Steven Izzo, son of Tom Izzo, scored first career points with fancy and-one layup vs. Rutgers
By the last minute of Michigan State‘s Sunday win over Rutgers, there was no doubt in the final score. So, Tom Izzo gave his bench some playing time. That included his son, Steven Izzo.
Steven took the opportunity and did the most he possibly could with it, scoring on a wild and-one on a bigger defender. That basket was particularly special because they were Steven’s first career points.
You can watch Steven Izzo score his first career points with a fancy and-one layup, here:
Izzo crossed up the defender and fell to the ground while he was fouled and the circus shot went in. His reaction, and that of everyone else in the building, was immediate joy. It was like everyone on Michigan State’s roster and in the crowd knew how special that was for him.
Steven Izzo has been on the team since 2019 when he joined as a walk-on. His role has largely been as a practice player who occasionally plays when games are already decided. This time, he just managed to put the ball in the bucket.
After the game, Tom Izzo shared with the Big Ten Network what it was like seeing his son have that moment.
“It looked just like Alfonso Ellis at Notre Dame, didn’t it, where there’s similarities?” Tom Izzo said. “That’s the thrill of a dad. It’s a thrill of a lifetime and I love the fact that my players were probably more excited than I was.”
Steven Izzo made his free throw too, giving him three career points after Sunday’s win.
Rutgers added on the other end after that, but it didn’t matter. The Spartans walked away from the game with a 73-55 point win. With the win, Michigan State improved to 2-4 in Big Ten play while Rutgers fell to just 1-4 in conference play.
Jay Bilas still believes in Michigan State after uneven start
Despite the uneven start to the season for Michigan State, analyst Jay Bilas still believes in the Spartans this season.
“I still believe in Michigan State. They’re an older team. They were a top five team in the preseason, but they haven’t played well frankly. They’re getting better production out of AJ Hoggard. He’s starting to really well, Tyson Walker has been great all year long,” Bilas said in-part.
“Their transition has improved, but they’ve got to get better consistency out of their big guys. Their numbers are still pretty decent but a 1-4 start in the Big Ten, they got to turn things around quickly. I still think they can. And I think Tom Izzo will.”