Tom Izzo was quick to admit that he loves the current makeup of his No. 4-ranked Michigan State basketball team when speaking at Big Ten media day earlier this month. But, there is one individual in particular who Izzo has loved long before that player joined the roster — his son, Steven Izzo.
The younger Izzo, who is a fifth-year graduate player, has played spot minutes during his time on the team, but he has yet to score in a regular-season game. So when Steven lined up for two free throws at the end of Michigan State’s blowout win over Division II Hillsdale in a preseason exhibition game Wednesday night, everyone inside the Breslin Center took notice.
Steven sunk both free throws as the crowd erupted into a roar. The Michigan State bench celebrated as well as the camera panned to the Spartans’ Hall of Fame leader, showing Coach Izzo becoming visibly emotional after his son made both shots.
Michigan State fans on social media also loved the moment. “If Steven scores during a regular-season game, the Izzone (the Spartans’ student section) will break the sound barrier,” one commenter responded.
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Tom Izzo is entering his 29th season as the head coach of Michigan State’s basketball program, and is now the longest-tenured men’s coach in college basketball’s power conferences after Jim Boeheim retired from Syracuse at the end of last season. Izzo has led the Spartans to eight Final Fours and a national championship in 2000, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Spartans open up the regular season on Nov. 6 against James Madison. Izzo’s nephew, Matthew Bucklin, is an assistant coach for JMU, which is how the game came to be scheduled.
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