Selection Sunday Quotes

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo

Opening Statement...
There's nothing like Selection Sunday, my first one. I remember a couple where I was sitting waiting for the second to last name to come up. Thank god today we came up early. It's ironic, Bryant, Phill Martelli, and I were on a lot of committees in the last six, seven, eight years. I have to say he is one of my better coaching friends. I know he just retired last year and his son, Phillip, I know in fact I called him yesterday to congratulate him on making the tournament because I talked to Phill. Ironically now we are going to play them. I don't know a lot about them, I know a little bit that their pace is very good. I will know a lot more at the end of tonight. I've been part of a two-fifteen loss so I've been there, as I've told my team. When you stay here 30 years and you're in 27 or 28 NCAA tournaments, you kind of have been through everything. I don't feel comfortable with anything and I don't feel afraid of anything and that is the place I am at.

On if the Wisconsin game was a "trap game"...
You know guys, I know I have heard a lot of people talk about that and there is no question that two weeks ago Wisconsin was maybe the best team in the conference. There's no trap game, the trap game is going to Iowa if that is a trap game. It wasn't for me but it was for people. When you're playing a team that's just as good and we're as good as them, they're as good as us. I think what we learned, we spent a lot of time today. We came back this morning so the guys could be with their families last night. I had a meeting at 4:30, to really go over the things we did and try to make it a real education, not a butt chewing, not a look at what you did here. I tried to make them look at it like if you want to move on we need to take care and look at some of these things. There were some things that we had control of that we didn't do a very good job of. A kid got hot, if you look at some of the shots he made they were unbelievable shots. I was watching the first half of the Michigan game against the Wisconsin's, and I couldn't believe the shots that both teams were missing. That's what happens. I don't think it's a wake up call. I think what you try and do every day and no matter what you do, this is what I have learned about 20 year olds and I was probably the same way when I was 20. Until it happens to you, like it happened and it's a setback and you have a chance to maybe win a conference tournament and then we don't get to move on. But I told them the next time you lose a game, you hang up the sneakers. What I'm harping on is you trust my experience and I'm gonna trust you and if we do those two things, we have to have four good days of practice, and go win the first round game.

If this year feels different than the other years because they have a higher seed than the past four years…
Yeah, it feels different because we won the Big Ten, we won 26 or 27, whatever we won. I don't know what that is, in my career, I don't know how many times we have won 26 games, maybe six or eight. I don't know how many teams, there's been a couple. I look at it as we have won a lot of games, we played an incredible schedule. I am, like everyone is going to be, critical of this and critical of that. A little ironic on how not more than eight Big Ten teams got in. It's easy to say I don't think we got the respect we deserve when I was not one of the schools that was on the bubble. I thought Indianna deserved to be in and maybe even Ohio State looking at some of the teams that got in. It's the hardest thing about this tournament, the analytics, they can stick them where the sun doesn't shine, the this and that, they can do whatever they want. I still say football does a better job with the eye test and that is taking nothing away from the committee. I just think it's more real. Maybe that wouldn't be good either. I do think the Big Ten deserved more than eight teams, I guess we have to do a better job as a league. For me, I'm ecstatic about where we are. We played awfully good ball, I don't know if we have ever had a stretch where we played that many high powered teams in critical situations, on the road, short prep time. I think we're prepared for the tournament. But as you saw today if one player scores 32 one day or goes 1 for 14, if fatigue sets in. Wisconsin plays tonight and then they go to Colorado on Thursday, where does Michigan go? I don't know, one issue of playing the late game as good as it is to win a championship. I wish I would have been playing today. I like where we're at, I think we have some work to do because there are some things I saw on film today that were definitely fixable mistakes. It's okay to shoot bad but it's not okay to make mistakes that should be fixable.

On if he has noticed any changes in the portal era with the lower seeds…
Northern Michigan got high on transfers, everyone got high on transfers, it seems like nowadays, I guess that is why those teams win. I don't really know their schedule, their roster. I will in a half hour but I don't right now. That's one of the reasons it's more challenging, it means they have really good players and some of those guys may have played in the NCAA tournament somewhere else. I know very little about them right now, I do know Phil's kid is a very good coach and he sure as hell has been brought up right. Phil was one of the best coaches, when he was at St Joes he was unbelievable, and did a hell of a job there and his son was a part of it. He has two sons in coaching, it's a coaches family. Well have our work cutout for us, it's the nature of the beast nowadays. When one beat a sixteen a few years ago it kind of changed everything, and now no one is safe. I wont sleep any better than I slept last week or the week before but at least I know ahead of time, who the competition is, I know who's in the next round. Our theory here, you have to win the weekend or you won't move on anyway. You do have to do it one at a time but we will prepare for all three teams a little bit. I learned that from a lot better coaches than me. That's where our programs at, that's what we'll do and we will start tonight

On them being the first 2 seed since 2019 and the revitalization of the program…
Well, you know first of all we do get screwed on the, when you say the 2021 season, everyone knows we were one of the top but we would have been a top seed in 20 when Covid came. We were a very good team that whole time. I could argue with you that that was one of my best teams in the last 3 weeks of a season that I have had. Casius had gone through that terrible thing and he was just coming on at the end and that team was really good and I think could have made a deep run so it hasn't been quite as long as you guys wanna make it if you ask me. Whatever's good, I was going to say for print but, whatever's good for clicks is good for me I guess. I will go with you guys, it is a good question, it really is. I don't want to do it to prove, I don't have anything to prove, I really don't, I'm comfortable in my own skin where the program is at, two years ago we were in a sweet sixteen, if we win that game, we lose in overtime, we may be in a final four that year. It's amazing how that works. I saw someone write an article saying they haven't been to a final four in five years, some haven't been there in 30, more important than that is one of the years we didn't even have a final four. I think it gets construed. Listen, when I was growing up and I was here, as a GA, I think it was Mark Dwyer was at Depaul. I think it was four years in a row they got beat in the first round or something. We walked back from the arena and it was four miles or something to the hotel. Really good teams. It's a funny time of year and there are a lot of things that happen. If you thought there were distractions and things four years ago, it's nothing like what these guys are going through now. I heard Steve Alfred had a hell of a piece that you should read, I haven't read it yet either but I've been told about it. That creates issues for guys. You're seeing a lot of this, right? You just saw a team win the Big Ten that a couple days ago was not playing very well. You see a lot of this, and I used the same sign the first meeting we had this year. I said you're going to see a lot of this this year. People don't want to accept that, I think it's going to happen a lot. Unfortunately we see coaches getting fired because people don't understand how difficult it is. I'm not proving anything in the NCAA tournament. I'm hoping to continue to win games but I'm smart enough to know and I think most of you are because the reason it's called one and done is because one bad minute and you're out. The NBA doesn't have that, the NFL doesn't have that, major league baseball doesn't have that, football does have that. That's what makes college basketball and the NCAA tournament, they don't have Cinderella's either. There's a couple of schools who have not been to the NCAA tournament in 50 years. Can you imagine what those kids are playing for and the hype and the excitement. That kind of stuff makes you play at a whole other level. I'm not trying to validate anything, I'm not trying to say, here I'm not dead yet, I'm still relevant. I have a good team, yesterday proved it, because we didn't play great and it's a one possession game with second left and we earned that. Whatever happens here, this will tick off all the fans, all the media and everyone else. 33 games we played, there has been consistency in every game, I think you could add up the points we lost by and it may be 20 or even less. Contract has been there, we have to go out and hope some guy doesn't catch fire and score 30, hope a ref doesn't make a few bad calls and get our guys in foul trouble, we have to hope no one gets injured. There are so many factors in how we advance and I'd say the number one factor now is not getting hot, it's not getting injured, it's not getting cold, it's not the officials, I can't blame it on the media, it's the distractions. That's my favorite liens, the dirtbags and the distractions that's what these kids have to deal with these last two years that they never had to deal with and that what I'm trying to do with my guys keep everyone focused at the task at hand.

On what 'excites' him about making the NCAA Tournament again...
Number one, it's practicing when it's still light out. I've said that for twenty years. Usually we have a meal up on the concourse before we leave, wherever we go, just so I can see the sun shining and were still practicing, its not dark out. That means you've advanced, that's the number one thing that excites me. Number two is just how many players and for us, Tum Tum (Lourawls Nairn Jr.) stopped by today and came into the meeting room, he was here yesterday, for the games and he stayed overnight. You know, its that time of the year, guys. It's just part of our DNA here, so I'm excited evert year. I told them 'if I see one guy entitled', I said "I'm sure as hell not tired", and I've been to 26, 27, 28 of them, I'm still counting the COVID year. Everyone's special, everyone's exciting, you hear that music as they start it, you look and see where you are, you work until you looker uglier than you do right now. I mean, those are all good things, man. Those are why you have the job, to be honest.

On how the transfer portal is helping lower seeded teams growing more believe in these big games over the last few tournaments...
Well, first of all, we were a 2 we got beat by a 15 there was no transfer portal. I mean, that doesn't have anything to do with it, that's going to make it more I think starting focused on what you got to do. I really believe it, and I'm going to believe it. I think there's better teams because the whole reason people go places now is either for money, or the opportunity to play. Winning isn't necessarily high on that list, and that's okay, but that means there going to be more good players spread out. I mean, when I was in Division II we went to the NCAA Tournament three times. I had two players that got drafted late in the third round, it was three rounds then, and they were better than some players I had here. There's good players out there. Doug Womack says it all the time, a lot of good players are a lot of good places, and if there well coaches, then they believe in what they're doing and a situation somebody takes up for granted, which everybody will. I mean, you know fans will. What's changed over the years is now fans have access to players more. So, no, I don't think it's the transfer portal totally because I think some of this happened in the last five years, but I think it'll escalate it along with there distractions, those two things are going to escalate it, and your probably going to see more of them. So, like I said, I'm not sleeping good, but i'm comfortable where we are. I just don't feel comfortable in the teams we play, I think people can beat people.

On if his coaching philosophy has changed over the past 28 years...
Philosophy, no. I mean, philosophy wise the other dat, we didn't guard good enough. If you defend, we rebounded well enough, we guarded decent, we turn the ball over a little, we did everything to win that game except make a couple of boneheaded plays, and a couple of things that happened and when you're in those types of games, the margin for air for most teams is small, for us, its minute. We knew that, I said that the whole year to y'all. You still have to defend, you got to rebound, we have to run, and we have to take care of the ball. You know, I'd like to run more, and I'd like to score more points. I mean, we scored more points this year than most years i've been in it. That's good news. We've been defending at a very high level. We defended the 3pt about as well as you could. Now, 26% I think we are in the conference, and we only gave up 31% (yesterday vs Wisconsin), but we had let one guy get more than his share of them, and it cost us. So, no, your still one and done that hasn't changed since day one. If you lose a game, you go home and hang up those sneakers. So, I don't think things have changed much, I really don't.

On Jaden Akins 'responsibility' for this team going into the NCAA Tournament...
"Well, I got Jaden, and I got Tre and the juniors that went through the game in New York when we had a chance to win that game, and we lost it in over time and then it was upset city from then on. That's when (FAU Florida Atlantic University) and San Diego State, upset teams, and I explained to them (Current MSU team) that in this tournament, there's going to be somebody that gets upset the first round, the second round, and the third round. The first thing somebody will want to say is, "well, how about playing Marquette you played them before". First of all, who knows what's going to happen with Marquette and number two, who cares? I thought Jaden (Akins) answered those questions really well, I heard the end of them, but Jaden's responsibility is to make sure they know, because I know because i've been through 27 of them. But he has been through three of them, and one that you could argue we had a great chance to get to a final four if we win one more game that year, if we win that game. That's what I told him he's got to express upon the players, and I'm, still big on this: the game will be won in the meeting room tonight, it'll be won in the locker room tomorrow, it'll be won on the practice court, and it'll be won in the hotel. The game will be won before its played 90% of the time. I think that's your leaders, your seniors that have to get that through to guys, and then Jaden being one of our key guys he's got to play his best too. I was the senior that has more on him, but more given, more expected, and Jadens cool with that, and I think he'll do a great job with that. I mean, I thought at the end of the year, the players were playing for Jaden a lot. I think they knew he had been through it, he's the most unselfish human being I know, he's good to all the players, he's a great teammate and I think they wanted to win for him. There always should be a battle cry and I think that's awesome."

On Jase Richardson entering his first NCAA Tournament...
Well, he's had one advantage, that's almost a disadvantage, because his father only lose once in the NCAA Tournament, he was like 10-1. So, he's got that experience that I'm sure his dad has talked to him about. Winning all six games his first year and winning four out of five in his second year. Built Jase is his own man, and i've been saying that since day one. He's efficient, he's beyond his years in youth, he's not a freshman, pressure does not seem to bother him. Now, who knows what will happen between now and Friday? Who knows who will be trying to get to him, how many outside people or this or that? I just don't see of all the players on my team, he's a unique, very unique kid that pressure does not seem to bother him at all. He's been really efficient and the moments never seemed to be too big from the opening games when we played Kansas, to throughout the big ten games throughout the Big Ten Tournament. I think he hit the first five or seven piping's of the Big Ten Tournament. I think he does look at pressure as a privilege, I'm not going to sit down with him and have the normal talk, I would with other guys, but he has proven to me over and over again that he's focused, He's hungry and he's not afraid, and that's the best way to put it. He not young, his age does not speak for how he handles himself. So I'll just say that it is exciting. I want to make sure everybody knows that we talk about those years and yes, a couple of years, we got beat in the second game both years and then the sweet 16, and yet there's a million of schools up there that would die to be in the NCAA Tournament. So, we lose perspective, I lose perspective, fans definitely lose perspective, but it is getting harder and harder to be in that tournament. There's some dang good teams, one that beat us that's not in the tournament (Indiana). So, I am just appreciative of it. I'm appreciative that we out ourselves in position where I didn't have to wait forever to see my name up there, because I've done that a few times, and its not as much fun as you think. I'm looking forward to this tournament, hopefully, you guys don't have to go too far to get there. I guess the only problem is we're busing again because, they got the 300-mile rule of whatever it is. The way I look at it is it's still four hours shorter than those trips from Northern Michigan, so I'll meet with my buddy Mike Garland, and he can tell the guys how to travel in that bus like we did for four freaking years. Thanks.

Senior Guard Jaden Akins

On moving on from the Wisconsin game in the Big Ten Tournament...
Definitely, we know how we feel after that game, and we are ready to dive back in.

On what he got out of the Wisconsin game...
I feel like the team was just at a standing offense during the game. Our cuts weren't sharp, we weren't physical in setting screens, we weren't physical on defense either following the game program. For me, I feel like I need to stay aggressive and play free.

On his message to the youngrer guys moving forward to the NCAA Tournament ...
I would say that we need to turn it up a notch, but not to get outside our window of what we do. We have been working towards this pretty much all year, and I feel like we can do this. A lot of our games have been following the game plan.

On lessons drawn from previous NCAA Tournaments...
You just have to take it one game at a time. You can't overlook any of the game. The energy, the intensity is going to be high. There is going to be a lot going on throughout the game and you just have to stay together and that's how teams win.

On what they thought of Michigan being in the same bracket...
We saw it, but we did not really think too much of it. We are not thinking that far down the line right now, we are just trying to think about who we are going to play first.

On feelings about being a high seed...
I feel like we are still the hunter because we are not a 1 seed. We aren't the number one team in the country so we still are going to go out there and play those teams. I feel like being at Michigan State and no matter what you do, everybody is going to want to beat you at all times.

On his reaction to being a 2 seed and if they thought they should be a 1 seed...
I feel like the only way we would have been a 1 seed is if we, obviously, would have won the conference tournament. But that didn't happen.

On whether the loss to Wisconsin was a wake-up call or if the team felt they needed one...
I feel like it was a little bit of a wake-up call, and I feel like it always keeps you on your toes. But I feel like it is good to have it because it is a team tournament, so we are just going to go out and do what we can to move forward.

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Jase Richardson

Related Videos