Tom Izzo Really Wants One of His Players to Play His 99-Year-Old Mother in Hoops

Mic’d up basketball coaches rarely say anything entertaining.

Oftentimes, one can envision the coach simply saying something to get through the segment, then saying what he really wants to say once the microphone is safely out of the picture.

Well, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, never one to hold back, said what he really wanted to say on a mic’d up segment during the Spartans’ 68-52 win over Oregon on Tuesday.

Frustrated with the defensive effort of guard Kur Teng, Izzo gave the sophomore reserve guard a tongue-lashing that also proved to be comedic gold for fans and viewers.

"Kur you can't guard my mother. My mother!"

Inside the @MSU_Basketball huddle with Tom Izzo. pic.twitter.com/HETzQFA8UX
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 21, 2026

“Kur you can't guard my mother,” Izzo said. “My mother!”

Izzo’s mother Dorothy, for the record, is 99-and-a-half years old, so this was a pretty effective motivational dig from the Spartans coach, unless Dorothy Izzo has been lacing up the basketball sneakers in her spare time—age is just a number, after all.

After the game, Izzo said he hoped the comment made Teng, an adept three-point shooter who has struggled on the defensive end, angry.

“No, that’s the sad part,” Izzo said after the game, speaking of his mother’s abilities on the court. “She doesn’t have game and he still couldn’t guard her.”

But in classic Izzo fashion, the Spartans coach joked to reporters that Teng will have different travel plans than the rest of the team, for an epic showdown may be coming to a nursing home near you.

"We're all flying back to East Lansing and [Kur Teng] is flying to Appleton. Check USA Today tomorrow him and my mom will be going at it in a nursing home gym..."

Tom Izzo on telling Kur Teng he couldn't guard his mother during MSU's game at Oregon. pic.twitter.com/WAoMTjJxY8
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 21, 2026

“So, we’re all flying back to East Lansing, he’s flying to Appleton,” Izzo quipped. “Check USA Today tomorrow—him and my mom will be going at it in a nursing home in a gym and we’ll see how he does.”

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tom Izzo Really Wants One of His Players to Play His 99-Year-Old Mother in Hoops.

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