Legendary Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo unleashed a bizarre rant about analytics in the aftermath of an 88–74 loss to Northwestern on Sunday night.
Izzo, 68, has been openly critical of many of the modern elements of basketball in recent years, including several tirades about the failings of the transfer portal. Sunday, he took aim at advanced metrics in a seemingly-unprompted press conference diatribe during which he referred to analytics as “phony”.
“I hate analytics, because they’re phony. Sooner or later, you look in a guy’s heart, you look in a guy’s eye, and then you find out about a guy,” Izzo said. “Everyone in the NBA and college now, they want analytics. Analytics, what does analytics mean here? Does that mean we won the game? Analytics are crap.”
Here’s Izzo’s full two-minute answer:
This is the dumbest basketball related thing that’s ever come out of his mouth. pic.twitter.com/1wgN0Sjdpv
— Mister Hot Balls (Plural) ☄️☄️ (@MisterHotBalls) January 8, 2024
What makes this rant so strange is that Izzo wasn’t even asked about analytics. His answer came in response to a question about how he defines “Spartan basketball,” spending only a few seconds on defense and rebounding before pivoting to the supposed pitfalls of statistics.
Izzo later joked about “[getting] the football pads out” for rebounding drills in practice this week, though quipped that he’ll “probably get sued” for doing so.
The rant certainly had college hoops fans talking, with many criticizing Izzo for falling behind the times of modern basketball. Some even suggested it may be time for him to consider retirement.
This is a WILD ride from Izzo lmao.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) January 8, 2024
Hear me out: you can believe in analytics, but also believe in players playing with toughness! It is possible! https://t.co/y0r9AozBFb
Just a great rant. Izzo crams all the hits in here. The analytics jabs will get the headline but subtle cheekiness about not being able to blame the players; the love for the physicality of the other team. This is the good stuff. https://t.co/EHiNyoMv39
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) January 8, 2024
Really think that Izzo is losing (more than) a step in these last few seasons. When you become so cranky and seemingly angry it might be time to step away.
— Hammer and Rails (@HammerAndRails) January 8, 2024
Why put yourself through this at the age of 68? You’re a multi-millionaire. Go enjoy life. Don’t be so angry all the time. https://t.co/uCiTF6Sfui
He doesn't sound like a guy who wants to stay in this line of work for much longer. https://t.co/Ex6yjIX3kG
— Assembly Call (⚪,🔴) (@AssemblyCall) January 8, 2024
On one hand, I kinda agree with him that analytics have gotten a bit out of hand. But like, the vibes of this are terrible. He sounds like Dabo complaining about even the basic concept of transferring. The game has changed https://t.co/AB837eilxO
— Isaiah Walker (@walkeri141) January 8, 2024
I’m not here to tell Tom Izzo to retire but he’s losing the plot here. https://t.co/Ahl5uDhGHU
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 8, 2024
