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Tom Izzo knows Michigan State has a unique quality that’s given them a head start on their opponents, and yet he still believes they’re only scratching the surface.
“Everybody’s got so many new players, and we don’t,” Izzo said on Tuesday.
The Spartans’ continuity has played a significant part in their 8-0 start and their 71-52 win over Iowa — a team that, unlike Michigan State, has a completely overhauled roster. Multiple years in the program have helped Jeremy Fears Jr. get off to a blazing hot start and look like one of the best point guards in the country. Experience allows big men Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper to play alongside one another. Chemistry helps Coen Carr understand how to read his teammates’ passes on the many high-flying lobs he’s caught in this young season.
The Spartans returners are flourishing and using their time together to beat newly built teams such as Kentucky and Arkansas. But, while Michigan State might be surging, Izzo wants to make one thing clear: They’re not peaking.
“I think we’re going to get better, too,” he said. “That is an issue right now that I don’t want to get too high or too low on because this is a product, and it is too early. Give me a buzz in the middle of December, and I’ll tell you what I think.”
In a college basketball era where many of Izzo’s peers have opted to go a different route, the old-school coach continues to rely on in-house development, just like fellow Big Ten coach, Matt Painter with Purdue. But that is a season-long process, too.
“I still feel like we’re a couple of weeks away from figuring out who’s really good, who’s good and who’s not as good.”
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