"I'd get sued nowadays": Michigan State HC Tom Izzo once called 7x National champ Nick Saban to ask for football gear to practice rebounding

Tom Izzo has been acting as the head coach of the No. 9 seed Michigan State Spartans basketball team for around 3 decades. After 11 years as an assistant coach under JUd Heathcode, Izzo took over in 1995,

During a recent Tom Izzo spilled the beans on how he would have rebounding practices with his team while utilizing football gear.

Seeking to address both the physical and mental aspects of the game, he turned to Nick Saban, the then head coach of Michigan State's football program. Requesting football gear for practice, Izzo devised what he called the "war drill."

"Let me tell you that story. We go to Ohio State first time all year. I think we had 28,24 games in a row we had won the rebound battle. We lose it. Couple of players go off on a couple of other players in the locker room. That's not what we do here", Izzo said.

"Get back, I call Saban. I said 'listen I need 12 sets of football gear for practice tomorrow'. He goes 'huh'? I said can I get them? Yeah sure call my equipment guy.

During the drill, players donned football pads to practice rebounding. This unconventional approach became a hallmark of Spartans' practices, with players even requesting its revival in subsequent seasons. However, Izzo acknowledged the liability concerns in today's environment.

"Last 20 minutes of practice we're going to do a little war drill. So I said since we're getting soft and we don't want to get anybody hurt, we'll put on football pads. That way you can't get hurt", Izzo said. "They had so much fun, that it became all we talked about. And then we talked about it for five year later, ten years later. And so now the guys will say, 'Coach bring out the football back we don't rebound as good'. Can't do that man I'd get sued nowadays."

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Is Tom Izzo and Michigan State in the Sweet 16 round of this year's NCAA tournament?

Tom Izzo successfully led the Michigan State Spartans to a 69-51 victory over No. 8 seed Mississippi State in the first round of this year's NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, their March Madness journey ended in the second-round showdown against the No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels.

Despite their best efforts, UNC proved to be a difficult rival to conquer as they were eliminated from the tournament after the Tar Heels defeated them 85-69.

Despite being in 26 consecutive NCAA tournaments, Tom Izzo could only win the national title during the 2000 season. Can Michigan State break the curse next year?