Tom Izzo's mother, Dorothy Izzo, has become kind of a prominent figured in college basketball in recent weeks thanks to her son's interaction with his sophomore shooting guard, Kur Teng.
The sophomore shooting guard was on the wrong end of an Izzo lash-out during a timeout, and while it was one of the more tame interactions between the head coach and his players, he was caught on camera telling Teng that he couldn't even guard his 99-year-old mother.
That clip obviously went viral, and Izzo talked about it in the post-game, basically reiterating that Teng needs to be better on the defensive end, and he wasn't just saying it to say it, he actually meant it. He was hoping that being called out like that would like a fire under Teng, and it has, to an extent.
Izzo's mom was all over social media with AI pictures of her crossing up Teng and playing him 1-on-1, and Steven Izzo really leaned into the trolling with a social media post of his own.
Well, it looks like even Dorothy is leaning into the Teng trolling with some new wall decor at her home.
Tom Izzo’s mother has some new wall decor in her retirement home😂
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) February 10, 2026
(via Steven Izzo IG) pic.twitter.com/srZsNt7LlS
Dorothy probably isn't nearly as plugged in as the rest of us regarding this situation, but Steven probably brought her up to speed. The AI image he used is front and center in the picture, so I'm just guessing that this was a gift from her grandson.
Hilarious nonetheless.
Tom Izzo may have created a monster
OK, so it's obviously not that serious, but this entire interaction between Izzo and Teng was probably so normal to the coach and his players, but America got a taste of what his huddles are like and that quote caught everyone else off-guard. It's turned into a meme almost overnight.
AI images of Dorothy crossing Teng up exist, Izzo called his mom after the game and she was laughing about it, and even Brad Underwood was talking about her in one of his recent post-game pressers. It takes some people a lifetime to become a living meme, but Tom turned his mom into one in less than 24 hours.
I love that she's leaning into it.