EAST LANSING, Mich. — Sometimes at a family reunion, someone steps out of line. And as the Izzone Reunion game brought fans and players back to Breslin Center during the tail end of students’ winter break, Tom Izzo had to step in and make some corrections.

With 6:01 to play in the second half of Michigan State’s 80-51 drubbing of USC, referee Jeffrey Anderson blew his whistle to stop play and call for the ejection of a fan. That fan turned out to be Paul Davis, a former Spartan.

“What he said, he should never say anywhere in the world, and that ticked me off,” said Izzo, who notched his 750th career win against the Trojans, pushing the Spartans’ record to 13-2 and 3-1 in Big Ten play. “So just because it's 25, 20 years later, I'm gonna have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he'll say? He screwed up. Coach, sorry.

“He kind of got after the official, and he was 150% wrong. And for a guy like me to 150% agree with the official, that’s almost illegal.”

Izzo clarified that what Davis said wasn’t racial or sexual in nature. Just something out of line. It appeared to be in reaction to a foul called on Jaxon Kohler on a chase down block, which led to free throws for USC guard Jerry Easter II. Davis wouldn't be the only one in the crowd who disagreed with the call, judging by the cacophony of boos when the scoreboard aired a video replay.

The 41-year-old Davis played center and power forward for the Spartans from 2002 to 2006, scoring 1,718 career points and collecting 910 rebounds before embarking on a pro career that included 82 NBA games over four years and various European and minor league stops until 2014-15.

Since his basketball retirement, Davis has worked in the finance sector, including a stint at Acrisure since August 2025. Acrisure is the company of Greg Williams, who alongside his wife, Dawn, made a $401 million commitment to Michigan State University, with $390 earmarked for MSU athletics.

Williams himself was at Monday's game, in a seat behind the Spartans' bench.Though it’s been a while since Izzo could yell at Davis in practice, he wasn’t shy about doing so Monday. Davis, taking a swig of a Twisted Tea as nearby fans laughed, was slow to move after Anderson’s initial ejection. After a conference between Anderson and Izzo, the 31-year Spartan head coach walked out onto the court with his arms wide in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" Izzo appeared to say, with perhaps an expletive of his own sprinkled in, as the crowd booed the ejection.

Davis left his seat with the escort of a suited usher and watched the rest of the game with another former Spartan, Derrick Nix, in a suite. Nix, who visited practice last week, posted a picture of the two after the game with the caption “R.I.P ta da competition.”

Though it's never great to stand out for being ejected, Izzo made it clear he's still a fan of Davis. To this day, Davis is still involved in his alma mater, visiting to work players out over the summer. And even if it's been a long time since Davis was on the court for Izzo, that won't stop Izzo from being his coach.

“I don't want to discourage him either. I want to tell him he was wrong, like I would my son, my daughter, like I would my player, like I would myself,” Izzo said. “... I need Paul Davis here. Paul Davis is a very important part of this program, because he went through tough times when he was here, and he's really been a good advocate of telling kids how they deal with the process and that.”

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