Tom Izzo reveals a cool aspect of his program that makes fellow coaches jealous

Tom Izzo has something special that every coach in college basketball wishes they had.

The legendary head coach has built a culture so great in East Lansing that former players always come back to visit and talk to his current team and give advice along the way. Having former players come back to talk highly about coach and the program is the most important aspect of Izzo’s pending legacy, according to him.

That culture and the family aspect of former players coming back to meet and befriend current players while offering advice or just talking things out is something that other coaches wish they had.

Heck, Izzo revealed that Mateen Cleaves talks to Jeremy Fears Jr. regularly, Draymond Green talks to the team, and Magic Johnson was calling in to talk to the Spartans earlier this week. Not many coaches in college basketball have the luxury of three all-time great college basketball players speaking regularly with their players.

Michigan State is different.

As a recruit, you see guys like Magic or Draymond or Jaren Jackson Jr. or Jason Richardson come back to prop up the program and sell it to future stars, and you almost have to buy in. It’s hard to say no to that kind of culture, and that’s why Grind Week is one of the best recruiting weekends of the year for Izzo and the Spartans.

This culture didn’t just happen overnight, though. Izzo worked hard to make this possible.

Michigan State basketball alums show love for a reason

While there are programs who have players come back regularly to hang with the team and visit with their former coaches, none do it quite to the level that Michigan State does.

And we have Izzo to thank for that.

Izzo has built a fantastic culture, and these players wouldn’t all come back or defend the Hall of Famer when the media is getting too harsh on him for “yelling” at his players if they didn’t feel the love in return. Izzo has always made it a point to ensure that he maintains relationships with all of his guys on and off the court so they’re set up for success even if they don’t make it in the pros.

Former players universally love Izzo because they know that the tough love he gave them while they were on campus paid major dividends in their personal lives, on and off the floor.