I hope Tom Izzo doesn't mind me telling this story. If he does, I'll apologize next time I talk to him. But, after watching the Michigan State coach share a special moment with his son, Steven, following Wednesday night's 53-49 win over Northwestern, I really want to tell this story even though it comes from a private conversation between us more than a decade ago.
So here it goes.
It was July 2011 and I was working on something that involved spending a few days on the recruiting trail with the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach. When I tell you we were together basically every moment we weren't sleeping, I mean we were together basically every moment we weren't sleeping. In gyms watching games. In restaurants having lunch. On private planes. In rental cars. We spent hours and hours and hours just talking and talking and talking. After a while, we weren't really a columnist and a coach spending time together anymore as much as we were two husbands and fathers living on the road. Eventually, we ran out of basketball stuff to discuss and the conversations naturally turned more personal.
We talked a lot about family.
I remember him using the word "conflicted."
It was a long time ago, and I don't have a transcript, but at one point I recall Tom asking me something along the lines of what word I thought he'd use to describe himself. I went with "successful" or something like that. I made some more wrong guesses. Eventually, Tom said, "conflicted."
Again, I don't have a transcript. But what I remember is Tom more or less saying that every time he was at the park with Steven, or just enjoying time with his family, he felt like he should be watching film, and that every time he was late in the office watching film, he felt like he should be at home with his family. He indicated he just never truly felt like he was where he was supposed to be. Constantly conflicted.
And I couldn't stop thinking about that Wednesday night.
Have you seen the clip?
This is college basketball’s highlight of the night. Great job handling that, @TheAndyKatz. What a special moment for Tom, Steven and the entire Izzo family.pic.twitter.com/qV3CpUi5Kt
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) March 7, 2024
After Michigan State's final home game of the season, Andy Katz interviewed Tom and Steven Izzo. Both had tears in their eyes. They're on the verge of wrapping up five years together as coach and player, in the process of making up for time lost from years back when Tom was constantly in the gym or on the road recruiting while little Steven, who was 11 when Tom and I had those conversations that summer, was at home mostly growing up with a father consumed with work.
"Tom, you said that you missed a lot of his time as a child," Katz said during Wednesday's postgame interview. "The last five years, you've been with him every single day. What has this meant to you, to be with your son these last five years and get that time back with him?"
"Well, I tell every man and woman out there that coaches a men's or women's sport, if you can have your son or daughter with you, there's nothing better," Izzo replied. "There's nothing better, man. We've all sacrificed a lot. A lot of coaches sacrifice more than I do. But getting some of that back ... that means the world to me."
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 28 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 77-71 win at Illinois. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday against Wisconsin. | -- | 7-1 |
| 2 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 74-67 win at Marquette. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Providence. | -- | 4-3 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 25 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 67-59 win at UCF. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Kansas | -- | 4-2 |
| 4 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 26 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 66-59 win at South Carolina. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 7-0 |
| 5 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 19 points and five steals in Wednesday's 68-63 win over BYU. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | -- | 5-1 |
| 6 |  | RJ Davis finished with 22 points and six assists in Tuesday's 84-51 win over Notre Dame. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Duke. | -- | 4-3 |
| 7 |  | Caleb Love finished with 22 points and seven assists in Saturday's 103-83 win over Oregon. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday at UCLA. | -- | 3-4 |
| 8 |  | Jalen Bridges finished with 32 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 93-85 win over Texas. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Texas Tech. | -- | 5-2 |
| 9 |  | Baylor Scheierman finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 89-75 win over Marquette. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday at Villanova. | -- | 4-3 |
| 10 |  | Jeremy Roach finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Monday's 79-64 win at NC State. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against North Carolina. | 1 | 5-2 |
| 11 |  | Marquette allowed UConn to make 13 of 26 3-point attempts in Wednesday's 74-67 loss to the Huskies. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Xavier. | 1 | 7-0 |
| 12 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 15 points and 20 rebounds in Tuesday's 90-68 win over Kansas State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Houston. | -- | 6-0 |
| 13 |  | Johni Broome finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 101-74 win at Missouri. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Georgia. | -- | 7-0 |
| 14 |  | Great Osobor finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 90-70 win at San Jose State. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against New Mexico. | -- | 7-0 |
| 15 |  | Trevin Knell finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 87-75 win over TCU. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday at Iowa State. | -- | 6-1 |
| 16 |  | Terrence Shannon Jr. was 3 of 13 from the field in Tuesday's 77-71 loss to Purdue. The Illini's next game is Sunday at Iowa. | -- | 6-1 |
| 17 |  | Antonio Reeves finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 93-77 win over Vanderbilt. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Tennessee. | -- | 7-0 |
| 18 |  | DaRon Holmes finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 100-83 win at Saint Louis. The Flyers' next game is Friday against VCU. | -- | 6-2 |
| 19 |  | Jaylen Wells finished with 27 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 77-65 win over UCLA. The Cougars' next game is Thursday against Washington. | -- | 6-2 |
| 20 |  | Hunter McIntosh finished with 26 points and two assists in Tuesday's 76-66 win at Boise State. The Wolfpack's next game is Saturday against UNLV. | -- | 6-1 |
| 21 |  | Meechie Johnson was 0 of 7 from the field in Wednesday's 66-59 loss to Tennessee. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | -- | 4-3 |
| 22 |  | Alabama missed 18 of its 23 3-point attempts in Tuesday's 105-87 loss at Florida. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 6-1 |
| 23 |  | Darrion Trammell was 1 of 8 from the field in Tuesday's 62-58 loss at UNLV. The Aztecs' next game is Friday against Boise State. | -- | 3-2 |
| 24 |  | Graham Ike finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 70-57 win at Saint Mary's. The Zags' next game is March 11 in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament. | -- | 7-1 |
| 25 |  | Will Richard finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 105-87 win over Alabama. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 8-0 |
| 26 |  | Pop Isaacs finished with 19 points and five assists in Tuesday's 75-58 win at Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against Baylor. | -- | 6-1 |
