Tom Izzo calls out 'airmchair people' regarding not using Xavier Booker more

Michigan State Spartans head basketball coach Tom Izzo was less than thrilled with the media on Wednesday following their 60-57 home loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. As the Spartans prepared for their huge Saturday night showdown with the No. 2 ranked Purdue Boilermakers, Izzo was questioned about some of his rotation decisions. But the manner in which the reporter asked didn’t sit well with the Spartans headman, leading to an interesting back and forth between the two.

It all started when Izzo was asked about Ohio State’s defensive strategy against Mady Sissoko.

“They didn’t sag off Mady; I never put Mady up top,” said Izzo. “I don’t know what film you were watching. Madi was inside the whole time. How do you sag off a guy inside?”

“It’s the same thing people do with (Zach) Edey. That’s what we do. Get to your question; ‘Why didn’t you play Booker.’ Get to your question.”

After Izzo’s sharp response, the reporter, in fact, did ask a question pointed at freshman big man Xavier Booker’s lack of playing time against Ohio State. And that is where things took a turn, with the Spartans’ head coach firing back at not only the reporters but also some of the Michigan State alumni.

“I think Booker did some really good things. I mean, I absolutely love what he did. I told you then why: We just felt our veterans down the stretch; we felt like in our rebounding, we were getting hurt. You wanna watch some film? I’d be glad to show it to you. So there’s other reasons.”

“I appreciate all the armchair people, I really do, including you guys, but there’s a reason. I mean, I didn’t forget how to coach, contrary to how most of our alums feel. And I’m going to do the same thing I always did. But I’ll tell you this: in not one ounce of a night do I worry about how I’ve dealt with Booker.”

Booker has seen a decent amount of action in his freshman year. And that is saying a lot, given that Izzo is a coach who tends to lean more heavily on his veteran players. This year, Booker has played in 20 games and is averaging 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest. He is also one of Michigan State’s top three-point shooters in terms of percentage, sitting at 36.4 for the season.

Izzo is aware of the type of player he has and Booker, which is why he is taking a more long-term approach with his development. Using a football analogy, izzo explained why he hasn’t fully unleashed his freshman forward and his plans for him in the future.

“I just told him when the season’s over, I’m going after him like I never have. And he laughed and said, ‘Why?’ I said because you made a couple of moves tonight that you wouldn’t have come within 20 feet of going to the basket three weeks ago. And he just wasn’t ready. Now, it’s easy to say, ‘Well, if you play him, he gets ready.’ Well, I’ll be the football guy that I am: some quarterbacks get better as you play them, and some get deep-sixed and never come back because they get ruined because they’re not ready… It’s not as easy to make some of the adjustments you think.”

Izzo might not be taking the approach that some fans of the program are fond of. However, his responsibilities as head coach are twofold. Not only is he expected to win, which he has done a decent job of doing, but he is also required to get the best out of his players and develop them for the next step in their lives and playing careers.

When it comes to Booker, Izzo sees something in the freshman that has the potential to turn him into one of the best on the court. But instead of rushing that process, the Michigan State headman plans on taking his time and doing things the way he sees fit.