Category: Tom Izzo

Michigan State basketball assistant Dane Fife to join Indiana basketball staff under Mike Woodson

MSU assistant coach Dane Fife is joining Mike Woodson’s staff at Indiana.

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After 10 years coaching on Tom Izzo’s staff at Michigan State basketball, MSU assistant coach Dane Fife will be moving on. It was reported on Monday that he will be joining new Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson’s staff with the Hoosiers.

This makes a good bit of sense, considering that Fife was a tremendous player for the Hoosiers during his playing career, where was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after his senior season. He still owns the all-time steals record at Indiana with 180.

Fife was an assistant with Indiana from 2003-05 before becoming the head coach for IPFW from 2005-11. He has been on Izzo’s staff since 2011.

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Tom Izzo comments on Roy Williams’ retirement

Shocking news in college basketball today as legendary North Carolina head coach Roy Williams announced his retirement this morning.

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Shocking news in college basketball today.: Legendary North Carolina head coach Roy Williams announced his retirement this morning. Williams will go down as one of the best head coaches in college basketball history — something Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo acknowledged when talking about Roy Williams.

Izzo said about Williams: “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’.” He also added how it would be “different to look at the North Carolina sideline and not see Roy there.”

Williams spent a total of 33 seasons as a college basketball head coach, 15 at Kansas and 18 at North Carolina. He finished with a 903-264 record with three NCAA national championships and nine Final Fours. He has the third-most wins NCAA Division I history only behind Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim.

You can read Izzo’s full statement on Roy Williams below:

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Tom Izzo comments on UCLA NCAA Tournament run

Tom Izzo gave his comments on the UCLA NCAA Tournament run after his Spartans fell just short of defeating the Bruins in the first four.

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Michigan State had a 5-point lead with just over one minute left in their first four game against UCLA, a bad final minute leading into overtime and the Bruins got past the Spartans.

Almost two weeks removed from that game, UCLA is still playing and will be heading to the final four.

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After witnessing the Bruins historic run, Spartan fans can’t help to think “what if”. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is no exception to that rule, the head man in East Lansing took to radio to share his mindset.

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Tom Izzo releases statement on Rocket Watts entering NCAA Transfer Portal

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo released a statement after Rocket Watts entered the transfer portal.

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This morning, many Michigan State basketball fans were stunned after combo guard Rocket Watts entered his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal. While it was a very challenging season for Watts for a number of reasons, many were hopeful that he could still turn things around next season.

However, Tom Izzo put out a statement on Monday that validated and supported Rocket’s decision.

In the statement, Izzo highlighted the position move to point guard for Rocket that, while difficult enough in it’s own right, became a seemingly insurmountable challenge when coupled with the pandemic. Izzo was complimentary of Rocket in the statement and also acknowledged his academic improvements.

You can see his full statement below:

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Michigan State basketball guard Rocket Watts enters NCAA Transfer Portal

MSU combo guard Rocket Watts has officially entered the transfer portal after a frustrating season.

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It looks like the Rocket Watts era at Michigan State is coming to an end. The MSU basketball guard entered his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday after a disappointing, inconsistent season with the Spartans.

Watts looked like an up-and-coming star for MSU in his freshman year, averaging 9 points per game. But he never looked comfortable in his sophomore season, where he was asked to play point guard, a position he never seemed to acclimate to. His production took a step back and he only averaged 7.7 points per game. His already mediocre three-point shooting also took a nosedive, dropping from 28.1% to 25.3%.

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Still, at times this year, Watts still was able to showcase the skills that brought him to MSU in the first place, so it’s disappointing that things never fully clicked into place. If this is the end of his time at Michigan State, hopefully a fresh start can help him revive his career. Watts definitely has some NBA skills, he just needs to put everything together.

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An early look at Michigan State basketball’s 2021-22 roster, possible rotation

We took an early, player-by-player look at MSU’s 2021-22 basketball roster and possible rotation.

After a grueling and ultimately disappointing season, Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball will look to bounce back in 2021-22 with a refreshed roster, complete with a transfer and a few young talents coming into the program.

I see this next season as a bit of a rebuilding year, so to speak, as MSU will look to reset with three big name freshmen coming into the program. I think Izzo will be able to be patient with this next group, and transfer of Tyson Walker takes a lot of pressure off of a guy like Jaden Akins to come in and perform.

Below, we look at the roster as currently constructed, and who might start, who might be in the rotation, and who might be riding the bench as a reserve. This breakdown also assumes that Aaron Henry will be entering and sticking in the NBA Draft.

Most interesting quotes from Tom Izzo and Joshua Langford following MSU basketball’s loss to UCLA

Here are some interesting quotes from Tom Izzo and Joshua Langford’s press conferences following Michigan State’s loss to UCLA.

Michigan State basketball faced an unfortunate end to their 2020-21 basketball season on Thursday when they melted down and blew a lead against UCLA in their First Four matchup for the 11-seed of the NCAA Tournament, losing 86-80 in overtime to the Bruins.

After the game, Tom Izzo and Joshua Langford spoke to the media to address a frustrating game that concluded a rollercoaster season for the Spartans, and will also likely conclude Langford’s career at MSU.

You can find the most interesting quotes from Tom Izzo and Langford below. Quotes from the Twitter account of Chris Solari, journalist for the Detroit Free Press:

Former Michigan State basketball players weigh in on Tom Izzo, Gabe Brown argument

Draymond Green and other Spartans were quick to defend Tom Izzo after his argument against Gabe Brown in the UCLA game.

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Despite playing an excellent half of basketball where they led UCLA by 11 points heading into halftime, much of the conversation around Michigan State basketball’s matchup against the Bruins has been regarding a heated exchange between Tom Izzo and Gabe Brown.

Michigan State fans (and most fans familiar with Izzo) seem to understand that this interaction is pretty common and comes from a healthy place, but the national media will certainly jump on this moment similarly to how they did with the Aaron Henry argument a few years back.

While many in the media were quick to jump on Izzo for how he handled the situation, it was his former players who came to his immediate defense on social media:

YOU CAN WATCH THE EXCHANGE HERE.

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WATCH: Tom Izzo and Gabe Brown go at it heading into halftime locker room

Tom Izzo and Gabe Brown were seen arguing intensely in a controversial moment during MSU’s matchup against UCLA.

Well, you can expect this moment to spark quite a bit of debate.

At the end of Michigan State basketball’s First Four matchup with UCLA, Gabe Brown missed a switch onto UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., giving up a deep two heading into halftime.

Tom Izzo started to give him an earful after the error, and Gabe Brown gave it right back to him. The two got into it, and at one point Tom Izzo grabbed Brown’s arm or jersey, which prompted Brown to stomp away as Izzo held onto his shirt.

You can watch the incident below, which will certainly be the start of another exhausting debate over Izzo’s coaching style:

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People who know the program know that Izzo has an amazing relationship with his players, which is why Brown feels comfortable giving it back to Izzo, but you can still expect a weekend’s worth of debate about this moment.

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WATCH: Tom Izzo describes Michigan State basketball mindset heading into NCAA Tournament

Tom Izzo gave some insight into his team’s mindset heading into tonight’s game against UCLA.

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Michigan State basketball will face the UCLA Bruins on Thursday night in a play-in game for the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This has been an insanely challenging season for the Spartans as the team dealt with COVID-19 battles and losing streaks throughout the season.

Heading into Thursday night’s game, Izzo gave insight into his team’s mindset heading into tournament play.

Watch it below:

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