Aaron Henry, Tom Izzo Another Perfect Match In The Making For Michigan State

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Photo credit © Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Washington D.C. -- Lost in the uproar over Tom Izzo's vocal outburst at Aaron Henry last weekend was the fact that Henry was there, playing a vital role on a team bound for the Elite 8 and perhaps beyond, because Izzo has been hard on him from the start. Henry would never have drawn Izzo's ire if the coach didn't believe in him so staunchly. 

The freshman has hardly looked like the beaten-down, sympathetic figure he was briefly made out to be in two games since. In fact, Henry was the best player on the floor in Michigan State's win over LSU Friday night in the Sweet 16, scoring a game-high 20 points to go along with eight boards and six assists. His defense was as valuable as his offense.

Starring alongside him was fellow freshman Gabe Brown, who seemingly came out of nowhere to drop 15 points. Of the Spartans' five freshmen, Izzo has probably ridden Henry and Brown the hardest. 
"I see why he stays on us," Henry said afterward. 

Also forgotten in the immediate aftermath of 'Izzo v. Henry' was that Izzo knows his players better than anyone. He recruits to the culture of his program. He forges relationships with kids before they even get to campus. If he breaks them down when they arrive, it's only with an eye toward building them back up, stronger than before. 

[RELATED: Aaron Henry Makes It Clear: Nothing But Love For Izzo>

In the case of Henry, Izzo got into him because he knew Henry could take it. And Henry appreciates what so many observers overlooked, that the day Izzo lets something slide is the day Henry's no longer so important to his team. 

"If he has to keep cussing me out like that on the court, man, I’m all for it," said Henry. "I’m all for the, 'Yes sir, alright, I got you.' I’m all for that. He can stay on me, he say whatever he wants, man. He’s a Hall of Famer and I just want to be in the position that he’s in." 

Henry is going through the same experience with Izzo this season that so many great Michigan State players have gone through before. One of them was sitting right next to him on the podium after Friday night's win. For Cassius Winston, it was an especially long process, but look where he is now. 

"You've got to understand Coach," Winston said. "You've got to know how much he loves and cares for you. He wouldn't do that, he wouldn't get on you like that if he didn't care about you. You've got to come to understand that. If he didn't care about you he would let you mess up, let you be bad, and he'd just leave you alone. That's not the situation you want to be in.

"You want to be coached and pushed. And he's got years and years of that working out for the best for players. He's been pushing Henny all year, been on him all year. And Henny started playing his best basketball towards the end of the year. I don't want to say that's a coincidence." 

Sitting beside them both was Izzo himself, who has heard enough about a situation that he feels was blown out of proportion from the start. He's frustrated that people are judging a two-plus year relationship on a 10-second viral video. So when the subject was brought back up within a larger question about Henry's performance, Izzo said, It's almost borderline ridiculous."

But he did add this. 

"All players that want to be great need to be pushed. When a player responds, that is probably the greatest part of my job. And this kid has taken off," said Izzo. "I'm really proud of him. I've always been proud of him. He'd be the first to tell you that he needs to be pushed. I mean, he was not recruited by the world, okay? And there were some reasons why.

"I truly do appreciate Aaron Henry. I appreciate the fact that instead of moping and complaining like everybody else in the world he went to work. That's why he's going to be a great player before he's done, and I mean a great player."

Henry was arguably the least celebrated recruit in Michigan State's 2018 class. He's turned into its best player. 

Michigan State wouldn't be where it is without him, and Henry wouldn't be where he is without a coach who has continually -- and, yes, sometimes angrily -- demanded more. Never was that clearer to him than on Friday night, when he set a new high in scoring in the Spartans' most important game of the year to date. 

"When he gets on you when you first get on campus, it's a little confusing when he talks to you sometimes the way he does," Henry said with a smile. "It's all love. And now having a game like this and the previous games I've had before where I'm progressing, it just shows me why he stayed on me. 

"I'll be forever grateful for what he's done for me and the love he's shown for me and the coaching he's done for me."