Tom Izzo shares conversation with John Calipari on adapting coaching techniques in new era of college basketball

Tom Izzo is one of the top college basketball coaches in the country. Currently 67 years old, Izzo – who has been at Michigan State since 1995 – has built the Spartans’ program into a consistent NCAA Tournament contender during his time in East Lansing and has climbed up to the top of the Big Ten Conference record books in his 27 seasons.

With Michigan State’s 77-67 win over Maryland on Sunday in the Spartans’ regular season finale, Izzo recorded career win No. 663 – which helped the head coach top the legendary Bobby Knight as the Big Ten’s all-time leader in career wins.

Although Izzo’s 2021-22 Michigan State team hasn’t been the most dominant he’s ever coached, the Spartans still put together a 20-11 regular season with a 11-9 mark in Big Ten play heading into the postseason. With the college basketball landscape always evolving, Izzo – just like many other coaches – has had to adapt his coaching techniques in the new era of the sport.

In terms of that adaptation, Izzo shared after Sunday’s game that he had recently spoken to Kentucky head coach John Calipari about how they should coach their respective teams as the sport continues to change.

“I got a call from John Calipari today and he talked about our job is still to push kids, even though the surroundings make you kind of question it,” Izzo said. “How much can kids take now with all the stuff they’re going through? So, I kind of told my guys that story. I said, ‘We’ve gotta throw it out the window.’

“So, I think I had to do a better job, too. As I always said, it’s not one person’s fault – it’s not just the players, not just the assistant coaches … it’s everybody’s. Everybody’s gotta be a part of the wins – like the 663 – and everybody’s been a part of the losses. We’ve gotta figure out how to make sure we don’t do the things we did to make those losses happen on a regular basis like they were.”

Following a 20-win regular season, Michigan State – which is the No. 7 seed – will open Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday in the second round against Maryland. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.