Tom Izzo is one of the best coaches that college basketball has had to offer over the course of its history. He’s the type of coach that dominated the sport for decades, but the way he does things is no longer widely practiced and followed by other coaches.
Izzo has been criticized for his “archaic” approach to the offseason which usually includes convincing some of his guys not to enter the transfer portal while replacing others with “OKG” transfers.
Over the past two years alone, Izzo has landed Szymon Zapala, Frankie Fidler, Trey Fort, Kaleb Glenn, Divine Ugochukwu, and Denham Wojcik in the transfer portal. All of those guys were/are perfect complementary pieces and they have all helped Michigan State and assimilated to the culture that Izzo has built to perfection. Izzo speaks highly of all of them.
Yet he’s still known as a coach who prioritizes his own players over the transfer portal. He trusts his own talent evaluation and development, and this graphic proves that he’s the best at doing so.
Where every Sweet 16 Team's Starting-5 began playing college basketball.
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 23, 2026
(Try to figure out which teams are which) pic.twitter.com/L8VqdWpe8E
Michigan State is the only team in the Sweet 16 field to have every single starter begin at the school. Duke, Alabama, Houston, Arizona, and Purdue are all right there with Izzo with four starters from the school that have stuck around
Iowa State, Tennessee, UConn, Arkansas, and Illinois all have three starters who started their careers with the same program. Nebraska is the only other program with more than one.
If this doesn’t prove that Izzo squeezes the most out of his players, I don’t know what does. He’s recruiting guys, developing guys, and making it to the biggest stages with players that he evaluated and weren’t developed by others and handed to him — Fort is the one exception, and he’s just now getting hot.
Tom Izzo is doing things his own way
With NIL and the transfer portal changing the way coaches do things, Izzo has remained consistent and that’s why he’s been such a good friend and role model for coaches like Dan Hurley, Fred Hoiberg, Brad Underwood, John Calipari, and Matt Painter, to name a few. He’s close with most coaches in the Sweet 16, and the ones that he’s closest with use a similar approach.
Those guys all use the portal and have built their rosters slightly differently, but they have kept their cultures intact and have strategically used the transfers to help build their rosters.
Granted, newer coaches have to use the portal heavily to fill out a roster nowadays with players hitting the portal after a coaching change, so a guy like Dusty May gets a pass.
Izzo is elite at what he does, and that includes winning, developing, and not caving to the new pressures of college basketball while still achieving success.