Category: Tom Izzo

Michigan State basketball making slight staff changes

Tom Izzo has made a couple of changes to his coaching staff

Michigan State basketball is hosting their media day today, highlighted by a Tom Izzo press conference to talk about the upcoming season. While discussing some changes that have been made for the upcoming season, Izzo mentioned that he has made some slight changes to his coaching staff.

Mark Montgomery was hired in as a recruiting coordinator shortly after the 2020-21 season concluded. That role has changed as he will now be a full-time assistant coach on the Spartans bench.

A Michigan State alumnus, Montgomery was an assistant on Tom Izzo’s bench from 2002-2011 before taking over as the head coach at Northern Illinois.

To make room to move Montgomery onto the bench, longtime assistant Mike Garland will be transitioning to a new role as the special assistant to the head coach.

The new role will allow Garland to travel less, while still focusing on film and player development. Garland’s son has recently had heart surgery, so it is important to Garland to spend more time at home.

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Key quotes from Tom Izzo’s Big Ten media day press conference

Key quotes from Tom Izzo’s Big Ten media day press conference

Tom Izzo is currently getting ready to lead a refreshed Michigan State basketball into a bounce back season after a difficult 2020-21 season.

On Friday, he spoke to the media at the Big Ten media day and he had some interesting nuggets for Spartan fans.

Below, you can find some of the best quotes from the presser.

Michigan State basketball hosting Ty Rodgers on official visit

Tom Izzo will be hosting the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan on an official visit

Michigan State basketball will have a busy weekend ahead, as they are going to be hosting the number one player in the state of Michigan on an official visit.

Ty Rodgers, a standout from Grand Blanc, will be on campus officially visiting Michigan State. He is widely been talked about as the missing piece of the puzzle alongside Tre Holloman and Jaxon Kohler in the 2022 recruiting class.

Rodgers is a wing that has the length and athleticism to guard the 1-4 positions, as well as being a ruthless rebounder.

This would be a huge pickup for Tom Izzo and Michigan State.

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Michigan State basketball, Oakland to play at Little Caesars Arena

Michigan State and Oakland will square off in Detroit this season

Michigan State and Oakland’s basketball programs have started a pretty annual series against each other, and it has become a pretty friendly in-state rivalry.

The two schools have played 14 of the past 15 seasons against each other. Even more compelling is the matchup between two legendary coaches, Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe.

This years’ edition of the game will be played on December 21st at Little Caesars Arena.

Michigan State is 19-0 against Oakland and will look to improve to 20-0 this season. Tickets will go on sale on October 1st.

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Highlights from Tom Izzo’s press conference amid Michigan State basketball’s first practice

Highlights from Tom Izzo’s first press conference of the season

It may be football season, but all that means is that basketball is right around the corner. Michigan State is set to hold their first practice and start preparing for the 2021-22 campaign.

After a disappointing 2020-21 season, there is a lot of pressure on the Spartans to make sure that they bounce back in this upcoming year.

Tom Izzo took to the podium to discuss this team and how he is feeling going into the new season.

Check out some of the highlights from today, when Tom Izzo addressed the media:

Michigan State basketball announces 2021-22 team captains

MSU has announced who will lead their team as captains for the 2021-22 season

Tom Izzo was on the podium for his first press conference of the 2021-22 season as practicing is set to begin.  The Spartans are looking for a huge bounce back this season.

Izzo addressed several things in the press conference, but what might be the most notable, is the announcement of the 2021-22 team capatains.

Senior Gabe Brown will be joined by junior Malik Hall as the leaders of this years’ Spartans team.

Both players have been through a lot with the program and have seen this team at its highest, as well as its lowest.

Coach Izzo has picked two great leaders to lead the team into the 2021-22 campaign.

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Michigan State basketball offers 2023 PG Jeremy Fears Jr.

Michigan State has extended an offer to Jeremy Fears Jr.

It has been a busy weekend in East Lansing when it comes to recruiting for both the football and basketball programs. Michigan State basketball hosted a pair of top 2023 targets, including Jeremy Fears Jr.

Fears is a native of Joilet, Illinois, but attends the La Lumiere School in Indiana. La Lumiere is the same school Jaren Jackson Jr. attended.

After a successful visit, Tom Izzo has extended an offer to Fears, and appears to be prioritizing the point guard.

Michigan State will be very active in the 2023 class. Fears is currently ranked as the No. 20 player in the country as well as the No. 6 overall point guard according to 247Sports.

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What’s next for Michigan State basketball and the 2022 recruiting class?

Check out what the final piece of the puzzle needs to be for Michigan State and the 2022 recruiting class

Michigan State and head coach Tom Izzo locked up the second commitment of the 2022 recruiting class this past weekend, earning a pledge from big man Jaxon Kohler of Southern California Academy.

Kohler joined fellow four-star and Minneapolis PG Tre Holloman in the Spartans 2022 recruiting class.

Now that the Spartans have earned two commitments in this class, what is next as we wind this recruiting cycle down? Well, Tre Holloman took to Twitter to voice what he would like to see next.

Holloman hit the nail sqaure on the head with this one. The perfect ending to the Spartans 2022 recruiting class would be gaining the commitment of the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan, small forward Ty Rodgers of Grand Blanc.

A three man class of Holloman, Kohler and Rodgers would be very solid for the Spartans in a 2022 cycle that had felt so underwhelming for a while.

Rodgers will be officially visiting East Lansing on October 2nd. The main competition for the Spartans in this recruitment features Memphis, Michigan, Alabama and Xavier.

Locking up Rodgers and capping the 2022 recruiting class would be big-time for allowing the staff to shift their focus on a 2023 class that is filled with star-studded talent.

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Report: Tom Izzo blocked as interim athletic director by Michigan State president

Reports: Tom Izzo was blocked as interim AD plus a lot of uncertainty around MSU’s AD search

Michigan State is in a state of void as it pertains to its athletic director search after Bill Beekman stepped away from the position. As the search continues and the school year is set to begin, time is becoming scarce for the Michigan State administration.

As reported to the Detroit Free Press, a group of trustees at Michigan State went to Tom Izzo and requested that he take over the position in an interim basis, until a permanent replacement was found.

Izzo reportedly agreed to do it, knowing it would be in good nature for the university.

President Stanley has made the decision to block that move, citing a candidate will be ready to be brought to the board of trustees in the coming weeks.

Between President Stanley, the board of trustees, Tom Izzo and Mel Tucker, it seems as if there is a lot of disagreement and uncertainty surrounding the search for an athletic director.

You can find the Detroit Free Press’ full report on the situation, here.

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Michigan State basketball: Recruiting Big Board

Take a look at Michigan State basketball’s 2022 recruiting big board

The 2022 recruiting cycle is in full swing, summer basketball tournaments are going on all over the country and the MSU coaching staff is on the road trying to build the next class of Spartans.

There was a time where MSU had both Emoni Bates and Enoch Boakye as a part of the 2022 recruiting class. But now, both have decommitted, Bates likely going pro and Boakye reclassifying to 2021 and heading to Arizona State.

The Spartans are now left with an empty recruiting class, but that wont be for long.

Tentatively, there are five open scholarships after this year, but Joey Hauser, Gabe Brown, and Marcus Bingham may have the option for one more additional season. So we should expect anywhere from 2 to 5 additions in this class.

Let’s take a look at who MSU is targeting in the 2022 recruiting class: