Michigan State alum and Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is looking to instill an identity with his Suns organization, which has suffered tremendous setbacks since making the NBA Finals in 2021.
Ishbia has been long familiar with what it means to have championship aspirations and was part of a team that reached the ultimate prize as a member of Tom Izzo's 2000 national title team.
While Izzo hasn't secured another national title since, he's built up a brand that is renowned throughout the college basketball world as a program that will always present a challenge, no matter the quality of talent it possesses.
There's a formula Tom Izzo teams always follow, which is always going to give them a fighting chance.
Ishbia discussed this when he recently joined Greg Esposito on the "Southwest Bias" podcast.
"When you talk about Michigan State basketball, go ask 50 college basketball coaches what do they feel when they play Michigan State," Ishbia said. "They're like, Oh, they're going to be tough, they're going to rebound, they're going to ... run.' There's certain things.
"The type of kid that goes to Michigan State's not going to have these types of problems. You know what they are; they're going to usually get better every year, player development."
It's an identity that has been in place for over 30 years. It has resulted in 11 Big Ten titles, eight Final Four appearances, 27 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a number of stars who have gone on to reach the NBA, where many of which have since thrived.
Ishbia wants his Suns to have an identity.
"The Phoenix Suns are going to have that," he said. "We don't have that right now. We are going to have that going forward."
Many Suns fans have taken issue with what has been perceived to be Ishbia having a bias in his hires, with a heavy emphasis on Michigan State ties. But Ishbia isn't trying to be his alma mater.
"It's not going to be just like Michigan State," Ishbia said. "They're like, 'Oh, it's going to be like Michigan State.' But it's going to be winning. ... And there's a lot of stuff from Michigan State we're stealing, and there's a lot of stuff Michigan State does that we won't like."
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