Tom Izzo is dangling a carrot in front of Michigan State basketball fans right now and he might not even realize it.
When speaking to the media in his postseason press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Izzo spoke about his former players a little bit like Jase Richardson, Tre Holloman, and Xavier Booker. He told fans to lay off the criticism of the guys a bit because they do see this stuff -- likely having to do with the Holloman situation on social media.
Izzo also spoke about Richardson's NBA draft process.
And what he said was a little surprising to fans who believe that Richardson has completely shut the door on a return to Michigan State next season after entering his name into the draft.
Izzo says he doesn't think Jase Richardson has closed the door on anything and plans on flying out to California to check on him in the pre-draft process. Jokes about begging him to come back. Says wherever he's projected, he'll go up after interviewing with teams.
— Matt Wenzel (@mwenzel2) April 16, 2025
The Hall of Fame coach doesn't think that Richardson has closed the door on a return to Michigan State next season which means that there could still be talks about returning to be that two-guard and primary ball-handler when Jeremy Fears Jr. needs a rest.
Michigan State has reached into the portal to land Kaleb Glenn to help replace some wing production that the Spartans are losing and he's expected to have a large role on next year's team. There's also talk about potentially adding Trey Fort to add a plus shooter and volume scorer to the mix. If Richardson returns, that would eliminate the need for a third portal add to be the backup point.
Obviously the likelihood of a Richardson return next season is slim to none, but Izzo seems to think that Jase has yet to close the door and there's a chance he listens to the NBA and returns.
Until his name is called on draft night, it feels like we will all be holding out hope.