Michigan State player targeted by Tom Izzo rant just 'accepted the coaching'
MINNEAPOLIS — Michigan State freshman Aaron Henry, the target of Tom Izzo’s wrath during a now-infamous moment in the NCAA tournament, said he endured Izzo-like anger before he even knew about the Michigan State basketball coach.
“I dealt with it 18 years,’’ Henry said Friday, referring to his parents, “and just learned to deal with it and get better from it.
“My high school coach was like that as well. He used to get into me pretty good.’’
Henry said his family and friends reacted the same way after seeing Izzo berate him during a timeout in Michigan State’s 76-65 victory over Bradley in the first round of the tournament.
“They were just happy with the way I handled it,’’ he said. “They knew I would take it the way that I did.
“I didn’t pout about it. I didn’t sulk about it. I didn’t complain. I just accepted the coaching and it made me better, I think. I want to keep having him coach me like that. Hopefully I don’t mess up, but hopefully he stays on me.’’
Izzo likely will be his fiery self when his second-seeded Spartans play third-seeded Texas Tech Saturday.
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"He gets after it like that in practice,’’ Michigan State forward Kenny Goins said. “But at the end of the day all of us knew what we were signing up for and all of us aren’t worried about that because off the court, even on the court, he’ll show more love than any of you guys ever see.’’
Added Michigan guard Matt McQuaid, “Practices are intense, but at the same time (Izzo) jokes around. He laughs with us. He’s human. You know, you can see that 10-second snippet and they don’t see the relationships he builds with us, with everybody in the program, even managers.’’