So here is that which is sacrilege to even think around here: Has Tom Izzo lost his touch?
It used to be he would find diamonds in the rough and coach the crap out of them and they would respond and win conference championships and go to Final Fours with regularity. But over the last few years he seems to find head cases that won't listen to him, and his teams have been more disappointing than anything else. They might make a tournament run and get through the first couple rounds against flawed or outclassed teams, but when the competition gets better, they wilt.
We see this pattern far too often, as in the home loss to Illinois this weekend. Spartans play bad, guys don't perform, and at the presser afterwards Izzo tells us all how mad he is and how he's taking full responsibility and is going to coach those guys like never before. They come out and whack their next opponent, think everything is OK now, and then lose to a team they should beat by 15. Izzo rants at his presser again.
It used to be he might do that once a season. Now, it seems like it's every other game.
I'm just asking the question. Has Izzo lost his passion? Has the game passed him by? Or, does today's player not respond to him like his National Championship team did 15 years ago? Is it time for new blood at the Breslin?
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