Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is pretty fed up with the transfer portal these days, which isn’t too surprising. The longtime basketball coach has bene outspoken about the nature of college athletics these days.
When asked about center Carson Cooper, who stuck with the program to carve out a role this year, Izzo went on a rant. Calm, cool and collected of course.
“The only thing I said wrong on that because, and I mean it, he’s great, but try to remember that my old boss, Jed Heathcote, once told me that a good deal is a good deal for you and a good deal for me, you know,” Izzo said. “And (Carson Cooper) stuck with us. But there were a couple years I stuck with him more than he stuck with us. And that’s what relationships are all about in this screwed up, transactional world that they’re trying to live. And it’s been interesting. If you watch the media, the social media, which I don’t do, but I have people that tell me there’s a lot of things moving right now.
“There’s a lot of people questioning a lot of things. So I appreciate that my guys. I’ll be able to tell other people that, and I appreciate that I hang tight with my guys. The question will be, will other people?”
Izzo won’t change. And the Spartans’ coach even said he won’t beg any player to stay if they’re willing to leave. There has to be give and take to the relationship.
“I’m going to keep coaching the way I’m coaching,” Izzo said. “I’m going to keep pushing them. I’m going to keep telling them I’m, you know, I am disgusted by what’s going on, and I think a lot more people are starting to get that way … I will not beg a guy to stay here. That’s a promise. I mean, you got to want to be here, and you got to realize that it is a privilege to be here.
“And I got 100 and some former guys out there that know it’s a damn privilege to be here, and it’s not because of me, it’s because of we. It’s because of this whole place. It’s because of what happened at Washington, because of what happened at Oregon, because our people, and, you know, everybody loves a winner, but there was a time I didn’t win here, and people still supported me. So I’m lucky to have Coop. And in an arrogant way, Coop’s lucky to have me, us.”
