Tom Izzo compares Jaxon Kohler to Zach Randolph

Tom Izzo had a lofty comparison for freshman big man Jaxon Kohler: Zach Randolph. Izzo isn’t anointing Kohler a future NBA star just yet, but sees plenty of similarities between the crafty freshman and “Z-Bo.”

After Michigan State’s win over Indiana on Tuesday, Izzo recalled a moment during the game where he shared an exchange with Miles Bridges — the former Michigan State forward was in attendance. Izzo relayed a quip about Randolph and Kohler’s respective lack of verticality.

“Well you know, Jaxon is — Miles was sitting by me and I said, ‘You know, he’s got some Zach Randolph in him.’ He says ‘Yeah he’s got all those moves, put people in a blender, this and that.’ And just like Z-Bo, I’m not sure he can jump over a — Z-Bo was a phonebook, Jaxon it might be this piece of paper,” Izzo said. “And then he blocked what’s his names shot, and I looked back and I think Miles thought I was lying.”

Kohler didn’t dazzle against the Hoosiers — he scored just four points — but he hauled down seven total rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. No small feat against the likes of likely All-Big Ten first teamer Trayce Jackson-Davis.

“But you’re right, I think he made some great plays,” Izzo said. “One where he caught the ball and kicked it out. I don’t know how he caught the ball. I don’t know if we hit a 3 or a 2, I think Joey [Hauser] might’ve hit one.”

Tom Izzo jokes with media about Carson Cooper injury, provides timeline

Izzo was in a good mood after the win against the Hoosers. Well, outside of a Carson Cooper injury that prevented the big center from playing in the game.

Izzo fielded a question about Cooper’s absence toward the end of his post-game press conference and poked a bit of fun at the reporter who asked.

“Just trying to think about something here,” Izzo said. “That was one of the biggest wins we’ve had here, and I was waiting for some young guy to come up with a negative thing here. So you win the, you know, it’s like Mr. Irrelevant. You’re Mr. Irrelevant of the media”

But Izzo quickly followed up with an answer on Carson Cooper’s injury after his jovial dig.

“I’ve made no secrets about it, he went up for a hook shot last night and came down on Mady (Sissoko)’s ankle,” Izzo said. “It was the stupidest non-contact play and it just happened. And that really bothered us because we thought Cooper would have to play. We thought we could rotate 15 fouls in on him. You’ve got to give (Jaxon Kohler) credit, Joey (Hauser), Malik (Hall), they stayed out of foul trouble.”