It’s weird to think about, but one day, perhaps soon, Michigan State basketball will not be coached by Tom Izzo.
Izzo has been the face of the university for more than two decades and is entering his 25th season as head coach of the green and white. According to Paul Davis, who played for Izzo from 2002-2006, the end of the Izzo tenure is coming soon.
“(W)hen I was there he was talking about it,” Davis told Detroit radio station 97.1 The Ticket’s Podcast The Time That.
Davis continued to say that Izzo will be done by 2025 and said in his opinion Izzo would retire in “three years, give or take a year.”
The timing certainly makes sense for Izzo. He’s 64 and has been at this a long time. College basketball coaching is a 365 day a year job and brings with it huge pressure and stress. With his kids reaching adulthood it makes sense that Izzo would be plotting his path for retirement.
Perhaps the key here is the second national championship Izzo has been chasing since 2000. We all know that pursuit drives him. If MSU were able to cash it all in this year and win another title, Izzo could be heading towards retirement sooner rather than later.
Another thing to watch is the recruitment of 2022 star Emoni Bates. Bates, a soon-to-be sophomore at Ypsilanti High, is being called ht best high school prospect since Kevin Durant or LeBron James. With MSU having perhaps the best chance to land him, Izzo might pinpoint that as his year to go out. Coaching a talent like Bates might be too enticing an opportunity to pass up and it matches up pretty well with the retirement timeline Davis proposed.
Of course, the NBA could do away with the one-and-done rule before then and Bates could be headed to the pros right out of high school where he’s projected to be the top overall pick.
It’s certainly a fluid situation right now and I highly doubt Izzo has any retirement plans set in stone, but the day he is no longer in charge at MSU is coming sooner than we might think.
