Izzo bids farewell to seniors
At the Men's Basketball Awards Bandquet, held Monday night, several pieces of hardware were handed out to celebrate the individual achievements of this year's team members.
(Spoiler Alert! You can check out Rexrode's blog for the results)
But in closing of the team banquet, Tom Izzo celebrated the efforts of his three seniors and had these remarks to share with the crowd ... which I will share with you.
Tom Izzo on seniors Jon Crandell and Isaiah Dahlman (Zeke) ...
"In that locker room this year I told Kalin and Ray … and even Day-Day, Durrell and Chris … and all the guys that were going to be playing a lot. I said ‘just do me one favor … let’s play well enough to make sure Jon gets in the game today. ‘Cause no insult to Jon, Jon’s getting in when we’re ahead. And I want to make sure we’re ahead.'
"And then I looked at Zeke. And Zeke didn’t know his mom was going to make the trip down. And Zeke was almost tearful the night before when his mom knocked on his door and surprised him that she was coming down. And that was pretty cool the way the players embraced him and that.
"And they're right what they said about Zeke. He could have left here two years ago. It was his decision to stay and I'm sure as hell happy he stayed. Because he said something that every alum and every fan should be proud of ... 'I love Michigan State. This is where I want to be.'"
Tom Izzo on senior Raymar Morgan ...
"In some ways the hardest guy to say goodbye to is going to be Ray. You see, Raymar, when I recruited Raymar, Raymar’s mother coached Ray … and she was great. And I look at the program Raymar came from. He won three out of four state championships. He’s a good student. He’s built like Adonis. He’s smart. And you know, when you start a guy as a freshman, you kind of always want more … and always want more. And I’m going to always want more until he’s done. Because what you’re seeing now, is he’s giving a little more. And he’s just going to end up playing somewhere if he keeps giving more.
"But Raymar ended up with over 1,500 points and over 700 rebounds. And as great as some of you former players in the audience were, there’s only five players in the history of this school that have accomplished that … five. Now we start talking about being in rare care with five human beings with 111 years of basketball, that’s putting yourself in a rare group. And Raymar I think is doing what seniors are supposed to. He’s playing his best basketball down the stretch. And because of that it gives us a chance to make a run."
Tom Izzo's closing statements ...
"I’m excited we have the chance to play in our thirteenth NCAA tournament. It’s all taken for granted. And I don’t mean by you, I mean by me. You know, I just expect it. And that’s so unfair to each group because it’s a new group each year. And I keep wanting guys to be like this guy and I want guys to be like that guy because I know some of those guys got to live that dream. And really that’s what it’s all about.
"I came from Iron Mountain Michigan with a dream … I had a dream of where I wanted to go and where I wanted to be … I recruited every guy that’s up here. And sometimes I’m going to push them harder and sometimes less, but I love every guy that’s up here. And I’m going to love them for as long as I’m alive.
"There’s so many things you don’t know … just trust this. We had a hell of a season. We’ve won 24 games. We’ve tied for a Big Ten Championship in a year when this league has been as good as it’s been the last couple of years. We got some work left to do and we are going to make sure every guy is on that plane tomorrow ready to play. And we’re going to go out to play for you …"I just want to say thank you so much for the unbelievable support. The 10-12 years of sellouts and the best is yet to come. I mean, we’re not done yet. We’re not done with this year and we’re not done with our career(s)"
