MSU's Izzo Gives More Clarity to Ugochukwu's Late Portal Departure

Here's what the Spartans' head coach had to say about Divine Ugochukwu's decision to enter the transfer portal.

Michigan State guard Divine Ugochukwu (99) dribbles against Oakland during the second half at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It seemed like Michigan State had gotten through the transfer portal scot-free after it officially closed on midnight this past Tuesday.

Schools have an additional 48 hours to enter names into the transfer portal once they are informed by the player, though. On Wednesday morning, it came out that MSU's Divine Ugochukwu had entered the transfer portal just before the deadline.

Michigan State Spartans guard Divine Ugochukwu competing against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, inside the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

In a vacuum, Ugochukwu's entering the portal wasn't a huge surprise. He was an important piece this season while healthy, but there were only going to be so many minutes to go around in 2026-27 between him, Jeremy Fears Jr., Kur Teng, five-star Jasiah Jervis, and four-star Carlos Medlock Jr. It was the decision's timing that was intriguing.

On Thursday, Tom Izzo appeared on "The Drive with Jack Ebling" and gave some clarity on Ugochukwu's situation and why he decided to leave so late.

'Distractions and Dirtbags'

Apr 22, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo watches during the first half of the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Something that seems apparent from what is coming out of the program is that Ugochukwu wasn't exactly dying to leave Michigan State. Shortly after he entered the portal, Fears posted on his Instagram story that you "can't have bad people in your circle," seemingly indicating that it was a lot of outside advice that was pushing Ugochukwu away from the Spartans.

"You have a lot of people in these kids’ heads right now," Izzo said. "I call them distractions and dirtbags, and there’s a lot of both. These kids, they’ve got so many people talking to them and talking to their families, there’s so much tampering and stuff that goes on, it’s so difficult to be a student-athlete right now."

"Yeah, they get the advantage of getting paid some, but they get the disadvantage of what they’re going through. I’m just telling ya, it’s hard.”

Izzo also said that Ugochukwu had loved it during his season at Michigan State. Being a part of a Sweet 16 team that went 27-8 was probably a much more enjoyable experience than going 7-24 during his freshman season at Miami (FL).

Michigan State Spartans guard Divine Ugochukwu (99) dribbles around defenders during a game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Whichever program Ugochukwu ends up with next will probably not have greater preseason aspirations than MSU. The Spartans are in the top 10 of most people's "way-too-early" lists for next season and will have the national title at the top of their list of goals.

Still a Respectful Exit

Izzo also wanted to be clear that there was no animosity toward Ugochukwu's decision. He says others have exited in the past in ways he didn't approve of, but Ugochukwu did not join that list.

"I think some people back home got to him a little bit, and he did what he needed to do, and I supported him 100%, like I did [with Xavier Booker]," Izzo said. "I don’t support them all, but usually, the guys that I have, at least we talk about it and do it in the right way."

Michigan State's Divine Ugochukwu makes a 3-pointer against USC during the second half on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images