Tom Izzo offers Purdue praise, hope, and a warning

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Purdue wrapped up its 26th Big Ten Title, but there's still more work to be done to be outright conference champs for back to back season.. Purdue will still need one more win or one more Illinois loss to win the conference outright.

It'll get a chance to get both on Tuesday when it travels to Champaign to take on second place Illinois.

But before that, Mackey Arena, its fans, players, and coaches got to celebrate the achievement and cut down the nets as the school with the most Big Ten Titles adds another to its rafters. It was a moment of celebration for Purdue's present, future, and past. Gene Keady was on hand. So was 2024 commit, Daniel Jacobsen, and future targets, Trent Sisley '25 and Gabriel Sularski '26.

Zach Edey was cutting down the nets without a ladder. Fans were taking pictures, and confetti was making its way through every inch of Mackey Arena and beyond.

But after the confetti, and just after Matt Painter made his way off Keady Court and through the tunnel back to his office, Tom Izzo was in the press conference media room talking to the media members who had made it off the court to listen to the Spartans head coach after a loss in a season that's had a too few many of those for his liking and expectations.

You see, Tom Izzo is on something of a cold spell up in East Lansing, and it's a little easy to forget the kind of career and legacy Izzo created at Michigan State.

Tom Izzo has made it to 8 final fours. That number is only surpassed by the absolute Mount Rushmore of college basketball - Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden, Dean Smith, and Roy Williams. If Izzo's Spartans don't make the final four this season, it will be one of the longest droughts of his career.

It stands in stark comparison to who Izzo was talking about for most his press conference, Matt Painter, because while Matt Painter has garnered praise from most the coaches in the country, and his program is on top of the Big Ten currently and in the last few years, he's never been able to bring Purdue to the promised land. It's a curse that existed before him, when his coach in college and mentor, Gene Keady, also failed to bring the Boilermakers to the Final Four.

And Izzo is holding court, carefully touching the wound in most Purdue's fans chest while praising Painter and how he's handled the last season.

"It's funny," Izzo said. "I get asked a lot of questions. I've been to my share of Final Fours and I went over and hugged the guy[Painter] and told him I loved him and what I love most about him is he's never been to a final four and he handled it. Gene handled it, ya know. And Matt's had a couple tough situations. I've had a couple tough situations. The funny part is I've had teams that weren't as good that made it to a final four. And some of the teams I've had that were really good, we didn't get out of the first weekend."

Purdue lost as a #1 seed to #16 Fairleigh Dickinson last season. Tough situation. The year before that, it was the #15 seed St. Peter's squad in the Sweet 16. Tough situation. The year before that, a #14 seed North Texas in the first round. Tough situation. But you know all that.

What's staggering in this moment is how much Tom Izzo seems to wear his years and his tough situations on his face now. It's layered in his his voice, and he seems so far removed from the coach that was just harassing officials for forty straight minutes as his team helplessly tried to handle Painter's more talented squad. Izzo's antics on the sidelines, his discourse with the state of current collegiate athletics, the problems with Michigan State's athletics in general over the years, it has all made for easy punch lines about a coach that's biggest sin is that he's been there for so long. He's bulletproof, but people will still take their shots.

But thisTom Izzo is in his element, and so likeable, so wise.

"I think this team," Izzo said before pausing, a slight smile jutting from his lips because he knows something that you can probably guess at, he really likes Matt Painter. "I'm a little prejudiced cause of my friendship. A little prejudice because of my Gene Keady days - so I'm not going against him. I'm prejudiced because he's a man in the Big Ten that's done a hell of a job in this conference. But I'm also not stupid. I do believe it. I wouldn't say it if I don't believe it."

It's easy to get swept up in Twitter discourse. The easy shots - about Izzo, about Painter, and to watch those likes and retweet pile up. But here is a man that's succeeded in every measure of sport that this dumb sport gives us, and he's sharing his admiration with someone who catches as much ridicule as he does respect.

Izzo has his basketball reasons. He shares them, too.

"I think the difference in this team is Smith," Izzo said after Braden Smith went for 23 points and 9 rebounds against him while making all four of three-point attempts. "He just kinda runs the team. He doesn't make many mistakes. He's hope, he hits his shots. He doesn't force any shots. He's as good a post passer as I've ever seen."

But it's not just Smith. Izzo has watched this Purdue grow and outshine his Spartans the last handful of years.

"The improvement that Gillis has made has really helped him[Painter]," Izzo would also say. "They have more depth than they had a year ago." Izzo points to Ethan Morton and redshirt freshman Camden Heide as long wing options off the bench.

And then to sum up what this Purdue's season has been about, Izzo said, "He's got one of the great teams that guys will play to their role."

But sometimes these coaches, they become poets. The antics melt away and these people, they human in front of us and remind us that the separation between them and us isn't as far as we think.

"I'm hoping for his sake, and for their sake, and for your sake," Izzo said to a now packed media room. "This is the year that he advances because I just think they've earned it. And I think he's earned it for the way he's handled it."

Then Izzo pauses because he knows deserve doesn't have a whole bunch to do with March Madness.

"But that tournament is a miserable thing," Izzo goes on. "It really is. You know, matchups, time you play em, second team you play, there's so many things that play a factor in that. I just think one of my best teams, we got beat in Detroit by an average Syracuse team. I've been there and done that. But the way Matt has handled it. You're lucky you've got him. Better cherish him. Don't worry about how many final fours he gets. Wins a lot of games. Does it the right way. He's a hell of a coach."

Mic drop. Welcome to March.