The wisdom of Izzo

When you live far away from Spartan country, there's an immediate bond when you get together with other MSU fans to eat, drink, and...sing the fight song!  When MSU came to play at the Barclay's center in Brooklyn, I was excited to be apart of the pre-game reception held at the Brooklyn Marriot. My friend and roommate, Paleyellow, joined me.  It turns out we were some of the only Brooklynites in attendance.  Either fans flew in for the tournament or they came from the far-away land of Manhattan (Manhattanites only come to Brooklyn if they have to).

The highlight of the evening, besides getting a picture with Sparty, was hearing from Tom Izzo.

Here are some spinnets of what our dear coach shared, in no particular order:

• The question was asked that when dealing with 17, 18, and 19 year olds in a city like NY, how much freedom does he give them to tour around.  Izzo essentially said, "When you're dealing with 17, 18, and 19 year olds, that leash is real tight.  They have 70 years after this to tour."
• In his sarcastic wit, he claims to have taught Payne how to jump and grab a rebound.
• Too much attention is given to freshmen who play for a year and then head to the pros.  Seniors who play all four years and graduate don't receive enough praise.  This comment came on the heals of discussing Payne and what a success story he is.  From a struggling student to an on-time -college graduate, stories like his are what we should be celebrating.
• Teens haven't changed, adults have.  Adults have changed how they respond to teens.  They have allowed them to be distracted by twitter, media, etc.
• One of our recruits for next year is from a 3rd world country and what stood out to Izzo about this kid, who I believe he referred to as "Tum Tum", is that he will "appreciate."
• Izzo wants to follow through: if he told a player to do something in a game and they go in and don't do it, he'll take them out.

Listening to Izzo reminded me of how much I respect him and the program he has built.  His goal is not only to win games and championships but also to help young boys turn into men.