Izzo ticked at ex-MSU star over bizarre ejection

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said former Spartans star Paul Davis deserved his ejection from the stands during Monday night’s game against USC.

Michigan State led USC by 21 points with just over six minutes remaining when Davis — a key member of the Spartans’ 2005 Final Four team — exchanged words with referee Jeffrey Anderson, who stopped the game to talk to Izzo.

After a brief exchange with Anderson, Izzo looked across the court at Davis, threw his arms in the air and yelled, “What the f— are you doing? What are you doing?”

“You know I love Paul Davis. He’s one of my favorite guys,” Izzo said after the 12th-ranked Spartans’ 80-51 victory. “He’s always calling and doing things.

“But what he said — he should never say anywhere in the world. That ticked me off. Just because it’s 25, 20 years later, I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? ‘I screwed up, Coach. Sorry.'”

Izzo clarified that Davis’ comment “wasn’t something racial, it wasn’t something sexual,” but emphasized that “it was just the wrong thing to say, and I’ll leave it at that.”

The unusual incident interrupted a historic night for Izzo, who recorded his 750th career victory to move to eighth among active Division I coaches.

Davis, who is 10th in school history with 1,718 career points, averaged 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game during his four-year career at Michigan State from 2002 through 2006. The former McDonald’s All American finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in Michigan State’s 87-71 loss to eventual champion North Carolina in the 2005 Final Four.

Davis was seated a few rows behind the sideline opposite the Michigan State bench Monday before being ejected by Anderson. Davis stood up as Michigan State associate athletic director Seth Kesler escorted him from his seat.

“He kind of got after the official and he was 150% wrong,” Izzo said. “And for a guy like me to 150% agree with the official, it’s almost illegal. So I feel bad because [Davis] did that because he’s been a guy that comes back a lot and we’ve got to keep him coming back. He made a mistake.”

It was a bizarre moment that overshadowed another strong outing for a Michigan State team that’s off to a 13-2 start and ranked second nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom. Coen Carr led all scorers with 18 points and Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with seven assists.

Izzo reiterated that Davis remains a valuable member of Michigan State’s program.

“I’m going to tell him he was wrong like I would my son, like I would my daughter, like I would my player,” Izzo said. “But I need Paul Davis here.”