Tom Izzo has been as relaxed as he's been in years which seems to be a good sign for Michigan State with the second half of the season still ahead of him and his team.
The Hall of Fame head coach has been open about why he likes this team so much. He's talked about how easy they are to coach and he reiterated that fact this week at practice.
In fact, he spoke to the media following practice and Fred Heumann joked with Izzo about how it's scary that he hasn't complained about this year's team. He just looks refreshed and doesn't have many bad things to say about his 10-2 squad which is ranked No. 18 in the country.
Izzo responded with an encouraging quote about his he likes the way this team carries itself and they're coachable and they don't have a lot of drama.
Fred Heumann jokingly calls it a little scary that Tom Izzo hasn’t complained about this team like he has with teams in the past.
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) December 29, 2024
Izzo on this current team:
“I like the way they practice, I like the way they act, I like the fact that they’re coachable, I like the fact that… pic.twitter.com/5lHuXmTUpM
Izzo clarified a bit and said that his team learns from the past which kind of hinted at last year's team having more drama than anyone knows publicly. It seemed obvious by watching them play disjointed and inconsistent basketball all season long so it wouldn't really shock anyone if the 2023-24 squad had some drama which affected the play on the court. But this team doesn't seem to have any of that.
The Spartans are playing some of the best basketball we've seen in years, Izzo looks and acts relaxed and confident, and the Big Ten is wide open this year. It feels like this is the perfect recipe for a surprise run in March and a conference title push.