For 30 years, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has been one of the most well-known and successful head coaches in college basketball. He's seen it all since he started coaching the Spartans in 1995, winning the title in 2000, while making eight Final Four appearances, 11 Elite Eight appearances, 15 Sweet Sixteen appearances. He has made the NCAA Tournament in 27 of his 30 years. While no one is going to doubt his accolades, we can still make criticisms of his current decisions and tactics, especially when it comes to modern college basketball.
College basketball has changed
College basketball has evolved in many ways since Izzo began his tenure at Michigan State. One such example is the transfer portal, which has become a huge topic of discussion in the past few years. It allows players to switch schools easily, making it difficult to retain your athletes without making sure they are paid handsomely. NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals make sure of that, enabling players to make profit off of their personal brand.
Both the portal and NIL deals have really shaken up the sport and taken it away from traditional coaching models, giving players far more control and forcing programs to rethink their recruitment process.
Izzo risks falling behind
While he has noted that he has to do a better job and embrace the transfer portal, his actual results have shown otherwise. While ignoring the portal has worked the last couple of years, there is no doubt that Izzo is playing a dangerous game here. He risks falling behind the rest of the blue bloods.
His own in-state rival, the Michigan Wolverines, are ranked No. 1 in the 2025 Big Ten Basketball team rankings. Out of the 18 teams that now encompass the Big Ten, Izzo and the Spartans rank No. 12.
Adapting to today's reality
Izzo's traditional approach has worked for him for years, and has brought him a ton of success in the college basketball world. However, it is no longer the early 00s, no matter how much some of us want it to be. If the Spartans want to continue to compete and be a powerhouse in this landscape, Izzo is going to have to really embrace and adapt to the transfer portal. While I'll admit that he is at least making some efforts to adjust, his resistance to fully embrace modern coaching strategies could set the program back years as they lag behind the Duke's and North Carolina's of the world.