I think Tom Izzo was testing his players when he decided to get rid of the postgame handshake line. If the sound of his voice doesn't change his stance, anyone who followed college basketball during his tenure could guess.
Even if it is from Michigan, it is still a solid take. Juwan Howard hit an opposing assistant coach after a heated exchange with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard in the handshake line.
Eliminating the postgame tradition would be like doing away with good manners.
I would stop short of this line.
Izzo said that it was typical of our country right now. Let's try to do that.
Walter, what does Vietnam have to do with you? I agree that saying good game after they kicked your ass builds character. He is correct when he says that moments like those are when you learn the most about people.
How many cliches and idioms do I need to say to explain why people would jump to the conclusion that it might be better to avoid highly emotional teams interacting with one another after the final buzzer? LeGarette Blount knocked out a Broncos lineman in the opening game of 2009. What about the altercation between Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz after the 49ers-Lions game?
It's not illogical to suggest eliminating situations after incidents like the Howard-Gard dust up. Izzo said watching the melee evoked memories of the Malice at the Palace.
It would be dumb to cancel sportsmanship when the Michigan State head man had to, as he so forcibly said, "man up" later in the evening.
I tried to find footage of the Michigan State-Iowa postage pleasantries, but since they went off without a fracas, you will have to trust that Sparty did as their coach said they would do.
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