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October 27, 2011

Tom Izzo

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening statement.
COACH IZZO: I'm trying to think who our second starter is. This is why I love football more than basketball, because if I taped something across their forehead in basketball, probably some player would sue me. But in football, they get to do that with the helmets.
We have a team that I'm very excited about. It's been an interesting 10, 12 practices, because of the number of guys that are new either to Michigan State or new positions.
Like Keith Appling played the 2, is now playing the point. And we have the Brandon Wood kid who transferred in at the 2, and he's got some experience but no Michigan State experience. Branden Dawson, Travis Trice, our new guy.
So we've got a lot of new guys. Draymond Green is right now our mainstay. It's a pretty good mainstay to have. I think he's improved his body even more. I look back since his freshman year, he's just been constantly getting better.
He's kind of the consummate college player right now, because he's been in school four years. He's improved each and every year.
He's probably one of the more intelligent basketball players I've ever coached. He has a great understanding of the game, and he's improved his shooting a lot. But maybe the most important thing for us this year, we look back at our little drop last year would be his leadership ability. He and Austin Thornton, I think, are going to bring valuable leadership. Day-Day is kind of in the same sentence with a Magic Johnson or a Mateen Cleaves or a Travis Walton as far as his leadership ability, not being afraid to hear his own voice, not afraid to disagree. Sometimes too often.
But I love that about him. And I think he's going to bring that to this team.
To that, it's just a lot of new guys. And losing Delvon Roe a couple of weeks ago, in fairness to Delvon, he gave me everything he had for three years.
I mean, I was at the first game of his senior year in high school when his injury happened. He's had knee surgery after knee surgery. And when he got back this summer, couldn't work out all summer and started working out in September and the knee swelled up, it was just to the point where couldn't go any more.
He's a kid that started two of three years, started in two Final Fours. And when you lose a kid like that, or a Korie Lucious during the season, you don't always get to recruit to that.
With all those negatives, I guess the positive is I love the way my team has practiced. I love the fact that we are playing with more the grit that I think most people are used to seeing us play with.
I think it's a year that it would have been nice to have one of those schedules that you could build into it, and I decided: Let's go schedule Duke and Carolina and tell these freshmen, if you think you're better than you are, you're going to learn quick, you're not.
But that's going to be a plus also because we as coaches, they as players, are going to have a better understanding of where they are right off the bat, and the name of the game is to get better each and every game, not worry about what you do in November, but worry about more in February and March.
So that's what we plan on being. Hopefully a little better defensively, and I think in fairness to last year, a lot of reasons why you struggle a little bit and not all bad.
We had a ton of injuries we've had to overcome. And I think we've learned from that. And I think it was good for all of us.
So questions?
THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Thoughts on Russell Byrd? I know he's been banged up, had a series of injuries. Where is he now, and what do you hope to get from him?
COACH IZZO: He's practicing. After a year and a half he's practicing. Not every day. But he is probably our best pure shooter, number one. He's 6'7". Done a heck of a job with his body as he was laid up for the three different stress fractures, surgeries he had.
But this one seems to have taken. As far as the injury itself, he seems to be very good right now. Now he just has to get back that year and a half he lost.
But I'm excited. I think Russell could be a key part as the season goes on. Early on, as I say, he's just starting to practice with our team. But it's been a positive.

Q. We have seen Draymond at press conferences and laughed at a lot of his jokes and things. How does a guy with a big personality like that affect his teammates and how easy or difficult is it for you to coach him when you want to get the best out of him and have the best influence out of him but without him being maybe a little too extreme in some of his comments?
COACH IZZO: He gets there. It's his personality, as they say, and we've curbed that the best we can to mold him in just like we would a jump shot or a body or academic progress, anything else.
But he has a couple of things that you can't coach. You know, he's got incredible passion for basketball and for Michigan State.
But he's got -- it's not just Michigan State. I mean, he played for Matt Painter this summer and loved every minute of it. He likes teammates on every team he plays against, he gets along with somebody. He's a people person guy, but yet he has a little nastiness to him. He can be a jerk when he wants to be.
So I'm not worried about him just being a comical guy that says stuff off the top of his head. I think he thinks about things. I think he understands he's got as good an understanding of the game of basketball as anybody I've had.
So we need him to be the leader. We need him vocally, but we need him for so many other things. We need to make sure we keep his mind on the prize.

Q. How natural is Appling as a point guard? When you recruited him, did you think he might be able to play there in a pinch if you needed him?
COACH IZZO: In a pinch, I thought Appling could play there. I didn't recruit him as a point guard even though he played some in high school. I thought we would still have Lucious, to be blunt about it, and Appling could have moved in on a different pace than he is now.
But what he has going for him is he's a phenomenal athlete. And he's from Detroit. He's got great toughness. The kid's tougher than nails. And so nothing really rattles him. It's just the skill that has to come from a scorer, a guy that scored 46 points in his state championship game, to now a guy that has to do both.
And he has to do both for us, and to add one more problem, I think he is one of the best defensive players in this league. As a freshman he was probably our best defensive player, and that tells you a little bit about Keith.
So I think Keith Appling is going to make giant strides, but I think we made it a little harder on him changing positions even though it's a guard's a guard. But he'll adjust. He's worked on it hard. And I think he'll do a great job for us.
And he'll still play some 2 when I play Trice at the point.

Q. Is it accurate to say that you maybe enjoy seasons like this where all the pieces aren't put together beforehand?
COACH IZZO: Hell, no! Who are you kidding? No, I'm just kidding you. You know what, I said once in a while it's good -- it's a back-to-reality check. Last season, we knew we didn't do the things we needed to do, and I should be held accountable for that. Yeah, when the bad seasons are still winning 19 games, playing a tough schedule and getting into the NCAA tournament, it's not all bad.
So I don't enjoy the underdog role because I think our program is to the point where you don't want to be there, but I'm enjoying the challenge of realizing we lost a lot.
The Delvon thing really set us back, too, because he was an experienced guy; he was a great defender. But I love the enthusiasm with this team. I like how hard we're playing, and I am looking forward -- Drew Neitzel's year, Travis Walton, we had a little bit of a year like that, and everybody thought we'd fall off the face of the earth. And we didn't.
And I think this team has more talent. It's just a little more inexperience, and we'll see which is worth more talent or experience.
And I think this team will grow as long as we handle things, you know, with that schedule, I think with conference realignment, I think my AD thought we were moving to the ACC because we play Carolina, Duke, and then we play Florida State, the three top teams in the ACC, in the Challenge.
Then we go visit Jud out in Gonzaga. If you think those first three are going to be miserable, how would you like to have to play Gonzaga out there with Jud Heathcote sitting right behind my bench. I'm looking forward to it. I really am. I don't want anybody to think I enjoy being the underdog, because I'm not. But I do think when you have to reevaluate every once in a while, it's good for you. It's healthy for you. Like I said last year, in a masochistic way I'm going to enjoy this battle and see where we can take this team.

Q. I want to ask about the Aircraft Carrier Classic playing North Carolina there, and how that all came about, and the statement it makes playing that game on Veterans Day and strikes me as the same thing as the NHL started playing outdoor games, these kinds of things, a unique one-of-a-kind-type thing?
COACH IZZO: The uniqueness about that, the NHL didn't start that, it was Michigan State, Mark Hollis had started that, when we played Michigan about nine years ago in Spartan Stadium. And the NHL has picked up on that. We had a chance to play Kentucky when Tubby was there in the Final Four in Ford Field, played them in Ford Field, now all the Final. So my idea is innovative. Mark Hollis, an innovative guy, came back from Kuwait, took two trips over there to coach our troops. One Tubby was with me.
And when I came back, I told him it was a life-changing experience for me. I never thought -- my father was in the military, but I never ever experienced those two weeks experienced in the barracks with the troops. And he said we've got to do something.
So the first thing would be (cell phone) -- find the guy with the phone ringing -- right? We thought: Let's play a game somewhere. My ID has had me repel down from the ceiling on Midnight Madness. The guy's insane, and he's has had me do some bizarre things.
He talked about playing a game in an aircraft carrier. We tried to do it in Jacksonville, Florida around 2005. It fell through because of the war, really.
When this thing came to fruition this year, it's exciting. And then when you think about it for our veterans and to bring something to the light -- we were over in Kuwait, we talked to the troops. What can we do for you? And it was always just send the word that we're fighting for all of you back home.
And I don't think we appreciate that enough. There's always controversy why we're in wars and what we're doing, and I understand that controversy. But still the guys doing the battle, they don't get to choose.
And so bringing some light to that and then it just happens to be in the ship, The Vincent, and the drama keeps going. And Magic's going to be there, the President's going to be there, and unfortunately those three guys that were supposed to lead last year from Carolina are going to be there. So it's going to be one hell of a deal, and we're looking forward to it.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

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