seen.”

But what makes Izzo so successful, specifically in March when it is win or go home?

There are obviously many facets to that answer, a lot of which involve the X’s and O’s. In MSU’s third-round matchup against second-seeded Virginia, Izzo implemented an entirely new defensive scheme in the matter of hours that left the Cavaliers shell shocked.

However, more so than the strategy of a particular game, Izzo’s strategy towards the season as a whole is what enables him to get the most out of his players.

“Well think of it as a semester,” MSU journalism professor Sue Carter said, who also happens to be the Faculty Athletic Representative. “Think of what you learn over the course of a semester. At the very beginning, you’re just sort of getting used to the topic and subject matter. By the end of the semester, you’ve got it locked down if you have a good teacher.”

And what a good teacher the Spartan basketball players have, and by no mistake.

“Tom is a really good teacher,” Carter said. “He’ll tell you, as he’s told me, first and foremost he’s a teacher. His degrees are in education.”

Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

Even students at MSU understand that they don’t have the typical college coach at the helm of their basketball program.

“I think Tom Izzo is not only a coach but a teacher,” sophomore journalism student Jacob Herbert said. “He’s really good at motivating his players, especially his seniors.”

Part of being a great teacher is assessing where the students, or in this instance players, are at. Izzo’s ability to understand MSU’s strengths and weaknesses comes from putting them through a gauntlet of a schedule.

Izzo is renowned for scheduling as many tough and elite teams early in the season. Partly because he wants to see where they stand, but also because he wants to show them what the pressure feels like when the stakes aren’t as high.

“It’s like if I give you hard quizzes at the beginning,” Carter said. “If I get your attention at the beginning, then you’re going to pay attention and know that the bar is high.”

Martin thinks that Izzo always has a plan in place after those early games against the likes of Duke, Kansas and others.

That’s his formula,” Martin said. “If you play those types of teams at the very beginning of the year, you can kind of see where you’re lacking at against the big dogs, and you can make adjustments as the season goes on. I think it’s genius.”

It is almost hard to believe that Izzo has been in charge of MSU for 20 years now. What he’s done in that span cannot be overstated.

“What he has put forth is a tremendous string over the course of 20 years,” Carter said. “And as he said last night at Breslin – I’m paraphrasing – ‘I want to build a dynasty,’ and he’s well on his way to doing that.”

Some would argue Izzo has already done it.