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Tom Izzo vehemently says he’s blocking out transfer portal until March Madness run ends
By Paul Harvey
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Tom Izzo knows the transfer portal opened this week as his team is gearing up for a Sweet 16 showdown vs. Ole Miss, but that doesn’t mean the Michigan State head coach has time to worry about that at this present time.
Around the country, some head coaches might be trying to juggle the activities of leading a team throughout March Madness and finding players in the portal for next season. Just don’t include Izzo within that group.
At a Tuesday press conference, Izzo was vehement about his approach to putting the transfer portal on hold, even referencing advice from the head coach he served under during his time as an assistant. Izzo was also adamant that he not cheat those who have invested so much in his coaching for the 2024-25 season:
“What my team has done is incredible, and I’m not ready to move on. So Jud (Heathcote), I’ve followed what you said,” declared Izzo in reference to the late MSU coach whom he followed in East Lansing. “I’m going to worry today about the guys I’ve got in this program. Who have done an incredible job this year, and that’s it. If that costs me later, so be it. But Tom Izzo isn’t cheating the people that he has who have been loyal to him for the chaos that’s going on out there.”
Izzo went on to explain that everything he’s done since leading MSU past New Mexico has been on “giving these guys one more game” and trying to get into the Elite Eight and potentially another Final Four for his program. He also admitted it’s okay to call him “passionate” or “pissed off” about the subject but said he is unwilling to “screw up” a chance to reward his current group of the players at the expense of a potential future payoff.
“Excuse me for being passionate about it or pissed off about it, whatever word you want to use. I’m not going to talk about it because it’s not fair to the people… These guys who gave me everything they could give me are going to have a chance and I’m not going to screw it up by spending any time on other stuff,” Izzo claimed.
Will that stance on the portal hurt Izzo’s shot at getting the top players this offseason? Time will tell, but this season also proved his old-school style can still work in college basketball.
The Spartans captured their first outright Big Ten title since 2018 this season, and Izzo did it all without the proverbial superstar on the roster. Now, he’s wholeheartedly committed to trying to get that group to the top of the mountain, and it’s hard to be upset with that desire.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
