Like most coaches across the country, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo took note of what happened at the end of Sunday’s game between Michigan and Wisconsin. He also saw the suggestions made by some that postgame handshake lines should be done away with.
Izzo vehemently disagreed with that assessment. In fact, he said his team would always do a handshake line, even if it meant they were shaking air.
“Not shaking hands, that’s typical of our country right now. Instead of solving the problem, let’s make an excuse and let’s see if we can just instead of, confronting and demanding that it changes, let’s eliminate it so that we don’t have those problems. Let’s try to do that,” Izzo said sarcastically, via Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press. “That’s perfect us right now, that’s not perfect me. That’s not happening here. So if some team doesn’t want to shake hands, you’re gonna see 15 of my guys walk down and shake air. We’re going to shake air and I’m gonna to shake air and then we’re gonna leave.”
The handshake line is where Michigan coach Juwan Howard and Wisconsin coach Greg Gard got into it after Wisconsin’s win on Sunday. The thinking is that if not for the handshake line, the two would not have had the chance to cross paths. Clearly, Izzo is not buying that. He’s probably right, too.
