Michigan State men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo speaks to another attendee during a game at Nike EYBL at the Memphis Sports & Events Center on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MSU's Izzo Speaks on Transfer Portal at Coaching Clinic

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 10:44 AM ET

Legendary Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo had some things to say about the transfer portal and the current state of college basketball while speaking at the Larry Shyatt Coaching Clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

Izzo was one of many well-known coaches to speak at the event. Other speakers included Kentucky's Mark Pope, Purdue's Matt Painter, and Florida's Todd Golden. Longtime college basketball analyst Jay Bilas also spoke.

On the transfer portal

It's no secret that Izzo has not been the biggest fan of the transfer portal. He had been quite reluctant to take in transfers for the first couple years that the portal existed but has taken in more in the last couple of years.

This past season, MSU added transfers Trey Fort (Samford), Divine Ugochukwu (Miami), Denham Wojcik (Harvard) and Kaleb Glenn (Florida Atlantic). Glenn is expected to miss the 2025-26 season with a torn patellar tendon, though.

“There’s a football saying that ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going,’" Izzo said, per college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, who attended the clinic. "The new saying now is ‘When the going gets tough, get the hell out of Dodge.'”

Izzo also said that he places a lot of emphasis upon keeping guys who are already at MSU, as well.

“When I go in the portal, the first place I go is to my locker room," Izzo said, per Goodman. "I want to keep most of the guys on my team.”

While no one is immune from losing players to other schools, Michigan State has had fewer roster turnover than most programs. MSU's losses to the portal this past offseason were Tre Holloman (NC State), Xavier Booker (UCLA), and Gehrig Normand (Santa Clara).

The new era

Izzo's initial usage of the portal (or lack thereof) quickly became a common point of criticism after a couple below-par seasons for MSU. Before last season, the Spartans had experienced four consecutive seasons where they hadn't seen a conference title, hadn't advanced past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and hadn't finished the year ranked in the AP Top 25.

But that changed in the 2024-25 season, where MSU won the Big Ten by three games, advanced to the Elite Eight and finished seventh in the final AP Poll.

“I’ve adjusted to this new era more than I think," Izzo said, per Goodman. "Sure, there have been some rough spots. But players are the most important thing to me.”

Entering his 31st season as Michigan State's head coach, Izzo is still evolving. That is always going to be necessary to make 27 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, but the Hall of Famer is still doing everything he can to remain competitive in search of a second national title.

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