Izzo gets blunt with Huskies at Saturday meeting

EAST LANSING, Mich. – St. Cloud State got the entire Division I experience this past weekend after playing an exhibition game at Michigan State on Friday night.

But nothing gave the beleaguered Huskies more of a shock than having legendary Spartans head coach Tom Izzo lay into them early Saturday afternoon before they watched video of their 101-46 loss to Michigan State.

Izzo, who is marking his 20th year at the helm of the Spartans, let St. Cloud State know exactly how he felt about their performance against his team. Izzo didn’t hold back in calling out the Huskies’ lack of leadership and their individualistic tendencies.

St. Cloud State first-year head coach Matt Reimer arranged the meeting after Izzo’s news conference Friday night.

“It was something to remember,” St. Cloud State freshman forward Jon Averkamp said. “He’s such an important person in the basketball community. He’s a leader and his words carry a lot of weight.

“As the years progress for me here, I’ll try and take some of his advice to heart.” - Read more at Freep.com