Izzo admits to previously being "happy as hell" about injuries to opposing players.
From a recent Freep article. He feels the Levert injury was an overuse issue and feels the injury to his Freshmen Bess was as well.
"When you see a thing like LeVert — and here's where I have changed, too, over the last three or four years — in my basement, when the best player on somebody else's team went down, I'm not different than a fan. Hell, I'm happy as hell because I've got to win games," Izzo said Monday at his news conference. "When you go through a bunch of injuries yourself, I wouldn't have wished this (on them), I am not happy.
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2015/…
January 20th, 2015 at 10:05 AM ^
LeVert is a Junior...not a freshman. He played part time his first year. The last two years, he has played alot of minutes, but he has played what 15 games this year? How do the Pro's handle this, with more games and more minutes and all. LeVert got to work his body up to this load and prepare for it. Izzo's statement of overuse appears assinine and off base.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^
how the hell do marathon runners survive? their feet are more overused than anyone.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:01 AM ^
He's evolved to diagnosing from afar the cause of injuries to his rival's players. Staying in troll mode, he makes sure to blame our staff.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:11 AM ^
Eh, at least he's honest. I doubt he'd be in the minority of coaches with those kind of feelings.
January 20th, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
I think most say 'Well that makes my life easier' (even as fans) but I doubt many are literally finding joy in the injuries of 18-22 year olds.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^
That's where you're wrong, Tom. As a "fan" of my teams, I'm never "happy as hell" about an opposing star player's injury. It might make me like my team's chances more, but that's not the same as being "happy as hell".
I wasn't "happy as hell" when Barrett or Miller went down with season ending injuries - I actually felt bad for them - injuries suck. But I WAS "happy as hell" when Golson was suspended for academic fraud, because the kid was still intact, physically.
What a loser.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^
man than I am then. I was happy as hell when both Barrett and Miller went down.
Although in retrospect it may have been better if they were healthy.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:37 AM ^
A fan also doesn't "have to win games", so he didn't really stick with that "no different than a fan" idea very long.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^
I have no love for Izzo, but it sounds like he considers pre-college activity to be the source of the problem. I don't necessarily agree with his assessment but I don't think he is taking any sort of shot at Michigan. I'm also not sure how the question was asked but the part about Lavert probably get's the lead because he was a more significan player then Bess. He says identical things about both guys so he is either taking shots at himself and our coach or just commenting on the issue with no agenda what-so-ever.
I'm not sure stress factures, tendonitis, or other over-use injuries are more common now but I think he has a point about taking time away to rest the body. Most of these injuries start as something the guys can play through so they do that and the cumulative effect sidelines them eventually.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:03 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:38 AM ^
Right, because as a newcomer to dealing with the media, he's not aware that Lavert's injury has been a national story. He's not aware that his opinion on the subject will be widely publicized and repeated. That it will get talked about during every televised Michigan game and in all the mock NBA drafts. His player is a virtual unknown. No one outside of East Lansing will talk about Bess' injury. What will be remembered are questions about how Lavert's injury might be due to our staff mishandling him.
He's used to not having to worry about Michigan on the recruiting trail. It's easy to play nice when you win every single recruiting battle. He even talks about people possibly using Bess' injury against him in recruiting. He's got a built in explanation that Bess is a true freshman and he's claiming that the overuse happened before he arrived at MSU. He's planting the seed out there that Michigan isn't careful with their NBA prospects. What greater mud could he sling against Beilein? Throw in a little self deprecating content and it seems more credible.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^
Is it possible for him to talk to the press without mentioning himself in the third person?
January 20th, 2015 at 9:25 AM ^
Izzo's comments are almost nonsensical and certainly self-serving--though as it is the Free Press, one should always question the accuracy and missing context
I find it repugnant that he would ever be happy for another team's injuries. Ever. Sports are about competition.
Now is his newly proclaimed empathy genuine? I don't know. He implicitly accuses his prime rival with over-working (abusing) its players. He submits that one of his players (Bess) was similarly over-worked--but by the AAU system, not Tom Izzo, of course.
It is hard to have a clear picture of the injury history at MSU since Izzo treats all of them as excuses for losses. But if MSU does have more injuries than others, perhaps it is something you are doing, Tom? I know you were likely just answering a question, but try taking care of your own home before you question Michigan's training regimen.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:28 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 20th, 2015 at 9:28 AM ^
what a dick.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:34 AM ^
I'll do it anyway.
What a dick.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:29 AM ^
to run up the score on a depleted Michigan team. He is still furious that the tables have turned the last few years in favor of Michigan and he sees this as an opportunity to regain control of the rivalry.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:35 AM ^
Izzo is a piece of shit. How a head coach can say that he was "happy as hell" to see kids get hurt is beyond me. On top of that, he (1) takes this opportunity to complain yet again about how unlucky he's been with injuries, and (2) drags Stauskas/Beilein into this by saying that Stauskas played all summer, stating that he doesn't think guys should play in the summer, and then pointing out that people might negatively recruit against coaches whose guys play too much.
There was a time when it was unpopular around here to criticize Izzo. I'm glad that time has passed.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:37 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
I don't remember a time when it was "unpopular" on this Board to criticize Izzo. [I have done my fair share--he is a whiner, egocentric] Rather I'd suggest that any post asserting that Izzo can coach, which he can (and is not simply the beneficiary of Michigan being on probation), is usually met with derision by some here.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:37 AM ^
i want izzo to try to use that as negative recruiting. just imagine izzo talking to a kid, saying beilein overworks his players; especially during the summer.
ya, he overworks his under-the-radar guys and gets them to the NBA!!!
January 20th, 2015 at 9:36 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 9:43 AM ^
"I'm going to find out what the NCAA will legally allow me to practice tomorrow and probably exceed it," the Michigan State coach said Saturday after a 71-64 loss to Texas Southern. "That's what I'm going to try to do."
January 20th, 2015 at 9:59 AM ^
It is amazing that Sparty has the two most Sparty coaches ever for football and basketball.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:59 AM ^
If that clown does anything in his basement, it should be giving thanks to his Shrine of Brian Ellerbe, without whom his career would be unremarkable.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:02 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:20 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:04 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:08 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:08 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 20th, 2015 at 10:26 AM ^
He's just always been a nasty little man.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:30 AM ^
Credit to Izzo for keeping it real. He didn't say he wished injuries upon people, but he does acknowledge the benefit that it provides him.
January 20th, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
look down upon this young undermaned UM squad and have them beat sparty at least once this year. it would be glorious.
January 20th, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
Last year's UM team would be favored to sweep them.
Our team was playing poorly before Levert's injury but we should be well motivated for the games against MSU. We have three game s to get used to playing without Levert before traveling to East Lansing. The schedule sets up nicely, with four days' rest for UM before each meeting. Please please please.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^
Easy to hate like Bobby Knight. Great for rivalries. He just said something that came out wrong, but it shows how GD competitive he is.
Can't wait until OSU and MSU hate Harbaugh the same way.
January 20th, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
If a Michigan coach said that it'd be national news and we'd have issued an apology already. This is just MSU's MO
January 20th, 2015 at 12:00 PM ^
Izzo can go eat a bag of dicks.
January 20th, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
I'm sure most coaches think that, as their job is ultmately to win more games than losses, and I give him credit for admitting it publicly. That said, his ongoing "I deal with injuries too" coda to everything about his teams drives me crazy.
January 20th, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^
January 20th, 2015 at 12:44 PM ^
a pouting, whiney, douchebag. this is only the latest example.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^
So it takes his own players getting hurt for him to see that injuries are something you should not be happy as hell about.
To hell with Confucious.