Tom Izzo isn't afraid of Michigan State getting left behind by the transfer portal

The timing of the opening of the NCAA transfer portal has been a hot button issue recently because of its overlap with the NCAA Tournament.

Last year, the portal opened the day after Selection Sunday, and this year, the window conflicts with the Sweet 16 — making it difficult for the remaining teams to juggle so many extra priorities as they compete to win a national championship.

It is well known that Michigan State's Tom Izzo is not a big fan of the transfer portal because of the way it has been utilized, and the Hall of Fame coach re-emphasized his position when asked about the portal during a press conference this week.

"I'm not dealing with it at all," Izzo responded. "... I don't run players off. You've got to have spots to pick up transfers, and maybe we'd have one if everybody came back, maybe we wouldn't. If you don't have the spots, why are you doing that? So I can get someone better? I can get a better girlfriend because the one I've got isn't good enough?"

After the season he's had, Tom Izzo doesn't need to be focusing on the portal

Why should Izzo be concerned about the transfer portal right now? He's one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball, and his team is on the brink of adding to his legacy after a regular season full of unexpected accolades.

"I've got 15, 16 guys that have just accomplished something that hasn't been done much in my career, Izzo said. "First of all, we'd never won 17 Big Ten games. Second of all, to be 17-3 in a league this good and only having three losses is phenomenal. Third of all, they've given me everything they can academically, athletically, and socially."

Michigan State's roster is uniquely built when compared to most other Sweet 16 teams

Sticking to his principles had some fans doubting Izzo's ability to bring the Spartans back to prominence after a few down years, but he has done so in impressive fashion while most other Sweet 16 teams have leaned into using the transfer portal.

But that's not who Tom Izzo is. He remains loyal to the players he brings in and those within his program and finds success following the advice of his mentor, former MSU coach Jud Heathcote.

"If you're loyal to your players, and they want to get better, then your obligation is to the players that you brought here," Izzo explained. "If they're not doing their job or don't want to get better, nowadays there'll be run-offs -- could be here, could be somewhere else -- but the last thing I want to do is cheat my players."

"I'm going to worry today about the guys I've got in this program that have done an incredible job this year, and that's it," he added. "If that costs me later, so be it, but Tom Izzo isn't cheating the people that have been loyal to him with this chaos going on out there."

The transfer portal can be helpful when used effectively, but that's often not the case

The chaos to which Izzo refers is the problem that plagued college sports. The timing of the transfer portal intersects with too many important parts of the season for each sport, and there is little guidance for teams and players to follow when using it. And, from the point of view of Izzo and several others, many who do use it don't use it for the right reasons.

"The kids have got to do what they've got to do," he expressed. "But they're really not doing what they've got to do. They're doing what their parents or their agents are telling them to do."

That's not to say that Izzo avoids the portal altogether. He still uses it, just not as a primary recruiting tool for building a team. Since the official transfer portal practice was announced in 2018, he has brought in four transfer players — all of whom became integral parts of the team and provided exactly what Michigan State needed at the time.

Joey Hauser and Tyson Walker were pivotal pieces of the Sweet 16 run in 2023, and current Spartans Szymon Zapala and Frankie Fidler have provided good minutes while helping create a deep 10-player rotation that gives MSU an advantage against most opponents.

So, as much of the country tries to improve their rosters through the transfer portal, Izzo is concentrated on the task at hand: leading his team as far as it can go and creating memories for those who have stood by his program.

"I'm going to do what's fair for the kids, and I'm going to give them every ounce of energy I have until we lose," Izzo said. "Then I'll worry about the next stage."