Senior Night Revisited: A Steven Izzo Story

Hey TOC, apologies on getting this out almost a week after the game. But I needed to sit on this one a while to make sure I gave this story the attention it deserves. As you all know, last Wednesday was the last home game of the year and for a handful of MSU players, they would be honored in the annual Senior Day Ceremony. This year, MSU was recognizing Tyson Walker, Davis Smith, Mady Sissoko, AJ Hoggard, and Steven Izzo. Malik Hall went through it last year and chose not to do it a second time. Walker did opt to go through it again.

But beyond just the departing members of the basketball team, MSU has made it a tradition to recognize other Spartan seniors during the game. During commercial breaks away from the TV cameras, MSU brought out graduating members of the cheerleading and dance squads, and they got to kiss the logo. In addition, during one break, the women’s gymnastics team, fresh off winning a Big Ten championship, was introduced to a standing ovation. At the next stoppage, the men’s hockey team, fresh off a Big Ten championship of their own, came out to an even louder cheer.

Back to the basketball team now, unlike last year, Coach Izzo did not give some of his lesser used seniors a spot in the starting five. Last year, Jason Whitens got to start the game. This year, Davis Smith and Steven Izzo did not get that same privilege. And unfortunately for them and for the home crowd, as a result of the closeness of the game, those two never got to see the floor in their final home game. In fact, perhaps the most cherished tradition of MSU basketball, the final subbing-out of each player and their moment at center court to kiss the logo did not happen in this game. Instead, those photo opportunities had to wait for the post-game ceremony.

Fortunately for everyone in attendance, MSU held on for the win. Otherwise, the day would have been totally ruined. Instead, the crowd was feeling jubilant as they prepared the court for the Senior Night festivities. In keeping with the recognition of other people aside from just the players, the senior team managers were called out first, accompanied by family members.

And then we got to the main event. For those of you who have not made it to a Senior Day game, the production is highlighted by a video created for each outgoing senior in which they are interviewed about their time in the program and they get to give their gratitude to the people who contributed to their years on the team. As the videos are playing on the Breslin’s jumbotron, each player waits in the tunnel until its end along with their family members.

After each video, the senior walked out to center court, kissed the logo, and was greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Izzo with their framed jersey.

And after all five featured seniors had made their way out to the court, Tom Izzo, fresh from walking his son out, got on the mic to address the senior class and whole crowd. For as great of a coach as Tom Izzo is, he may be an even better public speaker. Maybe he can host the ESPYs after his coaching days are over. He has a way of mixing in humor, sentimental anecdotes, and inspirational quotes that leaves everyone who hears him with a smile on their face.

All of the videos are very well made and carefully edited to ensure they really capture that player’s personality. I learned something about each of the five from seeing their video. But there was one that really stood out from the others. If you guessed Steven Izzo’s, then you guessed correctly. Listening to Steven’s video, you could definitely see glimpses of his father in how he speaks. There was one thing in his video, which I must mention was longer than any of the others, that really stuck out to me. Among all the people that Steven offered up thanks to, perhaps the ones he spoke about most extensively were the members of the Breslin Center janitorial staff. Steven remarked about how they were always there when the team showed up for morning practices and they were always there when they leave after night games. He commented that they show a pride in their work that motivates him, and that they do it all with a smile on their faces.

This was not just a case of a player saying thank you, though. Steven Izzo has developed a true relationship with the people he was recognizing in his video. Here is the story I wanted to tell. The game began around 7 PM and ended just after 9. The Senior Night festivities lasted about 45 minutes. And the post-game press conference began just before 10. Coach Izzo spoke, fielded some questions, and then Malik Hall and Tyson Walker, the two super-seniors, came up to the dais individually to answer questions. It was nearly 10:30 when I was leaving the press conference. I walked up the stairs from the media room back to the concourse level. I was about to pass through the glass doors into the main corridors of the Breslin when something I saw made me pause momentarily. The Breslin was empty at this point. Looking through those glass doors, I only saw one person, Steven Izzo. The younger Izzo had a big stack of napkins with him, and he was kneeling down on the floor cleaning something up.

As I passed through the door and began approaching, getting close enough to make sure it was, in fact, Steven that I was seeing, I spoke out to him, “Steven, what are you doing?” Now I have never actually met Steven before so perhaps not the most cordial introduction on my part, but I was in such a state of bewilderment that that is all I could come up with. Steven looked at me briefly to explain that someone had “spilled some ranch or something,” as he continued to wipe up the mess on the floor. A few seconds later, he had it cleaned to his satisfaction and then he stood to go throw all the napkins out in a nearby garbage can. After playing his last home game as an MSU Spartan and after partaking in the Senior Day ceremony and after sticking around the arena for close to another hour, here he was cleaning up a mess on the floor. There was no way he was going to just let it sit there for someone else, someone that he went out of his way to give thanks to in his senior video, to clean later, perhaps not until the next morning.

Still amazed by what I just saw, and feeling thankful that I was the lone person to witness it, I wanted to learn more. So I began asking him some questions to see what more I could uncover. I asked how he feels about his time as an MSU student-athlete coming to an end and what his future plans are. He is currently working on his master’s degree and he has some job interviews lined up. He also mentioned that he may stick around and do some work with the basketball team, though he said he does not have an interest in going into coaching.

Steven is what you would expect from a 23-year-old college grad with the world at his doorstep: enthusiastic, optimistic, and wonder-filled. Thanks to who his father is and what his last name is, he may actually have more opportunities than most new college graduates. But he remains level-headed, hard-working, and appreciative. I know his is a story that I will want to keep track of. I told him that we are all going to miss getting to cheer for him on the court, but now we will just have to cheer for him off of it. I have a good feeling that young Steven is going to be highly successful in whatever road he decides to go down.

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Unrelated: Who won last year’s TOC NCAA Tournament pool? If you read this, can you email us at [email protected]?