Tom Izzo has done it all.
The Michigan State men’s basketball coach has taken his Spartans to the Final Four. Eight of them, actually. He’s won 11 Big Ten regular season titles and six Big Ten tournaments. And he’s won a national title to top off his Hall of Fame career.
Still, despite all of his success in his 30-year career, many people around him would say that he never seems happy. Izzo is the first to admit that it’s true and that he has his own reasons for that.
Tom Izzo on people over the years telling him he’s never happy:
“You’re damn right. And I don’t plan on being happy until we accomplish what I think MSU should accomplish.” pic.twitter.com/uG421tPBdT
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 15, 2025
“It’s just that never-ending battle where I’ve heard a lot of people in media,” Izzo told reporters following MSU’s Big Ten Tournament loss to Wisconsin on Saturday. “I’ve heard a lot of parents over my 30 years. I’ve heard a lot of players. You’re never happy. You’re damn right. I don’t plan on being happy until we accomplish what I think Michigan State University should accomplish. I guess number one on the list, I got to do a better job. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”
Izzo also used the moment to communicate how he perceives the relationship between coaches and media. Specifically, that it’s part of the responsibility of being a coach at this level to have an open-door policy no matter what.
“Everybody wants a cooling off period. Why? My locker room is open 30 years,” he said. “The minute the game’s over, locker room’s open. If they can’t handle the heat, then they shouldn’t be in the kitchen, right? And so even you media people that I don’t like half the time, I let you in because I think that’s all part of the deal. Just like if I make mistakes, that’s part of the deal. I got to get better. They got to get better. We will get better.”
Michigan State enters the NCAA Tournament with its best regular-season record in years (27-6) and a solid chance for Izzo to reach his ninth Final Four. If they do that, maybe he’ll finally be happy.
