Tom Izzo gives peak behind scenes of legendary 1-on-1 MSU meetings
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo details his 1-on-1 meetings with players and why they’re so important in Buffalo, New York, at the 2026 NCAA Tournament on March 19.
BUFFALO, NY – Something wild happens in the NCAA Tournament.
Behind the scenes. In the back hallways of a basketball arena.
It’s how everybody seems to know everybody. Or, at least, everybody seems to know Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. It’s like that old game of “Six Degrees of Separation” with Kevin Bacon – where everybody in Hollywood can be connected to Bacon through six movies or less.
Well, with Izzo and the NCAA Tournament, it’s even less than that.
“My first kind of interaction with coach [Izzo] was really, really early in my career,” said Louisville coach Pat Kelsey, whose team will play the Spartans in the second round on Saturday, March 21.
Back in 2003, Kelsey was working as the director of basketball operations at Wake Forest. “We had a very antiquated video editing system back then,” Kelsey said. “They were just starting to make kind of the transition into the digital world, and now everything is digital and all that, but very few people had it. But Michigan State was kind of one of the pioneers, if you will, in the new technology of everything.”
So, Kelsey visited MSU to check out their video system. “I remember them just telling me how forward-thinking Coach was, or is, still is,” Kelsey said. “And whether it was video editing or being on the cutting edge of recruiting or whatever that was – they invited us up there to see this system. It was like NASA or something to me. I didn’t know much about it.”
Interesting, no? To hear about MSU through fresh eyes?
“When I got up there, I just couldn’t believe their organization,” Kelsey said. “I couldn’t believe – it was like Apple or IBM or Microsoft or something. It was so buttoned up. Everything was meticulous. He wasn’t there yet. I was at the practice facility for like four or five hours just doing all this video stuff, figuring out if we were going to get it at Wake Forest and all that.”
Then, Izzo entered the facility. “And it was like, people were scrambling, like here comes Coach, and he walked in and it was like the president was walking in, man,” Kelsey said. “It took the air out of the room. That’s just kind of the presence that he has. He was very gracious with his time, and he talked to me and asked me where I was from. I was a little nobody. I’m still a little nobody.
“But I just remember thinking what a class act he was. Obviously, respect for how he runs his organization. He’s won a million games. I’ll just never forget that. People do nice stuff for people that can’t do – I couldn’t do something for coach Izzo, but he just took the time to talk to me, asked me about my career, what my aspirations were. And then I see him on the road, and when he comes into recruiting, he’s not there to chum around. A lot of times you go on the road in recruiting and everybody is talking to everybody. Coach Izzo walks in, he’s locked into what he’s doing, then he walks out. I feel like I want to salute him.”
Two programs, two coaches in different places
So, that’s the backdrop of this fascinating second-round matchup.
It’s two coaches at different ends of the spectrum. Two teams with wildly different expectations and pressure.
A win for Louisville would be huge, not just for the school but for Kelsey. Louisville is coming off an uneven 83-79 first-round victory over South Florida – the school’s first NCAA win since Rick Pitino’s final season as coach. And yes, it was Kelsey’s first NCAA win as a head coach.
A win for MSU? Well, it’s expected. Anything less would be an incredible disappointment.
The third-seeded Spartans are coming off a 92-67 walloping of North Dakota State – a complete team victory in every aspect. Yes, it was against an inferior opponent, but it was the kind of win that makes you think anything is possible for this team. If the Spartans can play that complete, if they can play that level of defense, if Jeremy Fears Jr. can get this team humming like that, getting everybody involved, the ceiling on this season has been raised.
And the possibility of a Final Four run doesn’t seem so crazy, especially after Duke struggled against Siena, falling behind at halftime before earning a 71-65 victory.
Yes, I know, UConn – which dominated the Spartans in a preseason exhibition in November – potentially looms on the horizon for the Spartans, but one step at a time, people.
Noah’s ark in green & white
What does Kelsey appreciate about MSU?
“They do the basics brilliantly, which is something that we try to focus on,” Kelsey said. “The beauty is in the simplicity of how he coaches and what he does. It’s like, they’re so good at what they do. That’s just one of the things that I really respect about him.”
The Spartans have most of the key ingredients that Izzo has used to get to the Final Four: They’re a team led by a talented, high-IQ, veteran guard who controls everything, a defense that improves late in the season (they took a big step against North Dakota State) and play a tough physical style with relentless rebounding.
The issue has been consistency. Obviously, the Spartans lost against Michigan in the regular-season finale and then were stunned by UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals last Friday in Chicago. So, that’s the elephant in the room.
But they only need three more wins to get to the Final Four.
And this second-round game is right in their sweet spot, so to speak. The Spartans have had incredible success in quick turnaround games under Izzo, going 16-5 in their second NCAA Tournament game since 1999.
“They’re really, really talented, first of all,” Kelsey said. “They’re like Noah’s ark. They’ve got two of everything.”
On the flip side, continuing the Noah’s ark theme – two of everything – Louisville has a pair of talented guards, too, in Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely.
How will MSU stop them?
“Tackle them,” Izzo joked. “McKneely can shoot it from everywhere. And Conwell started out with my former assistant Brian Gregory at South Florida, but we played him when he was at Indiana State at our place a couple years ago. He was very good then.”
Yes, Izzo brought us right back to where we started.
With yet another connection in Six Degrees of Izzo.
Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected]. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
