Michigan State coach Tom Izzo embracing challenge of managing deep, talented roster
East Lansing, Mich. – The outlook on Michigan State’s roster was much different this time last year. The Spartans were talented, but their reliance on a crop of relatively unproven players worried some Spartan fans and supporters ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo watched as those outside the program voiced their concerns about his roster. Flash forward five months, and that 2022 team was in New York City, playing in the Sweet Sixteen just days after upsetting No. 2-seed Marquette.
“I just wish I would’ve saved all the hate mail of, ‘Why didn’t you go into the portal you SOB, why didn’t you do this and why didn’t you do that?’” Izzo said at Michigan State’s media day Tuesday afternoon.
Now, Izzo faces a different type of challenge. All but Joey Hauser returned from last year’s playing group. Add in Michigan State’s highly-touted four-man freshman class, and Izzo has his work cut out for him trying to manage playing time for a deep, talented team.
But like last season, Izzo stuck to his guns. For him, constructing a home-grown, relationship-based program takes priority above all else, even if it adds some extra stress while trying to manage a roster of players who all deserve time on the court.
“Now it’ll be, ‘Why do you have so many players you SOB?’” Izzo said. “I’m an SOB no matter what I do. But also I feel very good that, you know, we didn’t bail on some of those guys who weren’t quite good enough. We believed in the process. We believed in building them. They’re home-grown, and so they have to understand that there’s other guys right alongside them.”
Few teams this season have a group of quality, experienced veterans and a group of budding underclassmen like Michigan State does, which makes Izzo’s job all the more challenging.
But Izzo’s done things a certain way in his 28 years as Michigan State head coach, and he leaned on his experience this summer to help set expectations, especially for the young players.
“Jason Richardson was here (for Grind Week) and I showed a couple of kids his stats,” Izzo said. “Draymond Green was here. I showed a bunch of kids his freshman stats. Denzel Valentine was here the week before. I showed a bunch of kids his stats and tried to make them realize that, OK, there’s a couple of teams that recruit all freshmen and not all of them have done really well. I mean, in the last 13 years, I think we’ve been to four Final Fours. Some of those teams have been to one. So I have to sell winning and personal success. That is a challenge because parents want instant gratification more than players. And I have to sell that winning brings personal success. Personal success doesn’t always bring winning.”
Izzo expects all of the freshmen to play this year, but he’s not yet sure how much.
“(That) will be determined in the next three weeks, four weeks,” Izzo said. “But they’re really good kids, man. I am blessed with what I have right now.”
Izzo also feels grateful for how close-knit this year’s team is. He believes the players understand how high their collective ceiling is, as well as what it will take to get there. That buy-in helps when managing a roster like the one Izzo has this year.
It also helps when former players, some of whom have won championships during their time at Michigan State, are willing to lend a hand.
“They’re a good bunch of guys that I think have a common goal,” Izzo said of this year’s team. “And I think I have a good bunch of alums that are helping us to understand that common goal. I mean, Mateen (Cleaves) has been unbelievable. I told him about leadership and he said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.’ I find out he’s calling guys don’t even know about. That means you have a special program, not a special team.”
As highly as Izzo thinks of this year’s freshmen, he also realizes that Michigan State’s returning veterans will be the key to the Spartans’ success this season.
Tyson Walker, AJ Hoggard, Jaden Akins and Malik Hall, among others, have done their part in taking the freshmen under their wings. With so many players at his disposal, Izzo hopes he can get back to some of the things he liked to do earlier in his career, most of which required a plethora of fresh bodies.
“We have a good nucleus back who have played a lot of minutes,” Izzo said. “Jaden Akins, AJ, Tyson Walker – he (Walker) might be the best shooter I’ve got – but I think Tyson and AJ have really improved their shooting, so guys are going to have to work their way in. But we’re going to play more guys, too. I’m hoping to going back to playing a little more upbeat like in ‘09 or ‘05. When I say (that, is it) running more? No. Maybe pressuring a little more, expending our energy so that more guys play because the guys who are out there are tired.”
Izzo and his players have said that this summer’s practices have been more competitive than in years past, thanks to Michigan State’s improved depth and talent. Izzo is hopeful that will continue during the season thanks to the bond within this year’s team.
“Competition is good, but it’s really good in the summer and in the fall,” Izzo said. “We’ll see how it gets in the winter when parents change, when players change and all that. That’s why I think it’s so important that the players are so involved with each other. It’s a very close-knit team. I think about all the 27 press conferences I’ve had to start a season and we always say teams are close. I, unfortunately, once in a while don’t say that or I say our leadership isn’t good enough or I even call out a guy once in a while. I can’t do that this year. I can’t do it because of the way the summer and the fall have gone so far. But that doesn’t mean I still won’t.”
Michigan State’s backcourt depth
The two guard spots are perhaps the most competitive positions on this year’s team. Hoggard and Walker are likely to return as the starters there, but freshman Jeremy Fears comes in with good vision, leadership skills and improved strength. Izzo also called sophomore point guard Tre Holloman one of the “most consistent” performers of the summer.
All of the guard talent on this year’s roster reminded Izzo of some of his past teams and how successful they were thanks to their strong backcourt play.
“In ‘05 – I say ‘05 like it’s been 100 years ago – (and) ‘09. Because you don’t always have depth and talent and experience and youth. In ‘05, who are the players? Shannon (Brown) and Mo Ager and, you know, we had Alan Anderson and Chris Hill and (Kelvin) Torbert who were all old, and then we bring in the freshmen like (Drew) Neitzel, who nobody thought would start. I think we had Brandon Cotton at the beginning of that, and then Netizel ended up starting in a Final Four. So that was a good year. And then when we had Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton and Durrell Summers and we had some guys who just played. When we had Tim Bograkos, everybody laughed. He played nine or 10 minutes a game.”
Izzo believes this year’s backcourt group could be “one of the best” he’s had in his 28 years at Michigan State. But that will depend on the development of underclassmen like Holloman and Fears, the consistency of veterans like Walker and Akins and the reliability of Hoggard at the point guard spot.
“I put that challenge out to him (Hoggard), so go ahead and ask him because you all know my relationship with him is fun loving and hugging and kissing,” Izzo joked with the media Tuesday. “But if he does what he’s done this summer and he can sustain that, not only are we going to be better, but he’s going to be better.”
Izzo ultimately realizes that for Michigan State to reach its potential this season, both he and his players need to work together to establish a team-based culture.
“I have challenges this year, too,” Izzo said. “I mean, the coach makes money, so I have my job to do and I know what it is. I know that I have to manage things. That’s part of the deal, though. Part of the deal is you do have to manage things and you do have to spend a lot of time, boy. This is where those relationships and the time spent in the past and the time spent now (come into play).
“This year it’s going to be a challenge,” Izzo continued. “It’s going to be questioned. So they (the players) have to do their jobs, and guess what? I have to do my job. That’s how successful organizations work. The CEO does his job, the workers do their jobs, and then you build a nice car. If the two can’t stay on the same page, you build a jalopy.”
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