EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Fresh off a new life-time deal as the head coach for Michigan State, Tom Izzo held the first practice for the 2022-23 season in the auxiliary gym of the Breslin Center. This will be Izzo’s 28th year leading the Spartans and his is coming off a 23-13 season tying for seventh place in the Big Ten. He will have to replace his top two scorers in Gabe Brown (11.6 ppg) and Max Christie (9.3 ppg).
“It’s hard to believe I am doing this press conference three weeks later now because October 15 is a long ways from now. I’m excited to get going and looking forward to arguably what will be one of the toughest seasons in my 28 years here,” says Izzo.
MSU has four freshman listed on the roster in Jaxon Kohler (American Fork, Utah), Trejuan Holloman (Minneapolis, Minn.), Carson Cooper (Jackson, Mich.), and Nick Sanders (Franklin, Mich.). This new class was listed at the 56th ranked class for this year by 247Sports as Kohler and Holoman were four-star prospects. Senior Tyson Walker returns and brings 8.2 points per game as Joey Houser returns 7.3. Jason Whitens transfers in from Western Michigan as a graduate transfer and averaged 5.4 points per game last year in the MAC.
To kickoff the new year, MSU has the Campout for students to come and wait to see the new team. Izzo says, “I know we have the Campout this weekend on Friday, which will be the 26th time I’ve slept out there, but it is a fun time and I’m looking forward to that. And the guys are really looking forward to the Midnight Madness on October 7. That will be something that will be great for everyone.
It will be a rough but fun few weeks to start the season for MSU as they start the season on November 11 with the Armed Forces Classic in San Diego, Calif., on an aircraft carrier. They follow with a trip to Indianapolis, Ind., four days later for the Champions Classic vs. Kentucky and then open up at the Breslin Center on Nov. 18 against Villinova in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. They had back to the West Coast but head north to Oregon for the Phil Knight Classic from Nov. 24-27 playing three games there. Their final game before Big Ten play starts is in South Bend, Ind., on Nov. 30 against Notre Dame.
Izzo states, “I’m looking forward to scheduling the world (regarding his first eight games of the year). The aircraft carrier game will be a special event, the Tournament of Champions, the PK80, Villinova at home, at Notre Dame, they’re all going to be very good games. Hopefully as our players who were here for the reunion a couple weeks ago said, ‘That’s why you come.’”
The team is smaller this year and doesn’t have the big-time talent that has been at MSU in the past. Izzo says, though, “I like the group I’ve got. It’s smaller, I don’t like that, but we made a choice and the choice was to stick with the people we’ve got, develop them, try to keep the homegrown guys and understand that some guys are ready for breakout years.”
The season will get started on Nov. 1 in an exhibition game against NCAA Division II Grand Valley State at 7:00 p.m. on THE B1G+ network.
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