Tom Izzo Quotes (298 Quotes)

Those two statistics are ridiculous. But as down as I am and as our fans are, this season wasn't a total disaster. We won 22 games and had some good wins playing maybe the toughest schedule in the country.

This team has been a good free throw-shooting team for years. It wins games for you, it really does.

As hard as they played, I kind of enjoyed watching them. I don't know if they'll ever hit that many 3s again. But I know we're going to play better defense. And we might have three-a-days tomorrow.

I'm going to evaluate this weekend because if we lost that game (against Arizona), we'd be 1-3 and the roof would be falling in back home. But I thought we gained so much here. I learned that they have much bigger toughness than I have. They're all still standing, and I think that tells a little bit about their character.

I'm trying to understand why we haven't been as consistent as we need to be. I'm only disappointed when guys don't play to their potential, and we haven't had enough guys do that together.

We have to learn how to play with the lead, and the Iowa game was a case in point where we didn't play with the lead. (The players) came into our huddle, we were up 15-4, and they really believed (Iowa) was tired. It was good 'Let's get 'em now coach, let's do this, let's do that.' But I think they took that to another level and they started taking shots too early.

What are they best at They seem to be a very, very good defensive team, which concerns me because that's usually what wins at this time of the year.

Hey, this was a Dee Brown night. And he won the Heisman.

If we hadn't done it before and played well for an extended period of time, I'd be panicking more than I am. I know in the areas that we've struggled, we're better than that.

If Shannon Brown goes out early (for the NBA), and with (senior) Maurice Ager not coming back, because of need Isaiah could be forced to play earlier. That's good news and bad news.

We're a very good offensive team. And that'll get us about fourth place in our league.

Not many teams have the dual threat that Indiana has. Ironically, I think at times we could be one of the teams that does.

He had a big night. We didn't want him to beat us.

I thought we did a decent job on them. We just didn't score. It wasn't the offense, it was the missing some shots.

We didn't get beat by some chopped-liver team. I mean, don't kid yourself They're going to win a lot of games -- a lot of games.

This was one of the worst defensive teams I've had. I tried to adjust to people. People are gonna start adjusting to me. ... I don't think anyone wants to be perceived as a jerk. Sometimes a coach wants to be liked. I don't care if I'm liked anymore. We will be tougher.

I thought football players were tougher than that.

It's great to have our league being talked about and see that we're making some strides. It's an exciting time, yet it's a tough time because so many good teams are coming up. You can get on a heck of a run in a negative way pretty quick if you lose a few games.

He had someone die over in Iraq that was close to him. I don't want to make a big deal about that. It's just something that bothered him that he didn't let us know about until a day-and-a-half later, which was right after the game.

We're trying to check with all the pro teams and different places on what we can build him. If he's able to wear a football helmet or whatever we got to do, we'll do it. We are going to the Nth degree to find out anything we can find out that would give us a better chance to get him back quickly.

As good as the league is, I'm disappointed that we didn't finish higher. I'm disappointed, but I understand how good the league is.

I thought Maurice Ager might have had his best all-around game. He was unbelievable in the huddles, he was trying to get other guys shots, he made some passes, he made some shots, and his defense was the best it's been.

There's that delicate balance between wanting the players to feel like they can make a run, yet not making them feel that it's their right.

It was their night and they deserved it. We're just going to have to lick our wounds, appreciate our seniors and move on.

It was a life-changing experience, and other than my children being born, I don't think I've had another one of those, ... It might sound hokey, but I know I'll be a better person and American for going over there.

These are two of the top athletes in the country, and they are in the best shape of their lives. It's a lot to build a team around.

I don't think it's a concussion, but I do think it was a pretty good blow and he lost some blood.

I see this being a good enough basketball team to win a lot of games yet.

Now that we've got our lineup straightened out the last month, our rotation may be similar to some of our real good teams, ... We're not as good defensively, we're not as good a rebounding team, but we're a much better shooting team. It's different, but it's got some similarities in areas that are key to winning championships.

I think he's starting to get it. He's starting to see and understand, I didn't go hard enough here, I got to be stronger with the ball there.' I think he's seeing it. Before, I think he was hearing it and not seeing it. Now, I think he's hearing it and seeing it.

Illinois is not going to be worried because they beat us two times or three times. They're not going to have a letdown. They've got a great team.

I don't think he knows what he's going to do yet. I think, for sure, he'd like to go. I really do, and I don't think that's bad. But the one thing I feel comfortable with Shannon, I don't think he'll make a bad decision.

I'm not sure George Mason worked any harder in practice, but on this given night they brought it. And we just did not check defensively.

We bring people from different areas, and they melt into one.

Collectively, we did a better job today.

You've got a guy like D.J. White, who is not only a great player . . . but he had matured a great deal. You just don't lose players like that and have the same team. I thought Indiana, when we played them, was still playing awfully well.

When you play that many (ranked teams) in a row, it becomes a mental strain as far as keeping your guys up. I think it helps that it's the Michigan game. I think our guys will be up for that. If there was going to be a time when they mentally let down a little bit, I don't see it being this week. Emotionally, it's Michigan-Michigan State and that carries more than anybody we play, let's be honest.

We have an opportunity of a lifetime, ... to be home and playing for at least a share of the Big Ten championship.

He doesn't get to play the minutes, he doesn't sometimes even play that much in practice, and to stick that out four years in that situation I think speak volumes of the guy.

It will never even out because you never know which years certain teams are good, and that's nobody's fault, not the Big Ten, not the coaches, not anyone. But when coaches are hired and fired on it, and when eventually you're going to be seeded in the NCAA Tournament, a real huge plus or a rule huge minus can affect a lot of teams.

I'd like to sell the place out. We've had 13,000 (fans), but when you say it was packed that's a whole different deal. So I challenge people to do that.

I thought we had it won a couple of times and let it slip away.

I loved the fact that they showed the grit. We went to different guys at different times. Whether it be Paul and Mo with the free throws or Shannon with the big shot and the step-back, I think each one of them did some different things. They can play better, but please don't underestimate what they've gone through in the last five days.

I think that will be one of the keys to the season, will we survive if we lose two games, three games, maybe even five ... The problem nowadays with the Internet and talk radio -- all of a sudden everyone's getting down on you, and your confidence can go down.

There were some bright spots. I think in the second half we played better. Our defense was better. They turned the ball over and we scored a lot on that.

I feel better that our key people are very confident, very stable. I feel worse that we definitely don't have the depth. We have more depth inside than we had last year, but no experience. And we have no experience or depth inside or outside in comparison to what we lost.

I think Ohio State deserves a lot of credit. The last four minutes of the game, they played extremely well. I didn't think I'd have to go with a four-guard lineup as much as we did.

Fatigue had zero to do with the loss. We did not do a good job of handling our lead in that situation.