Trash talk’s a foundational part of basketball, something of a love language in the sport between ruthless competitors trying to gain whatever edge they can on the court.
This week, Michigan State men’s basketball guard Kur Teng received it from an unlikely source: his own coach.
During a timeout in his team’s 68-52 win at Oregon on Tuesday, Jan. 20, Spartans coach Tom Izzo used the opportunity to critique Teng’s defense, telling the 6-foot-4 sophomore that he couldn’t guard Izzo’s 99-year-old mother, Dorothy.
It wasn’t a joke, either, with Izzo saying in his post-game news conference that he was “serious as a jaybird.”
“I’m hoping that it ticks him off and maybe he’ll play better angry because some of it was unstomachable and I haven’t said that much this whole year,” Izzo said.
Teng is fifth on the team in scoring this season, averaging 7.3 points per game, but he struggled against the Ducks, picking up no stats beyond two fouls and a turnover in eight minutes. It was his second-shortest appearance in a game this season and marked the first time this season he didn’t attempt a shot.
Thankfully for Teng, the rest of his team was more sound defensively, holding Oregon to 39% shooting from the field. The victory improved Michigan State to 17-2 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play. The Spartans are No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
While the rest of his team heads back from the Pacific Northwest to prepare for a matchup on Saturday, Jan. 24 against Maryland, Teng will be taking a detour to pay a visit to a certain nonagenarian.
“We’re all flying back to East Lansing. He’s flying to Appleton,” Izzo said. “Check USA TODAY tomorrow. Him and my mom will be going at it in a nursing home in a gym and we’ll see how he does.”