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Michigan State Basketball: All-time Tom Izzo era “what if” team

By Connor Muldowney

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks to Chris Allen #3 during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 27, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks to Chris Allen #3 during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 27, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball has had a number of “what if” players which means they never lived up to their potential in East Lansing.

As a Hall of Fame head coach, Tom Izzo has seen it all. He’s had his all-time greats, his bad apples, his overachievers and his underachievers. He’s gone from ‘Jud Heathcote’s replacement’ to one of the best coaches in college basketball history.

If you wanted to see just how good of a coach he is, all you have to do is look at the 2019-20 season that just passed. His Spartans were ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls, but that was under the assumption that Josh Langford (a 15 points per game scorer) and Joey Hauser (a top-tier Marquette transfer) would be playing. They didn’t.

The Spartans started the season slowly with a 5-3 record, but reeled off about a month’s worth of wins in a row, looking like a top-10 team in the country again.

However, dealing with the tragedy of Cassius Winston’s brother as well as assistant coach Mike Garland’s son going through some life-altering health issues, the Spartans found themselves struggling in February and it looked like an early exit was coming in March.

As we all know, March Madness never happened, but what took place before tourney time was Michigan State turning things around drastically and winning a share of the Big Ten title. His team beat five ranked opponents in the last seven games to win their third straight conference crown.

Oh, and he helped Cassius get back to normal as he looks to be a potential late-first round draft pick and former top-150 recruit Xavier Tillman could also be a first-rounder.

But we are left wondering ‘what if’ the season never ended because of a global pandemic?

On a similar note, Michigan State has had plenty of players who never quite reached their full potential in East Lansing for reasons like transfers, early declarations or injuries and they form the all-time “what if” team in the Izzo era.

These guys just didn’t get to live up to their tremendous potential in a Spartan uniform.

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