Tom Izzo on retirement: 'You're still stuck with me. Sorry.'
Tom Izzo is one of the last of a dying breed: Old school, Hall of Fame-caliber coaches that are simultaneously bucking the trend of becoming over-reliant on the transfer portal and NIL while still managing to field teams that can compete at the highest level of the sport. A Tom Izzo retirement isn’t happening anytime soon.
Look at the names that have left college basketball in the last four years. Roy Williams. Coach K. Jim Boeheim. Jay Wright. Tony Bennett. Jim Larranaga. Bill Self won a title in 2022, but multiple heart-related issues in the last two years have people wondering just how long he is going to last on the sideline. Mark Few retirement rumors seem to pop up just about every April these days.
On Monday, Bruce Pearl joined the list of retirees, announcing that he is stepping down as Auburn head coach to take on an ambassador’s role at the University. His son, Steven, takes over as head coach.
When Izzo stepped in front of the media for the first time this season, he knew where the line of questioning was heading.
“I figured since everybody’s resigning, you’d be the first to know that I’m resigning today,” he joked with reporters, telling them that Mark Dantonio will be replacing him on the bench.
Izzo has been vocal in his dislike of an era of college sports where loyalty has gone out the window in favor of chasing the biggest bag possible in the transfer portal. He is a guy that has, multiple times in his career, caught the ire of the nation’s media machine for the way he interacts with his players on the sideline. He yells. They yell back. That’s the way he likes it — he wants guys that want to compete — but building a relationship like that requires trust, patience and time. It doesn’t happen in the eight months a transfer arrives on campus before leaving again.
The Spartans have not been great since the pandemic torpedoes Cassius Winston’s senior season, the best chance Izzo had at winning his second title in recent years. In the four years that follow, the Spartans never entered the tournament hire than a No. 7-seed and lost at least 13 games in all four season.
Last year, however, things were different.
The Spartans made a couple of strategic portal additions, a handful of program pieces took a leap and Izzo was two possessions away from beating Auburn and getting back to the Final Four.
“Everyone was going to ask me if I was dead last year,” Izzo said, adding, “I am more motivated. Lost a little weight, in better shape, feel a little better.”
“You’re still stuck with me,” he said. “Sorry.”
When asked if he, like K, Wright and Pearl, would consider going out on top, retiring if he won the last game of the season — a national title — he replied, “If I win the last one, it would be a cold day in hell before I quit, so don’t worry about that.”
Tom Izzo may not like the new era of college basketball, but he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
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