Michigan State basketball’s Mady Sissoko, Steven Izzo have COVID-19; game at Iowa still on
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Tom Izzo: Michigan State basketball down two players heading to No. 8 Iowa
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Editor’s note: The Michigan State basketball game at Iowa for Thursday has been postponed after an additional positive test came Wednesday.
Tom Izzo learned first-hand about COVID-19.
Now, Michigan State basketball’s coach plans to coach two of his players — one of them his son — on how to get through their own case of coronavirus.
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Freshman Mady Sissoko and sophomore Steven Izzo tested positive for the virus Sunday and will not travel with the Spartans as they head to No. 8 Iowa for a 9 p.m. tipoff Thursday, the MSU coach announced Wednesday.
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Sissoko and Izzo, who are roommates, become the first MSU players to miss time because of COVID-19 during the season that began Nov. 25. They will be in isolation for 10 days.
Tom Izzo was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Nov. 9 and dealt with a few complications during his recovery but returned in time for the Spartans’ opener Nov. 25 against Eastern Michigan. He said Oct. 14 his team “had a couple of cases” that “set us back a little bit” after strong workouts in July and August, but Izzo did not specify if it was players or coaches or how many within the program dealt with the coronavirus.
“You watch the NBA, the NFL, now hockey is starting. You’re not only seeing a lot of people getting it, but you’re seeing more second-time (cases), which was my worry of Christmas and New Year’s and guys that had it maybe earlier in the summer,” the Hall of Fame coach said Wednesday. “We didn’t have many that had it early, and then the second one comes 90-100 days later.”
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Izzo said team activities have not been shut down after these positive tests and his other 13 players have continued to test negative since Sissoko and his son’s diagnoses.
The game remains on course to be played, but Izzo said he would understand if Iowa opted to postpone it as a precaution, as have a few other games in the Big Ten this season.
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“That’s why we test every day, and that’s how it’s worked. And it’s worked pretty well for the most part,” he said. “Now, if we have a bunch of guys that get it and test positive, then we will be shut down.”
Big Ten rules state that both players must be held out of team activities for 17 days. That means they will miss Thursday’s game as well as home games Sunday against Indiana and Jan. 23 against No. 13 Illinois. The earliest Sissoko and Steven Izzo can return to practice will be Jan. 28, the day the Spartans play at Rutgers.
Sissoko, a native of Mail, West Africa, has become an integral part of MSU’s rotation. The 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward has averaged 8.0 minutes a game in the Spartans’ past four games and was expected to provide a shot-blocking defensive presence against Iowa’s Luka Garza, the nation’s No. 1 scorer at 27.6 points. He’s appeared in 10 of 12 games, averaging 0.7 points, 0.6 blocks and 2.0 rebounds over 5.6 minutes of play.
“It saddens me, of course, because Mady was a guy that we were starting to play more minutes,” Tom Izzo said. “And we knew with the Iowas and Illinois coming up that size would help.”
Steven Izzo, a 5-8 walk-on guard, has played eight total minutes in five games this season.
“Obviously, Mady was getting some minutes for us, so now we got other guys who are gonna fill in those minutes,” junior forward Joey Hauser said Wednesday. “Steven does a great job bringing energy on the bench and every day in practice, so someone’s gonna step into that role as well.”
MSU’s team spent time Sunday morning outside Sparrow Hospital delivering artwork to patients but remained socially distant, coach Izzo said. His son was part of that visit and on video wearing a mask but Sissoko did not attend, a team spokesman confirmed.
The Spartans began daily antigen testing Oct. 26 and tested again Wednesday morning, a regimen coach Izzo said he believes will allow them to board a plane after practice that evening for Thursday’s game in Iowa City.
“That has made it a lot better for us and gives us a chance,” Izzo said. “When I got it, we didn’t shut down. I was with my players every day. Because I tested 16 straight days negatively — and who knows how I got it, but I got it — they just got me out of here before I could infect somebody else. And we did the same with Mady — as soon as we found out he tested positive, we got him out. Same with Steven.
“At the same time, we’ve gone more than a few days now with nobody else testing positive. (But) that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of the woods. … I’m just following our medical doctors, our Big Ten protocol. And I think we plan on playing the game, but that could change.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball’s Mady Sissoko, Steven Izzo have COVID-19