{"id":17146,"date":"2024-03-29T15:07:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T19:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/?p=17146"},"modified":"2024-03-29T15:07:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T19:07:06","slug":"takeaways-from-special-tom-izzo-appearance-on-pardon-my-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/?p=17146","title":{"rendered":"Takeaways from special Tom Izzo appearance on Pardon My Take"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Izzo surprisingly appeared on Pardon My Take on Friday and had some interesting things to say. Here are some takeaways.<\/h2>\n

Michigan State fans woke up to a nice surprise on Friday morning when it was announced Tom Izzo would be the featured guest on Barstool Sports\u2019 Pardon My Take<\/em> podcast<\/a> (the biggest sports podcast on the market). The Hall of Fame head coach talked for about 50 minutes on a wide range of topics.<\/p>\n

It was an entertaining interview, and it\u2019s well worth your time.<\/p>\n

Big Cat and PFT Commenter do a great job of loosening up their guests. Izzo told a couple jokes and shared some stories in a very light and relaxed format. But that didn\u2019t stop me from trying to listen for breadcrumbs about the future of Michigan State basketball.<\/p>\n

While there were no direct questions about the current state of the program or its future, I came away from the interview with three takeaways.<\/p>\n

1. He still cares<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There has been a vocal minority online that has questioned Izzo\u2019s drive and motivation. At 69 years old, with the success he\u2019s had, there\u2019s reason to believe that Tom Izzo has gotten content with his accomplishments and is looking to coast into retirement.<\/p>\n

During this interview, I didn\u2019t get that impression at all. At several points during the interview, Izzo voiced his disappointment with not playing this weekend in the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI better get off my dead butt and get it done\u2026 because I would rather be playing in April\u201d was Izzo\u2019s response to the proposed change of the saying \u201cJanuary, February, March, Izzo\u201d.<\/p>\n

His comments after the North Carolina game about advancing further in this tournament or \u201cdie trying\u201d seemed to be validated during this interview.<\/p>\n

Izzo referenced how important the health of his program is to his former players on several occasions. He feels the pressure of those expectations to honor the former players that built the program into what it is today.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t sound like a coach that was reflecting on the old days of what used to be. He knows how important success in the NCAA Tournament is, and he\u2019s still as driven as ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially in the tournament, I don\u2019t sleep at all. You know, you don\u2019t sleep much. Why would you sleep? You know, that\u2019s for death, you\u2019ve got a tournament to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a quote from a coach that is easing up on anything. That\u2019s the sound of a man that knows what it takes to win in March and is willing to put in the work.<\/p>\n

Izzo has always been too authentic to fool us with his drive. \u201cI wear my emotions on my sleeve\u201d he said when describing his coaching style. \u201cI\u2019m not a phony,” he said at another point. We\u2019ll know when Izzo doesn\u2019t have the desire to be great. His emotions and his demeanor will be obvious. After listening to this interview, that all still seems to be there.<\/p>\n

2. He is struggling to handle this generation of youth<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You don\u2019t have to listen too hard to find this in the interview, because Izzo practically comes out and says it. His notoriously rugged coaching style has had to be dialed back recently, and he\u2019s struggling to find balance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I think the big key is nowadays that we\u2019re really all having trouble with is, how do you be demanding and tough enough to hold people accountable, and yet caring and understanding enough to let them know that you care?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past, Izzo has been able to get the most out of his players by being demanding. It\u2019s his way of showing how much he cares. His relationship with his former players suggests that he\u2019s always found that line between tough and crazy. He\u2019s been tough enough to push them to their limits, but not crazy enough to drive them away.<\/p>\n

Here, he admits that he\u2019s struggled to find that sweet spot with this younger generation. I think that\u2019s relatable for a lot of people. Today\u2019s youth has grown up with smartphones and social media at every point in their lives. The internet has exposed us to so much more than we previously weren\u2019t. It allows us to see everything that everyone is doing at almost all times. It gives a voice to the voiceless, for good and for bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not phony. What you see is what you get. And, they see it from the day they come here so there are no surprises. And, by the way, it has been dialed back a lot because\u2026 because our society is so damn soft that, like you said, they\u2019ll look at you getting mad at a guy if you look at him the wrong way and somebody will say something nowadays\u2026 it\u2019s so stupid\u2026 it\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Izzo rightfully has a problem with outsiders criticizing his coaching style. He knows his players the best, and he knows what motivates them and what doesn\u2019t. But it is interesting to hear him acknowledge the negative feedback. He hears it, and it does affect him.<\/p>\n

But Tom Izzo is also very self-aware, and I don\u2019t think he comes to that conclusion without witnessing some of it firsthand. The addition of the transfer portal has added another layer of complexity to this issue. That leverage, combined with the social media age has accelerated the philosophy change from players. It sounds like Tom (and other coaches) are still looking for that balance.<\/p>\n

3: Izzo\u2019s thoughts on the portal remain\u2026 complicated<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Big Cat and PFT didn\u2019t go into specifics, they did bring up the transfer portal. Izzo didn\u2019t say anything that we hadn\u2019t heard before. To summarize, he stood firm in his stance. He doesn\u2019t like it and thinks it\u2019s bad for the game. But he did acknowledge that he \u201cmight\u201d use it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what, when in Rome, do like the Romans. We don\u2019t have a choice. We play with the cards we\u2019re dealt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Izzo went on to outline how a lot of kids will lose out on opportunities by making irrational decisions that are enabled by the current system. He said he\u2019d need \u201c27 hands\u201d to count the number of guys in his own program that wanted to transfer after their first year.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow those same guys are my biggest advocates and had the most fun,” said Izzo.<\/p>\n

And while he doesn\u2019t like the current system, Izzo did acknowledge that there were situations where transferring was best for all involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a time to transfer, guys. Every place isn\u2019t for everybody\u201d.<\/p>\n

But what I found most interesting was Izzo\u2019s comments on the ease of which it is to transfer in today\u2019s current state.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys are now doing it two, or three, or even four times. Where are they going to have to go back to later on? You (Big Cat) love Wisconsin. Would you love Wisconsin if you went to Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, and Northwestern? I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought this was potentially telling of the approach MSU could take with any potential additions via the portal. Izzo still values his culture within the program above anything else. He referenced at another point in the interview that it takes \u201cyears\u201d to build.<\/p>\n

It sounds to me that even though Tom Izzo is open to utilizing the portal, the Spartans are still going to be very selective in terms of who they offer. They aren\u2019t going to chase someone strictly because of their skills on the court. They value character, loyalty, and the potential impact it will have on that program culture.<\/p>\n

Izzo\u2019s words lead me to believe they won\u2019t be considering someone in their third school in three years, and they won\u2019t embrace somebody that is only in it for the payday through NIL. That\u2019s going to eliminate quite a few potential targets. Because of that, I wouldn\u2019t be stunned if MSU\u2019s activity is underwhelming relative to the expectations of the fanbase. Until Izzo indicates otherwise, the health of the program and what has been built will always trump any potential risk with a portal addition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was an incredible listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":17162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[59,190,189,504,211],"class_list":["post-17146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","tag-featured","tag-michigan-state-basketball","tag-michigan-state-spartans","tag-news","tag-tom-izzo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spartanshadows.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}