Bad blood between Roy Williams and Tom Izzo

Tom Izzo is just one of those guys that’s easy to like. You won’t find a coach out there who has a bad thing to say about him. His Rolodex of friends in the College Basketball world is several thousand deep.

He rarely comments on other coaches problems and often goes to bat for guys in his profession.

So when he made this comment about North Carolina coach Roy Williams, everyone’s ears perked up a little.

“I was very proud of how he handled it, because I didn’t appreciate it,” Izzo said of Delvon Roe. “I wasn’t going to let that be a big thing in the game. But of all the kids in the world that we’re going to pick on, they picked the wrong kid. I can give him a handful that he can pick on who maybe wouldn’t be as honest and up front about things, but him and his family? No, he picked the wrong kid.

“The other thing I thought was wrong was the insinuation like, almost, that Michigan State did something wrong to get him. So he picked the wrong kid, he picked the wrong family and he picked the wrong program. And there’ll be a time. There’ll be a time.”

There is a back story to this. Delvon Roe, a highly touted recruit chose MSU over North Carolina two years ago. Roy Williams felt that Roe had went against his word when he promised him personally that he was going to the Tar Heels. To Roe’s credit, he has vehemently stated that he said no such thing. His father also backs him up.

Instead of handling the matter privately, Williams wrote about it in his autobiography. And then to pour salt in the wound, he brought it up again after North Carolina beat MSU on Tuesday in the Dean Dome.

Essentially, its Williams word against that of a kid…and instead of taking the high road, he insulted
him, his family, Tom Izzo and the entire MSU program.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Considering both these teams should make deep runs in the tournament, there is a chance they could meet up.

And though North Carolina got the better of the Spartans last year, would you bet against an angry Tom Izzo.

Yea, neither would I.

You stay classy by the way Roy Williams.

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