Among Tom Izzo’s many minds and considerations about the cancellation of Big Ten football this fall, there is, like many of us, a basic sense of loss.
“I never missed an opening day on Saturday. I mean, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” michigan State basketball coach said Wednesday night. “I don’t move on to cider house. I don’t go to my cabin. I get up at 8am, train, watch college GameDay nine a.m. at noon, move on to the football game, I come back and watch the other games until 1am, go to bed and say, “I had a smart day.”
The coach in it feels bad for MSU football coach Mel Tucker and his players and many other athletes. As a leading voice of college athletics, she engages in decision-making and our fractured society that is reflected in university sport. As MSU men’s basketball coach, with a season on the horizon, he is less concerned.
“Let’s play 100%,” Izzo said.
“I think it’s going to be a vaccine or we’re going to have it (under control) and, with (the fields) ending in November (this year), I think we have a built-in bubble (to start playing).”
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“I know I’m going to delve into (those conversations), ” he said. “I think the worst thing we can do is go down (and wait).”
Izzo sees this window between the fall and spring semesters, from Thanksgiving to early January, as an imaginable opportunity. Maybe a 16-team pre-season NIT-style tournament in one place, or a champions classic circular tournament later than the same as always in a bubble somewhere, or anything with the ACC and Big Ten, instead of the classic ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
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This is where Izzo’s head rests after the cancellation of autumn sports after a few crazy and damaged days in the Big Ten.
He’s a bit through general technique – “I don’t see how you can have academics on campus if you’re concerned that football might just play” – and is involved with the number of divergent opinions.
“I’m not a doctor, I’m not a doctor. I know it’s a virus and it’s a strange case, but I’ve never noticed so many (medical opinions),” Izzo said. “I say I don’t need it from a political point of view. I need a medical point of view. I’m not sure the medical point of view isn’t politically appropriate now, and that bothers me. I just need the truth.
You also need other people to perceive that getting out of this mess, in the short term, will require some discipline. This applies to athletes and others who need athletes to play and schools to open, etc.
“I’ll tell you this, we stayed six weeks (this summer), we had no positive effects (tests on the men’s basketball team), Izzo said. “I mean, we harassed them. It’s stressful for us, because every weekend, every single night, communicates with our children. But I think they started to be informed and perceive things like dress in your mask.” Have we dodged any bullets? Probably. Did each and every one stay? I’m sure you don’t. But what happened to the sacrifice? What happened to the responsibility?
“We acted like it’s a big challenge to wear a mask. I mean, come on. I mean, come on, man.
“Everyone’s going to have to wake up a little bit and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to have to make sacrifices. I think you have to give up a little bit to get some. And (in basketball), we’re going to have more time to do that.
“I feel bad for Mel. We celebrate in Breslin the night he was hired at the Hall of History on February 12. On March 13th we closed. I mean, he hired a staff member. He probably found out about some of their names. I probably met some players and learned their names. And the poor guy does things remotely. I’ve been in a lot of contact with him. He did a great job. He’s made a lot of paintings looking for things done. I was inspired by that.”
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Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.