Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo received some great news on Wednesday night when his All-American point guard announced his return, but no one knew how much he needed that.
Eight days earlier, Izzo lost his mother, Dorothy, at the age of 100. No one knew that Izzo was working with a heavy heart over the past week and he even spoke at a conference in Mackinac this week.
The news was made public on Thursday although she passed away on May 19.
Dorothy Izzo, the mother of Tom Izzo has passed away at 100 years old.
— Michigan State Hoops (@michsthoops) May 28, 2026
Rest in Peace 🙏 pic.twitter.com/SvQ8GyRcjJ
Dorothy turned 100 just six days before she passed and I can bet that Tom is more so celebrating her life than dwelling on the sadness of the loss. She lived a full life and it’s not often that you hear of someone living until the age of 100 without going through any serious illness or pain. She got to see her son become one of the best coaches in college basketball history.
Now she’ll be looking down on him while he chases that second national title and I’d bet that the season will be dedicated to her memory. The team is going to play that much harder for Izzo.
Dorothy Izzo raised a Hall of Famer, and then went viral
Today, we’re celebrating the life of Dorothy Izzo who raised a Hall of Fame head coach and one of the brightest minds in basketball. She was supportive of her son throughout his career and the two were very close.
Not only did she raise a Hall of Famer, but she went viral this past season for an insult that Izzo hurled at sophomore shooting guard Kur Teng. Izzo turned to his sophomore guard in a huddle during a timeout and told Teng that he couldn’t even defend his then-99-year-old mother. That moment was caught on camera and it immediately went viral.
Izzo doubled down in the post-game presser and his son and former Michigan State walk-on, Stephen, shared an AI image of his grandma crossing up Teng.
This all got back to Dorothy and she got a good laugh at it. She even hung the AI image in her retirement home which, again, went viral. It was really cool to see her go viral in such a hilarious way and the team really embraced that.
She enjoyed being Tom Izzo’s mom up until the very end and you have to respect a mother who raised such an impressive son. The Michigan State family lost a big one.
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