Tom Izzo admits failure as sophomore standout transfers days after March Madness exit

Head coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans were eliminated from March Madness in the Elite Eight, losing 70-64 to Auburn. It was a disappointing loss in what was otherwise a strong season for the Spartans. However, not everyone on the roster had a great season.

Former five-star recruit, sophomore Xavier Booker, has struggled to live up to the hype over the past two seasons. After averaging only 3.7 points per game as a freshman, he started this season as a sophomore. As a result, he was expected to take a significant leap forward production-wise. That did not happen as he lost his starting job after three games.

Booker appeared to turn the corner in December when he had four straight double-digit point games. However, he would only reach double figures one more time for the rest of the season and finished averaging only 4.7 points, a mere point better than his freshman year.

He is now in the transfer portal in search of a new opportunity. Head coach Tom Izzo spoke to 'MLive' about how he blames himself for Booker's failure.

"I failed, I failed," Izzo said. "I love him, I love Book. The day he came in with his family was a very difficult day for all of us.... I couldn’t get enough out of him. That’s not all his fault, that’s my job, I do get paid for that, and I did not get enough out of him."

"I feel bad about Book because I think deep down there is one hell of a basketball player in there and my job is to get that out of him and I didn’t get that done."

Tom Izzo and Michigan State have three players in the transfer portal

Xavier Booker is not the only player in the transfer portal for head coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. Along with Booker, Gehrig Normand, and Tre Holloman also entered the portal. Tom Izzo admitted that Booker and Normand entering the portal was not surprising, but Tre Holloman caught him off guard.

"In Tre, I was surprised, it was a little bit of a surprise but Tre wanted some things too," Izzo said. "He wanted to play a certain position, wanted to do certain things."

Despite the surprise, all three players reportedly met with Izzo before they officially entered the transfer portal. The transfer portal opened on March 24th and will stay open until April 22nd.