Senior night was extra special for the Izzos this year.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo shared a heartwarming moment with his son Steven on Wednesday on the special night that honors the graduating seniors on the men’s basketball team.
Tom and Steven, the latter a graduate student who played five seasons at Michigan State as a walk-on player, could barely hold it together while speaking with Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz after the Spartans defeated Northwestern, 53-49.
“I’m just so thankful that he allowed me to walk-on five years ago,” Steven said while trying to contain his emotions. “It’s been the greatest decision that I ever made, no matter how hard the lifts are or how long meetings go, it’s all worth it at the end of day, and I’m so grateful to be able to do it with you.”
The 29-year Michigan State head coach had his arm around his son the entire time while smiling and emotional as well.
He also discussed how happy he’s felt getting to spend the extra time with his son over the past five years.
“I tell every man or woman out there that coaches a men’s or women’s sport, if you can have your son or daughter with you, there’s nothing better,” Izzo said. “We’ve all sacrificed a lot, a lot of coaches have sacrificed more than I do, but getting some of that back, that means the world to me.”
Another video of Steven showed him getting to walk to center court and kiss the court as the crowd cheered.
In the five years that he spent in East Lansing, Steven played in 43 games, all off the bench, and getting in an average of 1.2 minutes a contest.
He scored his first collegiate points earlier this year in a game against Rutgers.
