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Tom Izzo returns to U.P. this weekend

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo walks across the court following an NCAA college basketball game against Michigan where he recorded his 700th career win, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

ESCANABA — Iron Mountain High School and Northern Michigan University graduate Tom Izzo is a household name in the world of basketball.

During near 30-year stint as head coach of Michigan State men’s basketball program Izzo has 707 wins and counting, 10 Big Ten regular season championships, eight Big Ten tournament titles, eight Final Four Appearances, a National Championship in 2000, three Big Ten coach of the Year Awards and an induction  into the 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame, Izzo’s resume is difficult to match. If you ask people in the state of Michigan to list off the 12 months of the year, they’d probably tell you January, February, Izzo.

Now Izzo returns to where his post-high school career began, on NMU’s campus. He will have his No. 10 retired as his Spartans collide with the Wildcats at 1 p.m. Sunday inside the confines of NMU’s Superior Dome.

Looking for tickets? Good luck, this exhibition showdown is already sold out. In fact, people who already purchased tickets are urged to carpool to help with limited parking.

It’s the long-awaited return of the Upper Peninsula’s favorite son, a member of the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame’s 1997 class.

But what does this weekend mean to a man who’s accomplished what nearly every aspiring basketball coach is dreaming of at this very moment?

Daily Press sports editor “The Big Dog” Mitch Vosburg spoke with Izzo three days before the Wildcats and Spartans about the game, the meaning of the weekend and much more.

Big Dog: First of all, how are we doing today man?

Tom Izzo: Doing great. Looking forward to the weekend.

BD: What’s the excitement level to bring your team back up here, and what made this season the right time to come up?

Izzo: Well, I’ve been trying to do something for the last two, three years and after talking to Brad Canale and some people up there, and Rick Conley the (athletic director), our people here, everybody got together. And I really wanted to play in the (Superior) Dome. I didn’t want to play just in a small arena. If I’m coming up there I want people to be able to see us, and I want Northern to get something out of this. Having the Big Ten Network come up, Bill Raftery is doing the game. It’s going to be a happening, and I think that’s great for Northern, great for Michigan State and great for the U.P..

BD: Not only that, but your No. 10 is going to be retired too. Did you ever think at all when you were playing at NMU that your number was going to be retired?

Izzo: No, I never thought that. I’m humbly looking forward to it. The numbers are retired for what you usually do there. I think mine’s been retired for a little what I did there and a lot of what I did after. I’m just appreciative of the opportunity. It’ll be great.

BD: Not only is all of that happening, but you’re also going to have Gordy DeLuc on the bench. What’s the biggest thing you learned from Gordy?

Izzo: He was great. I only had him for one year as a coach, but he made a great impact and stayed with me for years. He came down to a lot of games. He was always around. I talked to him a lot on the phone. It wasn’t just the year (Steve) Mariucci. It was the years after that he kept in contact. I greatly appreciate that.

BD: Talk to me about your first coaching gig out of college, head coach of the Ishpeming Hematites. What did you learn about yourself as a coach during your time there?

Izzo: Oh that was an interesting time. I really looked at it as an incredible opportunity. We won a lot of games, won the conference and got beat by old high school, Iron Mountain, in regionals. That was kind of bittersweet.

BD: Eventually you trickled down to MSU, where you got a chance to learn from Jud Heathcote, who has a resume which also speaks for itself. What’s one memory you have with Jud that you refuse to let go of?

Izzo: You know, it’s funny talking to you or with anybody in the media. He always told me to treat the media well, because they have a job to do just like I have a job to do. I’ve always gotten along well with the media because I’ve stayed true to what he told me. No matter if things get rough or not, he always told me that you have to understand they’ve got a boss, they’ve got people, they’ve got a family to feed and a job to do. I’ve stuck with that. It’s helped me.

BD: Eventually you did take over for Jud. What was the conversation like in that period between him ready to retire and you running the program?

Izzo: He was awesome. I had the job, actually, a year before. I was kind of the coach in waiting. He really helped me develop and helped me learn, so when I got the job I at least had my feet running. I learned a lot in those next 3-4 years, but he did a lot for me. I’ve had some great mentors in George Perles and Buck Nystrom from Marquette. It was good. I was lucky. I was fortunate. It’s one of the reasons I’m coming back. I had so many people in the U.P. that helped me. I want to give back a little to them.

BD: I think a lot of fans remember the National Championship run in 2000. But besides winning the National Championship against a really good Florida team, what do you remember most about that run in March?

Izzo: Well, I think what I remembered most is we played the second round games in Detroit. We played Syracuse and Iowa State. Lots of people thought that Michigan State vs Iowa State was the National Championship (game), and here we were in Detroit. I think in the arena with 22,000 people, probably 20,000 were Michigan State fans. We kind of took over the state. That was enjoyable.

BD: Tom, you’ve accomplished a lot in your career. I think a lot of people that are aspiring to coach basketball definitely see your resume and see that as a goal. But for everything you’ve accomplished so far, what else do you want to accomplish?

Izzo: Of course you’d always like to win another National Championship. But my main goal now is… I’ve always said I got to live my dream as (Steve) Mariucci and I said up at Northern and talked about what we’d like to be. It was a dream of what we wanted to accomplish, and I think I got the chance to live my dream on what we wanted to accomplish. I think I got the chance to live my dream. Now my job is to help all these other people live theirs, including the people in the U.P.. I’m hoping there’s a lot of young kids that come to the game and dream about getting somewhere just like I did.

BD: last question. I’ve been up here in the U.P. for a little over a year now, and I’ve learned the phrase “U.P.” Power. I ask people what it means, and I always get a different definition. So I’ll ask you too: what does the phrase U.P. Power mean to you?

Izzo: I think it means we all stick together. Once you come down state that’s when the “U.P. Power” thing is really there. Everybody pulls for one another up there, even if your rivals. If your rival makes it “U.P. Power” means it’s the power of the entire U.P. where everybody down here has their individual schools. If Iron Mountain’s in it, if Kingsford’s in it, if Escanaba’s in it, if Marquette’s in it “U.P. Power” means everybody’s pulling for them.

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