BIG TEN BASKETBALL MEDIA DAYS

October 8, 2021

Tom Izzo

Michigan State Spartans

Men's Head Coach

TOM IZZO: No question for me Indianapolis has been an incredible fight, both for Final Fours and the Big Ten tournament. This year hopefully will be no different. But it's a unique year. We're all coming off something that nobody dealt with. I think we've kind of seen some light at the end of the tunnel. We're excited about that.

I'm excited about my team. Not many times have I looked up in the last four (loss of audio).

Sometimes the league is good and you don't do as well in the NCAA tournament. Sometimes the league isn't as good.

I think, still, you have to be judged by the 20 games. When you go through 20 games in our league, led by the attendance record that we've had over 40-some years, you've earned your stripes.

With my team this year, I think we're better because I think we have a couple guys that will play the point guard position. We were trying to put round pegs in square holes last year. That lands on the head coach, nobody else. But I'm excited, A.J. Hoggard has really improved, lost some weight. I think is going to be a definite positive for us.

Tyson Walker, a transfer from Northeastern, who was Defensive Player of the Year, still found a way to score 17, 18 points a game, is going to be a great help there.

We have some experience in Malik Hall, Joey Hauser, Marcus Bingham, guys that have been through the wars and played 20 minutes a game. Some dealt with COVID different than others. Unfortunately we were hit in the middle of the year. Yeah, it rocked us a little bit. Maybe some confidence both in players and in coaches. But we're through that now.

The guys had great spring, summer and falls. Yet we have a couple of freshmen that I think are going to be really, really good, led by max Christie, who I think could be the best recruited guard since Gary Harris, who had a great career and is playing in the NBA.

I'm looking forward. We open the schedule the same as we always do. We play Kansas, third-ranked team in the country. Then it just gets tougher. Of course, once we get to the Big Ten, I think schedules in the Big Ten are second to none.

So questions.

Q. After we went through a year with no fans in the stands last year, certainly strange environment. How excited are you to have that Big Ten atmosphere this year?

TOM IZZO: Since I've been in the league 37 years, it was strange. I never found a cardboard cutout that could yell at an official, so it wasn't a lot of fun for me.

I'm anxious to have those fans back. I mean, even when you go on the road, there's nothing like going to Purdue or Indiana, the Wisconsin rivalries we've had over the years, there's nothing like that. Some of the greatest venues in the country, much less in the Big Ten.

I'm looking forward to that. I'm sure the fans are looking forward to that. I think everybody's looking forward to it. I'm sure the officials are looking forward to it, to be honest.

Q. You mentioned the point guard situation, how it affected last year. How do you decide how to deploy A.J. and Tyson?

TOM IZZO: It's worked out very well. Right now we feel we have eight, nine, ten players deep. We'll have to make those decisions.

Unlike football, where you kind of get one quarterback, that's it, in basketball you definitely can play two guys. The way Tyson shoots it, I think these guys can play together some, too. I think you'll see some of that.

In a league that is filled with big men, and we have some very good big men, Bingham has really improved his strength. He's going to need that. You still usually win championships with guards. Guards have to be good.

I think you'll see them playing together some. I think we're 32 days away from our first game, so these decisions between Tyson, A.J. will be made. They're both from the same neck of the country, Philadelphia, New Jersey area, New York. They're very good friends. It's been seamless so far.

Q. I was wondering what you think of the new era transfer portal, how you're adapting to recruit, what you think the freshmen are going to bring to your team?

TOM IZZO: I've been pretty vocal about the transfer rule. The one thing I'll stick with, I mean, for anything that will help the student-athletes. Sometimes giving people things, options, create problems for them.

I'm more than worried about what happens. It's going to work to your advantage sometimes. A fourth-year guy with experience is going to be better sometimes than a first-year guy that's even a star.

But I just worry about all the movement and what are they moving for. When the going gets tough, are we bolting or hanging in there. There is a place and a time.

Where everybody thinks the coaches are worried about roster management, hey, we get paid to make roster management decisions. I'm more worried about what does it do to the student-athlete. I think of how many guys we've had as we've had reunions, even two weeks ago, how many guys would have transferred if it was the modern day. Not more than -- just a few of them ended up in the NBA.

I think that's what scares me the most. Recruiting, we're still going to try to recruit the four-year guys, sprinkle it in if we have to get somebody from the portal or not.

The jury is still out on that, I think. I have some concerns. I think there will be some unintended consequences as we learned at the end of the summer where there's still a couple hundred guys that didn't have a place to go.

I'm concerned about it.

Q. I wanted to ask you a little bit about the role players, the rotations in your basketball team. You mentioned how the Big Ten definitely has a lot of big men. You always keep good guard play. What about the rotation, guys that will come in and make an impact on your season?

TOM IZZO: I think Jaden Akins is going to make a big difference, could be a rotational player. Mady Sissoko and Julius Marble are two big guys, maybe not as big as some of the big guys in this league.

It will be interesting. Last year we ended up going small at the end of the year. I played Aaron Henry at the four some, beat top-five teams. Everybody is going to be doing some chess work. You're going to have to mix and match guys.

I think the most successful teams I've had are the ones that are very versatile. You can play big, you can play small, fast, you can play slow. I think in the Big Ten you've got to be able to do that.

We're all going to be prejudiced to our conference. I hate to say it only because I got to face them, but the coaches in this league are phenomenal. They are phenomenal. We just added a couple new ones that are really good, too. You're going to have to be able to make adjustments, that's for sure.

Q. Obviously you have some talented freshmen coming in, all of them kind of do their own thing. Who are you expecting to be the main benefactor on the court for you? Who are you expecting to get the most out of this season?

TOM IZZO: I think some of the main benefactors could be Bingham, could be Hauser and Malik Hall, maybe Max Christie. I think we're going to be a better passing team, a better running team. We've always been a good running team. Maybe without the same quarterbacking last year, we didn't do as good a job as that.

I'm going to reiterate a hundred times, because every kid that I've had, the kids that have left, I still stay in good contact with. It's nobody's fault but the head coach's.

But in saying that, I think because we're going to have guys that can penetrate and kick more, pass more, I think Hauser, Hall, Christie, Gabe Brown are going to benefit a lot. If we get a running game going, we'll be able to utilize their depth a little bit more.

But what's hard for all of you, I get a kick out of people picking things in magazine, nobody even knows who everybody has with the transfers, who is going to adjust, who is going to come in, who is it going to work out for, who is going to be a bust. Those are going to be factors as we move forward in this season.

I think it's going to be an exciting year. I think it's going to be one where our league will stand up. Hopefully they stand up in the NCAA tournament. Last year we, too, were one right in this state that had a big lead, lost to UCLA that went on to a Final Four. I'm looking forward to normalcy, looking forward to fans in the stands.

I'm even looking forward to having some face-to-face with you guys and gals. It's kind of boring when you do it on Zoom. Can't get in any arguments. I'm looking forward to getting back with all of you. I appreciate what you did last year, how you sacrificed. Looking forward to seeing you all together.