SI

Tom Izzo Tells Former Player to Get Out After Referee Stops Game to Eject Him

Stephen Douglas

Tom Izzo had to tell a former player to leave the stands during Michigan State’s game against USC.
Tom Izzo had to tell a former player to leave the stands during Michigan State’s game against USC. / Dale Young-Imagn Images
In this story:

Michigan State beat USC 80-51 on Monday night in a classic Big Ten rivalry game. The game was never in doubt, but there was still some drama in the second half as a former player was thrown out by an official and had to be told to leave by an incredibly unimpressed Tom Izzo.

With Michigan State up 21 with just over six minutes to play, one of the referees blew his whistle and started pointing into the crowd. As the announcers tried to figure out what was going on, the broadcast settled on a rather large fan drinking a hard iced tea.

Referee Jeffrey Anderson then headed across the court to talk to Izzo, who did not looked pleased about the situation unfolding at the Breslin Center. The coach raised his arms and shouted something across the court.

Someone then walked across the court from the area near the Michigan State bench as the crowd booed. Then Anderson made a gesture for the fan to get up and pointed towards the door.

Fox's college basketball account identified the fan as Paul Davis, a former Spartans big man who averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds as a senior during the '05-'06 season.

After being told to leave Davis stood up and put his hands on his chest, but Izzo responded by yelling something else and pointing towards another exit.

Davis played in a Final Four and Elite Eight for the Spartans two decades ago before he was taken in the second round of the 2006 NBA draft. His former coach didn't seem overly happy to see him under the circumstances.

More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

feed

Published
Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

Home/College Basketball