Tom Izzo

[orangetom]

Great response by Tom Izzo. Sorry if already posted.

 

[Orangezoo]

Love it. Always liked Izzo as a coach ( even with some shaky stuff at times we have seen). He is spot on here.

 

[All4SU]

Good for Izzo. I have way more respect for him
Today. He nailed it.

 

[longtimefan]

I don't think the handshake line is sacrosanct. Besides college basketball, where is it used? Not NBA, not MLB, not NFL, not college football, not in world-class soccer. Famously yes in NHL, but only in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and then only in closeout games.

It's primarily used in youth sports, but when the kids grow up is it really needed?

 

[Orangepace]

I don't think the handshake line is sacrosanct. Besides college basketball, where is it used? Not NBA, not MLB, not NFL, not college football, not in world-class soccer. Famously yes in NHL, but only in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and then only in closeout games.

It's primarily used in youth sports, but when the kids grow up is it really needed?

Loaded question there, but I’d argue it’s probably needed moreso..

 

[721Comstock]

I don't think the handshake line is sacrosanct. Besides college basketball, where is it used? Not NBA, not MLB, not NFL, not college football, not in world-class soccer. Famously yes in NHL, but only in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and then only in closeout games.

It's primarily used in youth sports, but when the kids grow up is it really needed?

I’d say it’s needed more than ever these days.

‘Sportsmanship’ is becoming a quaint anachronism -
which is awful.

How hard is it to acknowledge your opponent after the contest is over?

Civilized society is circling the drain.

 

[upperdeck]

I don't think the handshake line is sacrosanct. Besides college basketball, where is it used? Not NBA, not MLB, not NFL, not college football, not in world-class soccer. Famously yes in NHL, but only in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and then only in closeout games.

It's primarily used in youth sports, but when the kids grow up is it really needed

college hockey uses it for series ganes like the NHL does after ever series too.

NFL they dont do a line they just all come out on the field and give hugs, pretty much the same in many ways.

soccer they trade jerseys off their backs..

I know adult softball/volleyball we always did a line

Golfers after every match as do the Pros.

dont some other college sports do it as well.. pretty sure Volleyball does.

 

[BigNastyJon]

I would be upset if handshake lines ended because Juwan Howard decided to turn it into a fight.

If the rule just sort of ended organically, and players/coaches still embraced/congratulated after the game (like in football), I’d be fine with it, but that’s a different story.

 

[Red Holzman]

Excellent perspective.
Tom Izzo for United States Secretary of Education.

 

[iowa44]

As an AAU Coach who coached during Covid when there were no handshake lines I don't think you lose sportsmanship w/out handshake lines. After games we would all point to each other and say good game, players would organically acknowledge players they gained respect for during the game and dap or manhug it out.

I don't really care one way or another about the handshake line, one could argue in times of covid it's safer to NOT shake a bunch of random hands but it is what it is. In my experience you just don't lose sportsmanship because of a lack of the handshake line and you also can much more easily avoid tensions escalating by not having it. Emotional young men - let alone adults sometimes struggle to manage their frustrations and the handshake line can escalate situations.

I guess as I type this I do actually have an opinion and it is that the handshake line is antiquated and unnecessary but assuming it remains I have no issue w/that either.

 

[iowa44]

Also, while I respect Coach Izzo and actually have a former player from my organization on the roster I wouldn't be so quick to appoint him as the patron saint of reason, he has had his own issues as again this is an emotional game.


Michigan State HC Tom Izzo & Player Gabe Brown Get Into A HEATED Exchange & Izzo GRABS Brown!

 

[capeorange]

The handshake line is not the problem. One highly paid adult who was not willing to control his temper was.

 

[Hoo's That]

I don't think the handshake line is sacrosanct. Besides college basketball, where is it used? Not NBA, not MLB, not NFL, not college football, not in world-class soccer. Famously yes in NHL, but only in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and then only in closeout games.

It's primarily used in youth sports, but when the kids grow up is it really needed?

All levels of lacrosse, including college and, I believe, the pros. A game has started for a long, long, long, long time with a handshake in the middle of the field by the starters and ends with a handshake line of the whole team which is not as old. Another 4x long tradition is a short cheer for the other team.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

Izzo has been dead-on with this. I like him for selfish reasons; he has rarely figured out how to attack our zone, so JB has a pretty good record vs Tom. They also seem to be good friends. The last time we beat them in the NCAA's, one of their many future draft picks sat stunned in the post-game interview as he said "it isn't a 2-3, it isn't a 3-2. It's the Syracuse zone. We had heard about it, but we didn't know..."

Heh, heh, heh, well you know now, young man.

For those who lament when JB calls out a player here and there during a post-game, they should hear what Izzo says. He can be pretty brutal. He also always sounds like he has a toothbrush stuck in his throat. If I were an ear, nose, and throat doctor or an oncologist, I'd be terrified every time I heard him speak.

Around 1995 I was in a sporting goods store at the mall with my youngest. He was dressed in SU attire, head to toe. Izzo walked by us and almost walked into a pile of merchandise while staring. Izzo is well over 4 feet tall by the way. I used to see he and his family a lot, Izzo pushing a stroller and looking harried, his wife barking orders. It was always pretty funny.

 

[Chip]

I would be upset if handshake lines ended because Juwan Howard decided to turn it into a fight.

It would be the most USA thing ever. Resolve conflict by avoiding conflict.

The Athletic Directors can send each other a good game text message with a handshake emoji.