	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 31, 2009

Tom Izzo

COACH IZZO: Well, it's great to have you all on campus. It's great to be in this state right now for us. Everybody's made a big deal about the Final Four being in Detroit. In a lot of ways, from a coaching standpoint, there are a few more headaches with tickets and everything. But enjoyable headaches.
I just am so pleased and proud that we can be a part of this Final Four at this time of not only our country but our state's dilemmas. And, as I said many times, I hope we're the bright light in what's been a little bit of a dim year.
In saying that, that has nothing to do with what people are suggesting, meaning that we're going to have a tremendous home-court advantage. The only time we've been on that court with these players, we got beat by 35 points. So I don't know if that is.
Number two, because of the NCAA, the way this Final Four has grown, I'm not sure there will be a tremendous home-court advantage in fans, like maybe Louisville had down there, because of the way tickets are allotted and everything.
But in saying all that, the opportunity and the advantage to be right next door and to be able to go downtown and not only see people at the Final Four but see friends and family at the Final Four I think will be great for our players.
I'm sure the place looks phenomenal. We've been in there before, but not since the new seating, which gives you a little bit better maybe gradual way of seating you compared to what it was the two times we played there. I think it will be great.
Unfortunately the only thing that won't matter is Thabeet will be 7'3" if he's there, if he's in our practice gym or down in New Orleans. So that isn't going to change or help us any as far as the game goes.
In looking at UConn, they are very, very talented. I think the difference in their team is Price has gone from maybe a very good player to a great player as a point guard. He can shoot the ball. He's scoring more that Dyson has been out. Inside Adrien is maybe as tough, strong, competitive and skilled. I mean, he can block shots. He can hit 15-foot shots. He's a tremendous offensive rebounder. Can rebound both ends of the court, averages almost 10 a game.
Maybe a little bit of an X factor guy is Robinson, who seems like a player, bigger, 6'8" or 9", but athletic like Williams was for Louisville. Maybe not quite as good a shooter, but definitely a better offensive rebounder. He goes every time.
So what are their strengths? I think they got one inside. They've got some on the perimeter. They've got one at the point. They run the ball pretty well. Maybe not a great shooting team from the perimeter. Tremendous rebounding team as we've been one and two in the country. Size with Thabeet, he can't make a mistake. You make a mistake, he's so wide, so long, it's going to be a dunk.
What are our pluses? You know, we're in a little bit of an emotional high now. If we continue that, use that to our advantage, I think you can play a little bit better than you actually are. If you think you've accomplished everything, then that goes right out the window. So that will be interesting to see in the next couple of practices.
I think our depth, I think we do have some depth. If we can run and try to wear them down some and make Thabeet get up and down the floor, I think that could be an advantage for us.
We know where the restaurants are. That's about the only other advantage.
So I guess I'll open it up to some questions.

Q. You talk about how things at Michigan State are earned, not given. Based on the play of Summers, the lack of play from Raymar, are those guys you need to look at giving a start to?
COACH IZZO: No. Number one, I'm not going to change things right now. Number two, I am really thrilled with the way Summers, I'm thrilled with the play Allen has played. Allen scored one or two baskets in the last game. His five rebounds, couple of offensive rebounds, were big-time plays in that game. His defense, both him and Durrell have improved dramatically.
At the same time I have a lot of faith in Delvon. I have a lot of faith in Raymar. I know it's hard to see that. It's hard to see that in the first two games. Ray was in foul trouble, the broken nose. I still think he's a better matchup for a guy like Robinson right now just because of size and strength. I still think Ray is going to have a good game. It's almost like a week and a half ago we were talking about Summers, is he ever going to make a shot again.
It's a coach's job to give them confidence. It's a coach's job to play the best people. There's a fine line into how you do that and how you make it work. There's no doubt we're gonna do some both mental and physical work with Ray this week, get him back on track.
In Delvon's case, I think he's hit a little bit of a wall. Yet he was so excited after that game, I mean, he hasn't taken his shirt or hat off yet. The guy hasn't taken a shower in four days. That's kind of fun to see. He's a freshman that loves the game. His dad called, said he was crying after the game. There's still tremendous passion there. He hasn't rebounded as well. That's one thing he had done so well. I think it's just an energy level. It's not him not having the passion or the energy to do it as far as mentally. I think some physically.
So we still think we're going to need all those guys. They're going to play a lot. We're going to rotate guys in. We're going to have to use 20 fouls inside.
If you look at UConn, they're averaging I think 27 free throws a game. I think they're averaging -- they've made like 200 more free throws than their opponents have shot. It's got to be in the nature they play. You don't see it as much on film. So we think we're going to need all our guys. And, let's face it, I mean, we'll be underdogs. We understand that. I talked to Jay Wright yesterday. He said we understand the best two teams going in are UConn and North Carolina. Maybe as good a story has been Michigan State and Villanova.
Everybody talks like it's such a big advantage or disadvantage. We've been a 2 seed. We've been a top-10 team all year. It's not like we just came on at the end. We've been there all year. Some people do it quietly and some people do it other ways. We've didn't it more quietly. Villanova has done it more quietly. In the end, that doesn't have anything to do with the score.
We're gonna show up. We're excited to play. We're excited to be there.
I said all along, I think I told most of the media that are from this area, that I thought this team had a higher ceiling to get to. And I thought we still had it in us. I'm sure everybody questioned it. To be honest, so did I sometimes. When is it going to come? I even made a statement the last three weeks that maybe it's one of those years it never gets there. I still don't think we're there.
Raymar and Delvon can play better and will play better. I really believe that. So I think we still have some growth. I said it's ironic that after his first game of the regionals, I heard Jay Wright say that. And I said, Wow. I was sitting in my room saying, Hey, somebody is in the same boat as I am. Believe it or not, we still are getting better at this time of year.
Well, we not only are still getting better, but I still think we have a ways to go yet. And that's not so bad. You know, it's not so bad. You want to be playing your best at the end. I also said we didn't peak early. We haven't peaked yet in my mind. If that's true, we still got some basketball to play.

Q. What will you say or do you think something has to be said about not just being happy to be there but to beat UConn and keep this story alive?
COACH IZZO: That's the next hardest part. I told Suzy Merchant that before she left. I might go talk to her again because she did a great job of getting her people to get the Duke win out of their mind because they played awfully well and should have won that game, if you ask me. It didn't happen for various reasons.
We talked to our guys about that. But we are young yet. We do have six guys, three of 'em just out of diapers, three of 'em still in 'em. So because of that, you don't know how people are going to respond. I'm not going to lie to you. As excited as I am about being in Detroit, Earvin said it to our team back in January, he said it to me on the court, Handle the distractions, handle the distractions. That will be the next part in young guys usually don't handle them as well as veteran guys. If you look at some of these teams, they have a bunch of juniors and seniors that are key players.
So we got to make sure we understand, it was a great win against Louisville, but, again, it wasn't a David-and-Goliath win. We are a 2 seed, not a 12 seed. That's what I'm making sure my team knows.
We had a little meeting yesterday. But today and tomorrow to me have got to be the best two practices of the year. We got to practice well. We got to practice with a purpose. Like I said about Sunday morning, seeing it in their eyes that they were ready to play, I told them last night, I better see it today because we have -- the competition still gets stiffer and it's a new challenge. The press was a challenge for us, especially in one-day prep. But the size is gonna be a challenge for us and we got four days to do it, so let's figure out a way to get it done.

Q. Considering every player who's played here four years under you has made the Final Four, how pleased are you for this year's senior class, specifically with the play of Suton?
COACH IZZO: I'm pleased for Suton. I'm pleased for Walton. I have to be more pleased for Travis. Those other guys got to go to the 2005 one. If you didn't play in the game, it's not the same, but at least you were there for the falderal. Travis, this has been a battle cry all year. Don't bring it up, don't bring it up, because I didn't want the rest of the guys to have all that pressure on them. I really went through it with Hill, Anderson, Torbert and Bograkos, where they hadn't won a championship, hadn't been to a Final Four. That pressure just grew and grew. Although at the end I think that pressure ate at them in getting to a Final Four that year.
So I told Travis, he walked on that court, that's all he talked about. I told him, Don't worry. I'm not recruiting him any more, he doesn't have a son, so I'm not recruiting him. Don't worry about my recruiting for the next four, five, seven years.
But it was really important to him. And I think that's what he's taken from the Cleaves and those guys. That's why Travis has been the guy to kind of bridge the past and the present together. Gus Ganakas was my guy as a coach to bridge the past and present together. Travis is really trying to do that, as Earvin did for just him showing up, the things he did. That was so important to Travis Walton. I'm happy for all our seniors because I think every class should get to share in it. But that's unrealistic when you look at it in the big picture. Now we've had another group that gets to it and I'm pleased for them.

Q. Speaking of your seniors, reaching higher ceilings, you've said in the past that Suton has taught you as much as you've taught him. Elaborate on what that means. Did you find it hard to learn which buttons to push with him and which levers to flip?
COACH IZZO: (Laughter). I don't want to give him too much credit. He hasn't taught me that much, but I did say that.
As I learn every year, there are different buttons to push. I think as I get a little older, I try to understand it. Maybe it's my kids. Having kids of your own, you realize, one who is just an angel and I got Steven, says it all. In saying that, you kind of realize that if you have that in your own family, just think when you're trying to bring 15 different people together from different countries, different worlds, different backgrounds, everything else. There are different ways to do it.
What I keep telling our guys is, No matter what your personality is, no matter where you're from, no matter what color, size or age you are, there is still a right way and wrong way to do things. Usually the right way helps you become more successful than the wrong way. I really believe that. I really, really believe that.
So trying to find that mix and Suton brings a little bit of a challenge, at Torbert did to me in a way. Guys that have been through incredible things in their life, you know, the live and die of a game for me usually isn't the same for people that have seen life and death. I mean, my parents are still there. The closest people to me - knock on wood - have still been around me most of my life. When you go through what Suton went through over in Bosnia, what Torbert went through with his mother and then his father, I feel like sometimes I'm looking at those guys saying, Make this life and death. They've already seen that, you know.
So I've had to learn to try to find different ways. But in G's case, I think what I've liked that he's learned is once in a while he said to me, I need you on me. I need you on me. I mean, I think people realize what their strengths and weaknesses are. Some people need to be pushed. That's why there's not a lot of great leaders. Some people need to be handled a different way.
And G, if you're around him, which most of you have been, you won't find a better kid, a better student, a better person, a better teammate. I just want him to learn to work harder every single minute he's on the court. I still think the guy can play somewhere.
One of my problems is I always think my players can be better than sometimes they think they can. We're in a era where every player thinks he's God's gift to mankind. That's the prototype. When I look at G or Raymar, sometimes I wish they were cockier. I'll probably regret saying that, especially when Steven grows up, because he's there right now. That's the truth, the way it is. Sometimes you try to find that happy medium. I'm always trying to find it, but I find myself wanting to lean more my way. It's not because of my ego, what I believe, but it's because that way has gotten us to championships or Final Fours, NBA or graduation, whatever the goals are. That way has done it. So why in the hell should I look at a different way, you know?
So I'll tweak my way of doing it, but I'm not going to change it very much when that's the way I think is the right way.

Q. Could you talk about the matchup with Thabeet. Don't have any 7'3" centers on your team. This will be an opportunity for Ibok to get some time. What is your plan going to be against him?
COACH IZZO: Right now we're adding a screen to our video room so we can get him on the whole thing. The one we had, he doesn't fit. We've had a ceiling level screen on there.
He's big. I mean, he's big. We played against a seven-footer. We played against Aldrich, who is a very good player. But this guy's big and long. When you have long legs and long arms, it's different. Paul Davis was 6'11" or so, but he had short legs. Kevin Willis was 7 foot, but short arms, small feet. This guy, when he sets a screen, I swear to you, it goes from that spot to that spot. So it creates different things that you never thought about.
I keep saying, do we want to go under ball screens, over? How are we going to manipulate around him? Some of it just isn't his size, blocking shots or this and that, you have to look at everything.
So right now when I left, I told my guys, you know, each one of you take a film of somebody who plays like us. We looked at Pittsburgh film. We looked at Georgetown. We're looking at some people that play man-to-man like us. How did they handle the ball screens? Who had success with it, who didn't? That's the process we're going through right now.
The bottom line is, if he gets it behind you, he's dunking it. That's a given. So that's the first thing we can't let him do. Because if he guess behind you, there's nothing else he's going to do but dunk it. If he gets it in front of you, he does have some post moves. Not like he's a stiff in there. You might have a 50/50 chance. The other way it's a hundred. And it is a hundred. We have some guys that can dunk it, too, but it's 90%. His is a hundred. It's going in.
But in saying all that, there's some things you can do against that, too. I think he gets up and down the court decent, but we plan on running. We plan on running, trying to wear him down that way. Hopefully we'll get him involved in a lot of screens where we don't want him just zoning up and shacking it in the middle because he can block shots. That's the chess match. We're going to try to figure out what we can do to give us the best chance against I don't want to say a freakish kind of thing. It's like the press. If there's something that somebody does extremely well, you have to figure out a way to neutralize that, and that's what we're trying to do with him.

Q. The Final Four in Detroit, there's been a lot of talk about the economy in Michigan, the state of Michigan. You know this state as well as anybody from recruiting all over the state. Will you talk about the pride you have in the state of Michigan, its people. What, given this unusual opportunity for a basketball coach, can you tell the rest of the country about this state?
COACH IZZO: This state is -- I guess I embody the state, the state doesn't embody me. The state of Michigan is just a lot bigger, a lot taller buildings, a lot more people, the UP. It's a blue-collar state. It's a blue-collar city, if you ask me. I guess that's why I have an appreciation even for the Red Wings, the way they play, the championships they've won. You look at the Pistons, when they won all that, they have good players, but Joe Dumars is kind of a meat-and-potatoes guy. I think that's why I like recruiting in our state. There's issues everywhere and there's problems everywhere. But I think you get a tough kid out of this state. Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, you just get a tougher kid.
So that's why I've embraced it. We could recruit more nationally. I mean, why if you don't have to. If you got good players that are tough guys. I mean, who says somebody's 10th, 20th, 30th best player? If he's a good player, he's a good player.
I look around the country and I think this is a great opportunity for the whole state. It gets even better because we're the story line. And I think they'll do a great job down there. I was down there for the championships in hockey. I've been down there for championships in basketball. I've been down there for the World Series game. I've been down there for a lot of Lions games. I did not get to the Super Bowl. But I think they've handled big events well.
There's going to be challenges with the Final Four, hotels, all the things that there's challenges with. But don't kid yourself, there's those challenges everywhere. I'm happy for our state, but I'm even happier because I think we have a chance to make it more fun for the people here. And even the people that aren't Michigan State fans. I think you got somebody you know. You got somebody you get to see a lot. For sure, me, and I think my players are the same way, I'm a go-to-the-grocery, pump-your-gas, see-you-down-the-road kind of guy. I think that's what this state is all about.
Those people, so many that have lost jobs down there, you know, really the UP is way ahead of Detroit 'cause we were losing jobs up there in the mines back when I was in college. So it's just taken longer to get down here. It's like it's taken computers longer to get up there (laughter). Just kind of a change, you know.
But all in all, from the tip of Detroit to Ironwood, Michigan, it's a pretty cool state to live in. We got the water. We got the change of climates. And we got Midwest people. I love Midwest people.

Q. A ticket of tug of war is always a challenge for you. Now that it's an hour and a half away, your milkman, mail lady, dog, cat think they can probably get a ticket from you, I'm assuming?
COACH IZZO: Well, it is amazing. I got family members. If I could just get 10 or 12. People just have no idea how few tickets we get. That is the biggest concern for me. Even the last Final Four we were in. I think it was 4500, now it's 32-5. That's not a lot of tickets when you think of your own team, your program, your university, then you think of the alums, donors, boosters. There's not a lot of tickets. The celebrities, ex-former players. We're doing the best we can do to handle it. We're going to try to take care of as many people. The nice thick about Ford Field, compared to like when we played in Indiana back in 2000, when you're at the third level there, third level in the dome in Minnesota, the dome in Atlanta, I mean, you can't see anything. You just look up there. I used to stand there on my bench the day of the game. We'd have practice. There wouldn't be a soul in there. They would put out all the seat pads. It seemed like so far town, I can't even barely see the pad, how in the hell are they going to see me.
That's not been the case. I've taken the team in Detroit up to the top row when we played Kentucky a few years ago, looked down. I think maybe you could argue there's not as many great seats, but I think a lot more better seats, good seats. So we're just gonna try to get them in there, get them in places they need. Nothing I can do about it. It's a problem. It bothers you because we were able to do more in St. Louis. But it's one, I told my D, I'm washing my hands. Last night was my final ticket dilemma. Now it's home in on Connecticut.

Q. Is the mask that Raymar had in Indianapolis the final version?
COACH IZZO: No, no.

Q. So he's getting accustomed to a new fitting?
COACH IZZO: That was not even a fitting. That was I think -- I don't know where they got it from, somebody there. But that was just a makeshift mask that anybody wears. Might as well put a hockey helmet on him, one of those goalie things.
Now we're going to have it form fit and everything else. He had a lot of problems because it was away from his face. When he looked down, he didn't know where he was. I told him that officials must wear that every day of the week. But he struggled with it, took it off, to his credit. I know he's going to practice with one today. I think he's going to wear one.
The break I guess is in a different spot, up here instead of down here. I don't know if that makes it better or worse. I think he's gonna wear the mask. At least we got it form fit yesterday. I think this morning it was the final whatever.

Q. Travis Walton let me know last week that his phone was blowing up with text messages. What has been your most interesting email, text message, phone call you've received now that you're in the Final Four?
COACH IZZO: You know, I haven't read half of mine. I'm not one of those text message guys, to be honest with you. But I've gotten a ton of them. I've gotten a lot of calls. Most of them from coaches. A lot of them in our league. But a lot of them around the country.
I don't think we're a favorite. I think right now, even like a Villanova, Jay is one of my favorite guys because I've watched him build that thing since we played each other against each other in Alaska. I look at their team, they're gutty, things like that.
I think people in general appreciate teams that take on challenges. Maybe you look at the two teams. I do get tired of hearing this team has so much more talent. We got talent. Raymar is as talented a guy as you can have. And he was playing great up until January. You know, some things I don't think reporters, people, fans, and sometimes even coaches can understand what a kid goes through. You don't just become a great player overnight, but you just don't become an average player overnight either. You don't go from very good to average any faster than you go from average to very good.
We have some good players. Durrell Summers is a great shooter. He's going to be a big-time player before he's done. Sometimes the process takes a little longer. It gets away from your question. But I do think we get a lot of calls from coaches. Someone will come in and watch practice. I think a lot of people can see them building our program easier than maybe a North Carolina or a Duke or a Kansas. I think they can see it coming this way.
I don't know. I can't say what email or what text has been through. I just thumb through the ones I can thumb through on the way home on the bus. Right now I realize nobody's going to give me any advice or help, or not many people. Most of them are going to say, Have you got a couple tickets? Those ones are hard to answer either way. If I don't read 'em, I don't have to answer 'em.

Q. You talk about how your team is young. You also made no secret of the fact when you were recruiting Kalin and Durrell that you have pointed to the fact that we can get to the Final Four in Detroit. Now that you've got here, what is your challenge as far as getting those guys to think you can win it now? When you took this job, you always said you wanted to build a program not a team. Five Final Fours and 11 years later, talk about that aspect of what you're doing here.
COACH IZZO: Well, the first part is Kalin, Durrell and I did talk a lot about that when we were recruiting them. We just did it. It kind of made the news back then. The timing is right. You're always looking for some kind of an edge in recruiting. If you aren't gonna buy 'em, you got to find a good way to do it. That was my edge. I thought I had some guys that it mattered to.
When that happened, and now you look at it, you're right, in basketball you almost talk about getting to a Final Four more than winning a national championship. It's like the ultimate supreme goal is to get to a Final Four. I don't know why that is either, but it's always been that way. In football, you want to be the world champ, but in basketball it seems like, I want to get to a Final Four.
I did tell them that yesterday or actually Sunday night. I said, A coach's job is to get you prepared to get to a certain place in your life, and then the player's got to take over certain things. I don't think I can crawl in their bodies and tell 'em, Okay, you've gotten here, now we can win it. That's where I think the drive of a player comes up. I think that's what's interesting about North Carolina right now. Those guys came back. Two or three of them could have left. Cleaves and Peterson could have left. They came back to win a championship. When I heard Bobby Knight, Lou Holtz talk the other day. They were asking them, what is the difference - Don Shula - about the past and the present. They all kind of felt like winning was the ultimate goal back then. That's why every time Earvin Johnson steps on this campus, steps on the floor, comes to a practice, addresses our team in the locker room, there is nobody that I know in America that could do a better job of it than him.
It's winning at all accounts. I mean, sacrifice everything you have for winning. There just aren't a ton of people left in the world. We're so fortunate that we have an alumnus here that embodies that as well as anybody - anybody. And he does. He passed it on to Kalin this week. He's passed it on to Cleaves. He's passed it on to people.
I think to segue into your second part, building a good program means you have people like that within your program, your whole program, that can share that with others. 'Cause the coach, I mean, we can do a lot of things, but we're still the coach. We're like the parent. Sometimes we're just the bad guys. It's really important that they hear it from somebody else. That's what I think building a great program is, is players come back and share. And usually what players say is, I wish. Paul Davis last week, somebody interviewed him, I wish I would have known then what I know now. Sometimes when a player says that to a player, it's even bigger. That's what happened. That's what Earvin said on the floor, I'm proud of you getting back there, I'm proud that championships is what you coached for. That's what he played for. I heard him kind of telling Lucas a few things. I was eavesdropping just because that means that we're developing, still in that stage yet, but we've taken some monster steps, hopefully an elite program that will rival those four or five that I say are above us.

Q. Do you think there's still room for this team to grow defensively? Are you still searching for the right combinations to hit on the offense?
COACH IZZO: Yeah, yeah. Yes on both. I mean, Raymar Morgan is a big key defensively. When he addressed you and said he's ready to have a great tournament before that first game, he was so good in defense that week, I would have probably voted for him for the MVP of the league defensively, as far as what he brought the practice, how he was. That kid is not a good defender, he's a great defender. I think he can add something to that and will have to in this game.
I think Delvon Roe has improved a lot defensively, I really do. For some reason he has not been rebounding the ball at all within the last couple weeks. I think it's the wearing down. It's not the passion, wanting to. So we're going to try to refocus on that, show him some film on what he did three, four weeks ago. For you guys, these are the feel-good stories, inside stories with players. Think that's what Final Fours bring. For coaches, it's trying to get people to their maximum level.
This is when we'll go back, look at the highlight films, make all the things we can make to hopefully get a guy psychologically ready, too. That's where I think the difference in this game will be. Yeah, I think we can grow in that area.
And the combination, do you want to start different linemen? At times I do, I want to move it around a little bit. But I am still searching for a combination. I'm not embarrassed to say it. I don't feel like I'm a less coach for saying it. I am still searching for that because it's just been that kind of year. And that probably is the one most frustrating part for me because I think that makes it hard on the guys. They don't play with the same guys. They don't have a substitution pattern.
It's getting better, but it's not like some of our great teams have had. And I don't think it's anybody's fault. You don't just do that in a week either.
So I am still searching for that. You know what, I might just find it. If I find it by Saturday, it might just help us.

Q. You go by your trophy case downstairs. You see some chairs representing the previous Final Fours. Where does that tradition come from? How cool is it to have one that's going to say 'Detroit' now?
COACH IZZO: You just brought chills to my spine. That is pretty cool. That is. I never even thought bit. Dave Pruder is the reason for the chairs. Mark Hollis, those guys. I guess you get the opportunity to buy the chairs you sat on. First Final Four, I said, What the hell good is that? I got that thing and I realized that everybody doesn't go to these things. So I got one for my house. Then I got four for my house. A guy built me a nice table with the insignia of all Final Fours. I got that. Now I got to scratch that sucker, get rid of it, buy a new table, put the fifth one in there. That's going to be enjoyable to do. I'm going to have to get, when you have five sets, back to geometry, but I'm going to have a five-sided table now. Octagon, yeah (laughter). Hexagon is six, right?

Q. Pentagon.
COACH IZZO: Pentagon. Even the writers screwed up. I love it (laughter). But more importantly, there's going to be a chair with Detroit, Michigan on it. As I said, if you look back, I think in '80 and '94 were the two years where a team played in its home state. I don't know exactly who was coaching at Purdue at the time. Lee Rose. He wasn't from Indiana, is he? Mike Krzyzewski is not from North Carolina, I know that for a fact.
So I'm going to have a chair, and I'm from here. That is gonna mean something to me. That chair will be at the head of the table, I can promise you that.

Q. Knowing you've already had success recruiting in state, a lot of national people say, even local people, that you already own the state of Michigan in terms of recruiting. What could this fifth Final Four do for you in terms of that and could it open up doors beyond your usual four-hour radius or so?
COACH IZZO: It might be able to open up doors. I'm not sure I'd walk through 'em yet. I still like the way we've done it. I still think it's built a family atmosphere that I appreciate, that I want, that I think I need from my program.
But there's always exceptions to every rule. I think anytime you're in a Final Four, it opens up a lot of things because of the coverage that you guys give it as a big reason. That's a plus.
As far as the state of Michigan, you know, what I always said here, and I mean this even to this day, this is a state with a lot of great players in it. Every year there's five or six guys that can play. I shouldn't say every year, but most years there are. And I often said, I didn't care if it was us and Michigan, you can usually only get three. We both should be able to have great programs here just keeping those kids instate. I think that's the biggest goal, is keeping the kids home. I think sometimes media people or fans think getting the guy from Texas is better than the guy that's right in your own backyard. Sometimes think I players think going to Texas is better than going right down the road.
The one thing that I think Travis stated, now we've gotten to the point where you've done it over 14 years, you want to go to a Final Four, and I think that's everybody's goal, we got a spot where your chances are pretty good.

Q. Speaking of Detroit, with Kalin Lucas and Durrell, do you handle them any differently this week just because the distraction level might be higher for them? Talk about what Kalin did last weekend, not scoring a lot, but growing up a little bit as a floor leader.
COACH IZZO: I told Kalin, I told them up here to bag their college girlfriends, but now I have their high school girlfriends, too, so I have double problems.
I said it from grandparents to aunts and uncles to friends. You have to be mature enough to understand that if you do your job there's plenty of time Monday night to get with all those people. It's tough. Until you go through it, you really don't know. The distractions that seem minor can be major. It's who's focused the most. Every shirt we've made on this trip, there's always something with the word 'focus' with it. I think that's the ultimate goal to successful people under stressful situations. You know, like Magic is one of the better ones. Tiger Woods might be the best athlete out there that can home in on anything. I swear, there could be bombs going off when he's walking down that fairway and he wouldn't know it. He kind of homes in on what he's got to do. There aren't many people that can do that.
So I talk to my team about it. But, you know, ultimately they have to do it. I told them that I hope they leave their cell phones at home. Well, that's unrealistic this day and age. That would be like taking their heart away from them, so I can't do that. But I just tried to say it and tell them. I think it's harder for Durrell and K because they're right there and they know everybody.
On the other side, Kalin, I think that was a good word, I think that he realized that scoring points, assists, anything else, and that's where Earvin, I hate to keep bringing up Earvin, but winning matters. Winning is never a stat on a stat sheet as far as the ones anybody looks at. They look at it on the scoreboard, the newspaper. But the stat sheets should say winning and encompass all that and nothing else should matter.
I think he realized this weekend that winning is more beneficial, more enjoyable, more invigorating, more everything than all those other things because he quietly ran our team this week - quietly - not with any huge numbers, not with any enormous plays. I thought his dunk he attempted in that one game kind of was a statement in its own way, something he hadn't done. It was his way of I think saying, You know what, we're going to take it to you. Even missing that, to me that was a good play. I don't say that very often. But I think I have a better appreciation for him. In the huddles, on the sidelines, he has grown leaps and bounds from where he was in the walk-through rooms. Still got some growing to do, but I think he's made some big strides.

Q. Take the fact that the Final Four is in Detroit out of the equation, with the illnesses, injuries, can you compare this Final Four to your other four as far as being special, unique and enjoyable?
COACH IZZO: Well, it's hard to take the Detroit factor out of it because I've been talking about it for four years with some of those recruits, some of those guys, some of my team or my family. But I would say, you know, what makes it unique is we've gone through some adversity. I guess when you look back, and I've always said this, the 2000 team went through the Mateen incident, the year with the broken foot. 2001 was a little smoother. '99 was the first time. 2005 there was a lot of adversity.
But this one, the difference was I really thought at the beginning of the year we had a good enough team potentially to get here. One of 12, 14, 16 teams. But we were in that mix. Then when it kind of wavered some, anytime you can get a group back together, just watch the difference in the first weekend, how they are in the hotel, how they are in those walk-throughs or those practices, compared to last weekend, I had to do some coaxing the first weekend, the second weekend I remember saying, Well, you know, we could have one more walk-through tonight or do it in the morning. I start hearing, Whatever you think, coach. Whatever you need, coach. We're here to do whatever you want. It was kind of a totally different might because I think they're starting to get it that preparation does matter and all the little things do matter.
I must have harped on a missed free throw after watching Purdue and some different teams that got hurt by it. We had an hour walk-through, and three different times we missed free throws in that hour, and that's like ridiculous. Sure enough, Durrell Summers gets a missed free throw. Might have been the game-winning play if you really looked at it, one that's not gotten a lot of ink, but from a coach's standpoint, that might have won the game for us. I think when you can point to that the next day, that's just another thing they add onto the list of the little things that make a difference.

Q. You talked about Magic coming back. How cool is it that it's the 30th anniversary of the '79 team?
COACH IZZO: Well, what's neat about that is that's the way we started out the year, a tribute to them. It was the '79 team and the short shorts, the hippies, all the things that you say are another corny midnight madness, but this one has a little significant value. That was our way of thanking and making them a part of our modern day. I say 'modern day' just looking at the shorts - guys.
I think the great thing about that game, sure, it was the greatest game in Michigan State history probably, but that was one of the greatest days in college basketball history because of the TV viewing, all the things that it brought, and those two players. You know, you're right, now it goes from an article or whatever it is to maybe a front-page deal just because them and us and I hope a lot of them come back. I know some of them are for sure. It will be pretty cool.

Q. The style of basketball you play, toughness, defense, grinding, why do you think you've always embraced that? Is it as simple as your background? If somebody calls that style ugly, do you think that's a compliment or insult?
COACH IZZO: Insult. I guess I'll use this forum one time to tell you this. At the beginning of the year I said I did not want to be known as a one-dimensional or two-dimensional coach. I'd like to think I am what my teams are, and why we've been successful, multi-dimensional, meaning you can do well in a lot of things.
We led the league in scoring again. We've led it many a times. We've led it in field goal shooting. I think, I said it on some talk show yesterday, and the guy laughed, agreed with me. I'm blaming Bo and Woody. That's whose fault it is, Bo and Woody's, God bless you. It's three yards and a cloud of dust, spilled over to basketball. The Big-10 does stay a style of basketball a little bit different. We averaged two less points a game than Louisville. I mean, put it into perspective. Don't listen to some of the people that don't have a clue.
I mean, yes, there's been some ugly games. Louisville scored 53 points against Notre Dame, got beat 90-53 or whatever it was. I'm not picking on Louisville. I think they're great, I really do.
I'm just saying, as I go through all these schedules, we went and looked yesterday. Of the three teams -- three of the teams that are in this Final Four, North Carolina is a different animal, okay? But I think UConn has scored in the 70s nine times in conference play. Us and Villanova eight times. You know, what's the big deal? I'll tell you what the big deal is. You're damn right we check. We check because of Vince Lombardi. We check because of Pat Riley. We check -- why am I forgetting my favorite coach of the Pistons, Chuck Daly. I've watched Chuck Daly's teams. They were tough. Joe Dumars, tough, defended. Why does everybody write about and why does everybody preach that defense wins championship? Pick the sport. Go ahead, pick it. Any one of you in here, pick it. You're a big baseball fan, Freddy. Anybody win without pitching?

Q. Steroids.
COACH IZZO: Steroids. Well, get off 'em.
But it doesn't matter what sport you're in. I do it every single year. I take hockey, baseball, football and basketball. I always put it up on a board or I reiterate it from a piece of paper. Who won the championship? When Baltimore was in it, best defensive team. It's 90% of the time it happens.
So I guess I just learned that that's the way you have to win championships. But at the same time I want to run every time. I want to run every time. So I do get annoyed, sick of, frustrated with Digger saying, They're trying to slow it down. Well, if we tried to slow it down and scored 64, what did the other team do?
I mean, you got to realize that in this tournament is a perfect example of Big-10 basketball. How many games are lower scoring? Because possessions matter. Because defense is being played at an optimal level. You know, I'm speaking more for the conference now. When I look at our conference, I heard the rumors that Tubby Smith was going to Virginia or whatever those rumors were down there, God, I was bummed out because I think we have so many great coaches in this conference. I think we've added some great ones. I think we added a great one right down the road. We've got some great coaches. You know what, I'm not saying other people don't have great coaches, they do. But great coaches are going to make you earn your way.
If you're a great defensive team, you aren't going to score as many points just because you don't have as many possessions, 'cause it's going to take -- if you're a great defensive team and a great offensive team, you still only get so many shots, you're only going to score so many points. It's going to take people 30 seconds, because you're not going to give up the damn layup on the fast break, we're going to make them earn it. If it takes them 30 seconds to score instead of 10, that's 20 less seconds we get the ball back.
So you can't get deceived on what great offense and great defense is. At times have we been - favorite word - dysfunctional, whatever words you guys want to use? Hell, yeah, I'm the one that said it. I said our offense isn't as smooth because guys aren't maybe together on it. We're not practicing with the same guys. We're playing 100%. But this little bit of national perspective and everything on the Big-10. Let me see now, it's been 11 years. We've been to five. There's been four or five other teams. In 11 years, there's been pretty good representation in the greatest game of all, the greatest weekend of all, that's the Final Four.
And so I'm not gonna condemn anybody else, but I'm sure as hell not going to sit here and let not you but other people throw rocks at our nice glass house because it's pretty good. It is what it is. It's a little harder to score in our league. But maybe that's why we're still surviving.
So where did I learn it? When I say Vince Lombardi, you can laugh. I idolized him. I watched his teams. They were simple. Ran three plays. Up the middle, off tackle, around the end, come and stop it. That was it. I love Bo Schembechler. Woody Hayes. I mean, it was smash mouth. In the end, men are men. You got to be able to go through somebody.
The day is going to come before I'm done when they're going to say, You know what, they're good at all aspects. They're going to say their program is great because they play good offense, defense, they rebound well, graduate their guys, their fan base is incredible. I got so much work to do, I don't even know where to start. But we are making strides and I'm going to keep making 'em.

Q. Saturday afternoon we had a chance to talk to one of your future players, a guy with 49 points. He said the same thing both times. He didn't think you were going to be global, he knew you were going to be global. When we asked him why, he said because Michigan State is tough. Despite what Digger Phelps might say, how does it make you feel building a program that that toughness is permeating down to 9th, 10th, 11th graders?
COACH IZZO: That's why I love Detroit, Flint. Those guys didn't have silver spoons in their mouth, that's the way they're raised. Everybody is spoiled. That's just the way it is. Me included probably. But that's the kind of guys I'm probably going to do better with. But I think that's the kind of guys a lot of programs are going to do better with. That's the magic ticket. Is anybody dumb enough, stupid - bad choice of words - take whatever word you want, to think that reaching an ultimate position in anybody's walk of life is going to be like easy? Now you get to these things, everything has been easy. All of a sudden you want to be in a Final Four, you want to win a championship, you want to be an NBA player, you want to graduate. I mean, I don't know about you, school -- I went to one of the higher academic schools in the country. School was not easy for anybody. I hear players say, I don't like school. Well, no kidding. Neither did I. Who does? But it's what gets you where you want to get.
I guess I've grown up on tough love. I guess I've grown up on demanding parents, coaches, principles, you name it. Jud Heathcote. I've grown up on that. But I've listened, too. I've watched Magic Johnson. I've watched Steve Smith. I've watched Snows, Cleaves, Richardson. I've watched those shooting machines get burnt out by Richardson.
It's not my theory, it's the theory out there of successful people. All I did was copy the most successful. I watched Bobby Knight. I sat there. Did I agree with everything? No. Do I want to throw a chair once in a while? You're damn right I do. But I watched the players come back. I watched the guys that played for him and what they say about him now. I watched Paul Davis last week come back. When he talked like he talked, I said, you don't have to talk to me, I already snow the script. Go around the locker room, hit those 15 guys, talk to them.
So that's what we're building it on. I don't know if there's any other questions. I'll close it up with a closing statement.
I'm thrilled to be here, as you can imagine. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing that's happened five times. So I feel incredibly blessed, I guess would be the right word, when I look at some of the coaches that have never gotten here. But I'm not satisfied. The ride there is great, but I have done the one thing that 44 other guys, whatever the number is now, have done. I have been a part of winning it. And as great as getting there is, it doesn't even compare to that one shining moment night. And I plan on getting there again.
The obstacles this year seem as big as any we faced. This team, if you look at the destiny of it, where we're playing, the 30-year reunion, we got all those goofy things on our side. I don't think the beat gives a damn about any of those, but I do. As long as I can convince my guys that maybe they do, maybe we can play a little bigger, a little taller and a little better than we actually are.
So I do appreciate this many people coming. I hope to see you all down in Detroit. And I hope you can do something that I won't probably do, I hope you can have some fun this weekend and enjoy it. Thank you.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297