Tom Izzo is going back to his roots
The 2024-25 basketball season will represent Tom Izzo’s 30th as the head coach of Michigan State University, and 42nd overall in East Lansing. But before he came to the Capital Area, “The Face of MSU” got his basketball start in the Upper Peninsula. I’m sure you all know the story by know, but it deserves repeating.
Thomas Michael Izzo was born in Iron Mountain which is close to the Wisconsin border of the U.P. He attended high school there where he, along with his best friend Steve Mariucci, was a three-sport athlete, participating in football and track in addition to basketball. From there, he went to Northern Michigan in Marquette, along with Mariucci, where he played guard from 1973-77. He was a two-time captain, and in his senior year he was a Division II All-American.
After his playing days, Izzo quickly moved into coaching, getting his first job as the head coach at nearby Ishpeming High School. He was only there for one season before he returned to Northern Michigan to be an assistant coach for the Wildcats, where he would remain for four seasons. In 1983, he made the move to East Lansing, starting as a part-time assistant under the legendary Coach Jud Heathcote, and eventually becoming a full-time member of the staff and, before the 1990-91 season, the associate head coach. When Jud retired in 1995, Izzo ascended the throne and has since solidified Michigan State among the elite programs in the college basketball landscape.
Back to the modern day, Izzo’s 30th season will officially commence in 22 days. But before we get there, the Spartans will have a pair of exhibition games to help them get ready for the season. The second of those exhibitions will be on October 29 against Ferris State at the Breslin Center. But the first exhibition will be receiving much more attention.
For the first time in his coaching career, Izzo is returning to his alma mater. In fact, the last time that MSU travelled up to Marquette was in 1974, when Izzo was a junior on Northern’s team. MSU won that game easily, 91-59, but young Tom did have six assists and five rebounds in that game. A season later, Northern Michigan came down to East Lansing for a game at the Jenison Fieldhouse, MSU’s former basketball arena. Again, MSU won, this time 81-65, and Izzo had a stat line of nine points, two assists, one rebound, one steal, and one block.
There is added significance to today’s game other than just Tom going back to where he played his college ball. Northern Michigan will be retiring Izzo’s #10 jersey. And while that jersey will forever hang in the rafters of NMU’s Vandament Arena, this exhibition game will be played in their football stadium, the Superior Dome, in order to have a larger viewing audience.
For those of you who are unable to make the voyage up to the shores of Lake Superior for this one, there is good news. This game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, not even BTN+, so we can all enjoy it. Coverage begins at 1 PM U.P. Standard Time.
This article can serve as the game thread too, so let’s shake off our collective offseason rust and get ready to cheer on Tom Izzo and the 2024-25 Men’s Basketball Team.
CONGRATS, TOM IZZO!
GO GREEN! GO WHITE!