Skip to content
PMTPMT DB
Void
Tom IzzoTom Izzo

Great players want to be coached and pushed because they want to be the best

What I don't think people realize, and Magic [Johnson] said this to me once: great players want to be coached and pushed because great players want to be the best players. So they do. You know, it just sometimes in the high school level now, nobody does that because kids will leave.

Philosophical stance from a Hall of Fame coach.

More from this episode

View episode
Win
Mar 25, 2026
#30058
Big CatBig Cat

UNC is one of the true blue blood jobs in college basketball

This is a job that doesn't come open very often. And it is a true blue blood job... It is the logo of a team that's won a ton of national titles and a ton of Final Fours. It is literally one of the blue bloods.

UNC's historical success, tournament wins, and titles objectively categorize them as a blue blood.
Void
Mar 25, 2026
#30068
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Nate Oats would not be a great fit at UNC

I don't think he'd be a great fit there. Would people be talking about Nate Oats as much for this job if he didn't wear those jackets? They feel like Carolina jackets. It feels like he's been accepting people into anticipating him being the next UNC coach for a while.

Oats did not take the UNC job; the outcome of whether he'd have been a 'great fit' is subjective.
Void
Mar 25, 2026
#30069
Big CatBig Cat

I've fallen hard and fast for Ben McCollum - he's a rock star coach

I've fallen hard and fast for Ben McCollum. He just wins everywhere. Ben McCollum always talking about toughness. I've fallen hard. I've read a lot of Ben McCollum this last week after beating Florida. This guy fucking rocks.

Subjective opinion on a coach's quality.

More from Tom Izzo

View profile
Void
Tom IzzoTom Izzo

My coaching style isn't old school, it's the right school

When you say old school, it really does hit a sore spot with me... it's not old school. It's right school. I don't want to do anything old school. I want to do it the right way and the right way's been done for not 20 years, not 40 years, 100 years. You know, you hold people accountable. You play for the name on the front, not the back.

Subjective leadership philosophy.
Void
Tom IzzoTom Izzo

Expanding the NCAA tournament too much will hurt the TV product in the second round because Cinderellas often get blown out after the first day

I worry if they expand it too much. You know, we have already, it's tough because we have Cinderella... the more you expand it, the more those kind of things happen. Which you guys all like the first day, right? But TV doesn't like it the second round. No. So it's always fun and exciting for you guys. And meanwhile I'm sitting home ready to, you know, whatever.

Subjective opinion on tournament structure and broadcast quality.
Void
Tom IzzoTom Izzo

Winning the weekend is the key to NCAA tournament success

Then I learned the Mike Krzyzewski rule, you gotta win the weekend. And once you gotta win the weekend, 'cause the game isn't good enough anymore. Nobody cares. If you win one game, then you gotta start preparing ahead of time for the weekend.

This is a philosophical coaching stance validated by Izzo's own record of reaching 8 Final Fours.

Search

Search takes, episodes, and speakers