Saturday's clash against Bowling Green was a hard game to coach for Tom Izzo. Sure, he was frustrated with the officials throughout the first half and the Falcons kept it tight with Michigan State for a majority of the basketball game, but it was hard for a different reason.
One of Izzo’s former players was sitting on the bench on the other side of the court. Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. played under Izzo for four years from 2014 until 2018. He began his coaching career in 2021 and has worked his way up to being the associate head coach for BGSU.
“It’s hard enough to coach against your former assistants, but it’s really hard to coach against your former players,” Tom Izzo said after the game.
More below.
DISCLAIMER: We were planning on publishing this on Sunday, but we ran into some technical difficulties that we didn't get figured out until today. So, yes, I know this is somewhat old news because the MSU vs. Bowling Green game was on Saturday.
michiganstate.rivals.com
One of Izzo’s former players was sitting on the bench on the other side of the court. Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. played under Izzo for four years from 2014 until 2018. He began his coaching career in 2021 and has worked his way up to being the associate head coach for BGSU.
“It’s hard enough to coach against your former assistants, but it’s really hard to coach against your former players,” Tom Izzo said after the game.
More below.
DISCLAIMER: We were planning on publishing this on Sunday, but we ran into some technical difficulties that we didn't get figured out until today. So, yes, I know this is somewhat old news because the MSU vs. Bowling Green game was on Saturday.
Tum Tum Nairn a perfect example of what makes Tom Izzo's program 'unique'
Tom Izzo: "It’s really hard to coach against your former players."
