"Is that a compliment or an insult?": Tom Izzo pokes fun at reporter after becoming oldest winner of Big Ten Coach of Year award

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year. At 70 years old, he is the oldest coach to be given the honor. He is also the coach with the longest gap between wins, having last won the award in 2012. Izzo was informed of both of these things ahead of the Big Ten Tournament.

“Damn, is that a compliment or an insult?” Izzo joked.

Izzo has been the head coach of the Spartans since 1995, after starting as an assistant coach in 1983. He has won Big Ten Coach of the Year four times, but says he couldn't have done so without his fellow coaches and his players.

“Well, number one, not with humility, but you don’t win these without your staff and your players. I mean, they won the award. They do the brunt of the work, I just manage it. So, number one, I want to thank them all publicly,” Izzo said.

“Because we preach to our players all the time, ‘If the team has success, the individuals within the team will have success.’ I’m a recipient of the success our team had.”

Syndication: Detroit Free Press - Source: Imagn

Tom Izzo's Michigan State team's season

Izzo has led the Spartans to immense success this season. The No. 7-ranked Michigan State finished the regular season 26-5 and enters the Big Ten Tournament as the top seed.

This is the first time since 2020 that the Spartans have been regular-season conference champions. If Izzo's squad can pull off a Big Ten tournament win, it will be their first since 2019.

Michigan State ended the regular season with seven straight wins and is expected to be a two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Spartans lost to top-seeded UNC in the Round of 32. This year, they will look to make a longer March Madness run.

Syndication: Lansing State Journal - Source: Imagn

The Spartans have two National Championship titles, including one under Izzo in 2000. It's been a quarter of a century since Michigan State has served as the national champions, and Izzo will aim to change that this year.

“I am pleased, I don’t know if it has the same meaning now that I found out I’m the oldest and it’s the oldest in between,” Izzo said. “But at the same time, I think it serves to what I say all the time. You can adjust and change, but the basics of what you do in these jobs and what is needed to do to win championships hasn’t changed in 100 years, much less 20.”

He may be the oldest coach to ever win Big Ten Coach of the Year, but he assures that even as years pass, the keys to winning don't change.