Tom Izzo Fires Back At Critics Of His Tough Coaching Style With All-Time Quote
Izzo isn't apologizing for his hard coaching style.
Playing for Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo isn’t for everyone.
He’s not going to coddle you or give you special attention because you were a coveted recruit in high school. Once you get to East Lansing, you’re going to get pushed.
Some people appreciate it, some people think he goes too far. After last night’s 79-60 win over the San Jose State Spartans (Spartans vs. Spartans, imagine that!), he was asked about that.
One reporter posed the question to Izzo, asking the coaching legend if he thought that this group could handle his gung ho and demanding approach.
Izzo, ever ready with a zinger, responded as follows:
"What do you want me to do, hug and kiss them? Do you want me to (say), ‘Guys you’re doing great?’ That’s not my style."
Point taken! But why does he go about it this way? Does he demand a lot of players because he has nothing better to do?
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No, he does it because his players have goals they want to achieve.
"We got guys that want to go to the next level, we got guys that want to win championships, we got guys that want to get better every day. Wanting to and doing it are two different things," Izzo said.
You don’t achieve those goals without getting pushed. And if those players didn’t like Izzo’s approach, they wouldn’t join his program.
This is the second time this calendar year that Izzo has clapped back at people claiming he is being too harsh with his coaching decisions. In February, he explained the simple concept that if starters don’t play well, they will be benched until they earn his trust back. That evidently is a radical concept for fans and reporters, for which Izzo had an explanation.
"America has gotten soft," he said.
So true coach.