Longtime Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has faced criticism over the years for his coaching methods, and Charles Barkley would like his critics to keep their mouths shut. Barkley spoke glowingly of Izzo on TNT after the Spartans took down the Louisville Cardinals 77-69 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“His teams never underachieve,” Barkley said. “… This is like, I’m just gonna go to work, we’re not going to be flashy. We gonna keep stacking, stacking, stacking, and then when the clock ends, we’re gonna be ahead. It’s actually a beautiful thing to watch because when you’re dealing with a young kid, it’s hard to keep them [in check]. They got a lot of stuff out there to deal with.
“They play a certain way, and you have to play his way,” Barkley continued. “He’s one of the few coaches who can still yell at his players. We got these babies out here now… The last couple of years, the media, who don’t know anything about sports because they never played, say like, ‘Why is he yelling at his players?’ That’s called coaching… If you don’t want to be coached, you probably shouldn’t come to Michigan State.
“I love the fact that he never backs down,” Barkley added. “Your job as a coach is to coach your players. If their parents and their friends get mad because you’re getting yelled at, you get better parents and better friends.”
The 71-year-old Izzo is the definition of an old-school coach. He has been the head honcho at Michigan State since 1995 and is not going to change his approach to coaching.
Anyone who goes to Michigan State, along with their friends and family, has to be well aware of what they will get from Izzo. He is going to be blunt with his criticism and is a coach who very much falls in that tough-love category. If those are issues for you, there are plenty of other options to choose from.
The fact that Michigan State still attracts quality players shows that Izzo’s way of working isn’t frowned upon as much as the media might think. You might argue that his style doesn’t belong in today’s era, but ultimately, there is more than one way to skin a cat. There isn’t just one fixed formula to get results.
Izzo, who won a national title in 2000, has had success for a very long time now. He just led the Spartans to the Sweet 16 for the 17th time in his 31 seasons as a head coach and improved his record to 764-308.
Standing between No. 3 Michigan State and a second straight appearance in the Elite Eight is No. 2 UConn. This game is a toss-up, and it’ll be fascinating to see who comes out on top in this heavyweight clash.
