Tom Izzo has no plans to slow down.
Not when that hunger for an elusive second national title still fuels him.
The legendary 71-year-old Michigan State coach defiantly said he’s not considering retirement and vowed to “get back there” after a tough 67-63 loss to UConn in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
Tom Izzo and Michigan State fell in the Sweet 16. AP
Izzo and the Spartans are in their longest Final Four drought in his 31 seasons, having last played in the season’s final weekend during the 2018-19 campaign.
“I don’t know, I’m feeling good. We all talk about retirement. Why? What the hell am I going to do?” Izzo said following the end of a 27-8 campaign. “The minute I don’t feel good, the minute I don’t feel like I’m giving my AD or president or school every ounce of energy I have every day or that energy drops, you don’t have to worry about it. I don’t steal money. I won’t steal anybody’s time.
“But it’s sure as hell not going to be now. I’ve got some things to accomplish. I’m going to make damn sure that — I said a couple years ago that I’ll find a way to get back there. We’ve knocked on the door twice. We haven’t gotten back. We’ll get back.”
Michigan State is perennially one of the sport’s top teams, but they have not been the Final Four constant they were earlier in Izzo’s tenure.
The Spartans have only made the Elite Eight once in their last six postseason appearances despite having strong rosters most seasons.
This year’s third-seeded team had the potential to win a title, but they fell behind, 25-6, to UConn on Friday and rallied to take the lead before the second-seeded Huskies made more plays down the stretch.
Jeremy Fears Jr. (right) returning would help MSU compete for a title next season. Getty Images
It’s fair to wonder just how much longer Izzo would want to keep pushing for a championship now that he’s in his 70s and in this Name, Image and Likeness era that can exhaust coaches.
Izzo, though, made it clear that he wants to add a third championship to the trophy case in East Lansing when asked what he sees himself doing in five years.
The longtime coach won his lone title in 2000.
“Trying to win a National Championship, plain and simple. That’s it. Those things usually start after your last loss. Nowadays it’s a little more screwed up, but not at Michigan State,” Izzo said.
“After our last loss, we all talked about what we’ve got to do next year and how we’ve got to learn from this. It is — I’ve got to give UConn a lot of credit, but man, we didn’t look like ourselves early. You’re right. That’s got to fall on the coach. I’ve got to get them ready to do that.”
Izzo said there are some “bright things” in his program’s future, with the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class featuring four top-100 prospects on the way, per 247 Sports.
He said he has seven to eight players set to return, with star guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and forward Coen Carrr both having eligibility.
“I’m going to the portal right away. (Saturday), I’m going to the portal. The only difference is the portal at Michigan State is different than the portal at most places.
“I’m going right to my frickin’ locker room, and I’m going to talk to each and every player right there. I’m going to make some decisions about what we’re going to do that I feel very comfortable with. Then, I’m going to make sure that every one of them call our four freshmen that are going to be coming in next year and set the table on what’s going to be expected and how we can, not do better than this year in a lot of ways, but how we can learn from maybe the mistakes we made.”
Tom Izzo said he’s not going anywhere. Getty Images
If Izzo retains his top players, the Spartans will be ranked highly in the preseason poll and perhaps give him a strong chance at winning his second championship.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I’m just not lucky enough to be playing on Sunday,” Izzo said. “I’ll get to play on another Sunday. Hang around.”
