Izzo Rips ESPN/Digger Phelps

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Blizzard

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From the DailyGopher -

http://www.thedailygopher.com/

And MSU coach Tom Izzo apparently is sick of Digger and his "slow down the ball" theory of Big Ten Basketball as well.

And he absolutely berated ESPN and singled out Digger in the process...

"Why does everybody write about and why does everybody preach that defense wins championships? Pick the sport. Go ahead, pick it. Any one of you in here, pick it...But it doesn't matter what sport you're in. I do it every single year. I take hockey, baseball, football and basketball. I always put it up on a board or I reiterate it from a piece of paper. Who won the championship? When Baltimore was in it, best defensive team. It's 90% of the time it happens.

"So I guess I just learned that that's the way you have to win championships. But at the same time I want to run every time. I want to run every time. So I do get annoyed, sick of, frustrated with Digger saying, `They're trying to slow it down.' Well, if we tried to slow it down and scored 64, what did the other team do?
Click to expand...
 

AMEN Izzo!

SOOOO glad he didn't leave the Big Ten. We need coaches like him in the league.
 

As if there weren't already a ton of reasons to respect Izzo. Hey Digger, how many titles and Final Fours do you have?
 

Blizzard said:
From the DailyGopher -

http://www.thedailygopher.com/
Click to expand...

Digger is so stuck in his love affair with Notre Dame and the Big East, he barely notices anything else of significance, unless it includes Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, (and now that they've hired John Calipari), Kentucky. But his objectivity and personal biases are stunning, as are most of the ESPN talking heads.

After all, he was one of the Notre Dame lovers even as they tanked game-after-game during the season. This was of course, as Digger and his ESPN mates pointed out over-and-over-and-over-and-over again, because the Big East is so tough. :rolleyes: I would argue it was actually because Notre Dame was, well, not a good team. But that was all pish-posh for Digger. As I recall, he picked them to win at Pittsburgh before they get slapped around silly by the Panthers, especially in the second half. Nothing quite like shamelessly plugging your former school only to watch them fall flat on their face on an ongoing basis!!!:D:D

Now Digger appears to following suit on his own (falling flat on his face whenever he discusses Michigan State or the Big Ten).
 

I've never wanted another Big Ten team to win more than I want Michigan State to win (as long as they don't get another rematch with UNC at Ford Field...that could be ugly again).
 


Though I am a little envious of the quality program Izzo put together and want Tubby to do better (obviously), I am glad Izzo is in the BT as well. From the little I know about him, he does seem like a class act, very deserving of respect and is very good for the conference.
 



Izzo is the one coach who can complain, too. He has the one team in the Big Ten that absolutely tries to push the ball EVERY time they get it. They run that sideline break to perfection. That game when we got smoked up there, there were two or three sideline breaks where the ball never hit the ground and it was literally a :03 second possession...rebound-outlet pass-sideline pass-layup/dunk.

But, Digger and everyone else thinks MSU plays some slowdown, methodical offensive game. They don't. Izzo has a thick playbook and a halfcourt offense that resembles more an NBA team than an NCAA team.

I got a kick out of the so-called national guy who said Kentucky wouldn't welcome Izzo if he were hired because he doesn't run an up-tempo style. Clearly, that national guy had NEVER watched an MSU team.

Now, having said that, the Big Ten does have a number of teams (IA, ILL, WIS, NW, even MN to a degree) who try to slow the pace down and who also play really sound defense, which leads to some low-scoring games...and that hasn't helped the league's perception. But, MSU is not a slow down team. They are up-tempo all the way.
 



Amen Tom. Izzo makes makes his point, and does it with class. Class is something Digger Phelps has never had.

It all comes down to this. Thirty years ago Michigan State beat what was arguably Digger's most talented Notre Dame team (I believe 7 guys ended up playing in the NBA) in a regional final. Digger's never been able to get over it. Basically, Phelps has made a living off one win he had as a coach, when his Irish ended UCLA & John Wooden's long winning streak.
 

i am looking forward to what if anything the talking heads have to say about this...Izzo made digger look like a fool, thank god someone said what needed to be head on the national stage, though i havent seen anything on espn about it and i dont think i will
 

I always had a lot of respect for Izzo. This reiterates that.
 

Kailin Lucas flys down the court in transition, Michigan St is very fast off missed baskets...Digger doesn't really know what he is talking about here. Overall, I dont mind him though.
 



the only thing digger gets credit for is matching his highlighter with his tie....pretty sad
 

What Up Guy said:
Kailin Lucas flys down the court in transition, Michigan St is very fast off missed baskets.
Click to expand...

Indeed. In fact, if you don't watch it, they'll transition the hell out of you on your own makes, too. They flat out push the ball.
 

Sparty's outlet passes are as fast as there is in NCAA basketball. If they can take advantage, they do, if not, they don't, then they set up their half court offense...Digger is as biased as anyone in NCAA basketball, that has a 'voice' that is...Has he picked a BT team to win any of the games? I doubt it.
 

The quality of BT coaches is great and Izzo leads the way. Excellent comments that are long over-due. Glad he had the spotlight to make them. Go Green, Go White!
 

I do understand why the media has a tendency to rip the BT. So, I usually don't get bothered by their rants against the BT. However, Digger is an exception. He takes it to another level where no man has gone before. I personally am boycotting Digger and therefore any ESPN show with him on. I refuse to watch any show he is on.

I am wondering what he would have said about the BT if Bob Knight were still in Bloomington wearing the red.
 

Digger is a Fraud

At one time Digger was a decent coach. Now he is just a very biased entertainer. The only thing he really ever accomplished in his career was to stop the UCLA winning streak. I personally can't stand to listen to the guy. Vitale and Digger are just entertainers.
 

Izzo is a very classy guy and a great basketball coach. The only time I root against him is when he is playing the Gophers. Run, slow it down, he does whatever it takes to win.
 

Right on, Tom Izzo! I have always had a lot of admiration and respect for Izzo, this just further supports it.
 

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