How many times have you heard Tom Izzo say something positive about his 2024-25 Michigan State basketball team? He's mentioned a few times now that he's happy that he has his locker room back and that these guys actually want each other to succeed which is refreshing.
It felt like he was alluding to some of the teams of years past in which the locker room seemed to be a little disjointed and the team's fell short of expectations because of that.
This year, however, feels a lot different.
So much so, in fact, that Steven Izzo has taken notice and appeared recently on Joey Hauser's podcast with his brother, Sam, to talk about some of his favorite Michigan State basketball teams in his dad's era. He made sure to mention this year's squad.
Steven Izzo on @onthehauspod says this current Michigan State basketball team is a top three team in the Tom Izzo era👀 pic.twitter.com/0jiA21f4Er
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) December 20, 2024
Steven said that the 2019-20 team led by Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman that had their Big Ten title-winning season cut short before the NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19 and the 2004-05 squad were two of his all-time favorites. And then he mentioned this year's team, stating that everyone has been doing their part and playing their roles which has led to the success so far.
And he's right.
This year's team has been playing well together as you can see by the high number of assists per game, the fastbreak points, the points in the paint, the bench scoring, the rebounding, and the defensive numbers. This team is really just coming together nicely which is why it's sitting at 9-2 overall with two non-conference games left before Big Ten play resumes in January.
Steven was asked about the "best teams" in the Izzo era and he brought up this year's squad but he seemed to clarify that these are his favorite teams ever.
Either way, this is some major praise for a guy who has been around the program for over two decades.