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Izzo vows to return after Michigan State program 'punched and kicked'

Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport / Getty

After a turmoil-filled Michigan State basketball season ended at the hands of the Syracuse Orange on Sunday, Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo vowed to bring the Spartans - and himself - back stronger than ever.

"I've got a job to do," Izzo said, according to ESPN's Dan Murphy, in response to a question asking if he would retire. "I've never run from anything in my life. Nothing. I don't plan on starting now. So, I'll be here. I took too many bullets this year not to be here. So I'll be here, and we'll be back knocking on the door to win a championship. I'm going to make damn sure of that."

Izzo's program came under fire this season after an investigation began looking into reports of violent acts, including sexual assault, by two former Spartans players and an assistant coach, and how they were handled by the school.

"Nobody, not my wife, not my kids, not my team, nobody has any idea what it's been like," Izzo said Sunday. "I'm going to find a way to self-motivate and deal with and make better this university that I've given over half my life to. Understand that everything is not perfect anywhere. Not in your house, not in my house. Not in your job, not in my job. All I can do is try my hardest to make it better. If somebody would give me a chance to bring Michigan State back, I can't think of anything I'd rather do ... it's been punched and kicked. Some of it was for mistakes that were rightfully so. Some of it was not rightfully so."

Izzo, 63, has coached Michigan State since 1995 and won one national championship. After Sunday's loss to Syracuse, he is now 3-23 against Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, and Jim Boeheim for his career.

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