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Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo ripped the NCAA’s recent decision to allow former NBA G League players to play college ball.
Thierry Darlan, 21, committed to Santa Clara last month after spending parts of two seasons in the G League, while London Johnson, who spent three seasons in the league, will attend Louisville.
Izzo said that today’s college basketball has “no rules” and that “the kids are not the problem, we are the problem.”
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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo leaves the court after a 70-64 loss to Auburn in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Junfu Han/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“I’m going to get myself in trouble. … I’m not really excited about the NCAA or whoever is making these decisions, not talking to us, letting it go. They’re afraid of getting sued,” Izzo told reporters Tuesday, via ESPN.
“Someone’s going to say, ‘Well, if they go pro and it doesn’t work out, they should be able to come back. Well, what about the freshmen you recruited there? He’s somebody’s son and he thinks he found a good spot, and all of a sudden, shazam, they take off their hat and bring in a 21 or 22 year old kid (from the G League). To me, it’s It’s ridiculous.”
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo gestures in the second half of a game against New Mexico in the second round of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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“And I love my job. I don’t respect my profession, and I don’t respect the person who does this. Whoever made these decisions because he’s afraid that a lawyer will sue him, sooner or later, has to fight. … Maybe I’m the idiot, but I will never accept that kind of thing.”
Izzo said the NCAA needs to “get its act together” and once again absolve the players themselves of any blame.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo attends pre-NCAA practice day Men’s basketball tournament at the Spectrum Center on March 20, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
“I’m not going to be mad at the players. I’m going to be mad at the adults in the room,” he said. “So don’t blame the players anymore. Blame the adults who make the decisions, who allow some of these ridiculous things to happen. And then the unintended consequences hurt the kids who are trying to do it the right way with a process, without jumping around.”
Izzo’s Spartans made the Elite Eight last season but lost to Auburn.
