“IZ-ZOO, IZ-ZOO, IZ-ZOO!”

They were calling for him again – five students clad in blue and gray with nothing better to do than drive five hours on a Wednesday night to cheer for their favorite Hoya folk hero.

The calls for Izzo to enter the game have become as much of a staple of Hoya blowout wins as Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert scoring in double figures. The royal rooters at Rutgers aside, for most basketball fans the chant sounds less “IZ-ZO!” and more “IZ-Who?”

Few remember his two-point explosion against Stetson in 2005, nor do they recall the one free throw he sank against Howard back in 2004. Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale aren’t still gushing over that memorable one rebound, one assist performance against Notre Dame during his freshman campaign?

For those that only attend the marquee matchups on Georgetown’s schedule or simply like to beat the post-game traffic, Kenny Izzo is just that guy on the end of the bench. Turns out he’s perfectly okay with that.

“I think it’s great the fans are into it,” Izzo says of his late-game fan club. “Some people don’t like it – some people do. They think it’s like a victory cigar, whatever. If the fans are there, they’re having a good time – we’re just glad they’re there. It’s doesn’t bother me.”

In four years on the Hilltop Izzo has appeared in only 25 games, scored one field goal and notched four total points. But the buzz-cut, White Sox-backing native of Chicago carries a lunch pail work ethic far more valuable than his career stats. Every day in practice, Izzo bumps elbows against Big East’s elite in Green and Hibbert, a thankless task that is by no means easy. Just ask Aaron Gray.

“I just come in here every day, try to get better individually, but try to do it within the framework of the team, that way I get better, the team gets better and everybody’s happy,” Izzo says of his role on the team. “Obviously I’m not playing that much so I try to push the guys who are – try and simulate what they are going to see on the court. Just push each other as hard as we can, we both come out a little better at the end of the day.”

Not only does Izzo push Green during practice sessions – he also helps him unwind afterwards.

“Kenny always has a joke. He’s the jokester on the team,” Green says of his seemingly stoic mate. “He’s a heck of a guy. I love to be around him.”

Should Head Coach John Thompson III one day turn and signal Izzo to enter the fray, the finance and marketing major claims the fans would see a high-energy guy, someone who could provide a jolt of vigor off the bench. Izzo may not have Hibbert’s baby hook or Green’s silky jumper in his repertoire, but he holds a scrappy set of tools to ply his trade of improving those around him.

“I get real excited,” he says. “I haven’t played that much since high school, but maybe a little like Pat [Ewing]. I don’t throw as many elbows as Pat, but that type of player. Just go out and help my teammates – more of a role player, try and help to get the win.”

Along with fellow senior forward Sead Dizdarevic, Izzo has grown to accept his place as one of the less-recognizable Hoyas. While he admits it was not easy going from basking in the spotlight as a prep star to toiling in obscurity as a college reserve, it is a role he has come to embrace.

Izzo’s college basketball epiphany came shortly after Christmas of his first year on the Hilltop.

“It was a very difficult shift, especially my freshman year, but I guess towards the end of the first semester, maybe moving into beyond Christmas, I kind of got used to it,” Izzo says. “I was just talking to my family – they were great about supporting me with it – and my friends and you just have to shift it, from like, `How am I going to get ready for this game?’ to `How am I going to get other people ready for this game?'”

Izzo exemplifies the unselfishness that has defined Thompson’s squad all season, and his willingness to answer no matter what the call has won him the respect of his teammates.

“Kenny’s worked hard and he deserves the time that he gets,” Green, a team co-captain, says. “When he gets in I’m always rooting for him. I want him to score every time he touches the ball, but it doesn’t happen that way. But I always give him credit for his hard work because he’s improved a lot since I’ve been here, in my three years here, so I’m always on his side when he’s in the game.”

Izzo kills downtime in practice and passes the minutes on the bench by analyzing every movement in the game and breaking down his opponents. Don’t let the long stare and constant clapping fool you- Izzo is not watching as a disinterested bystander or restless fan.

“I basically have the mentality of a coach,” he says. “Once the game actually starts, those of us who aren’t really playing, we just try to pick up tendencies, pick up plays the other team is running. We’ve been scouting the other team for a week so they guys that aren’t playing kind of know what’s coming. So we try to holler out, help our teammates out on the court, help them out when they come out for timeouts – just anything here and there to give them support and help them get the win.”

So will Kenny follow Michigan State headman Tom as the next Izzo to pace the sidelines in a sleek suit? Green doesn’t think so.

“See him coaching? Nah, I can’t see Kenny coaching,” Green laughs. “He’s a good critic of a lot of things but I can’t see him coaching ever.” So where does Green see his teammate “in 20 years?

“Somewhere making a lot of money,” Green says with a genuine smile. “He’s a great guy, and he always works hard. He has a good work ethic.”

With each tournament victory, Georgetown’s road to the Final Four becomes a little shorter, and Izzo’s career as a Hoya inches nearer to its end. It will be tough for Izzo to move on and leave the Hilltop behind, but his time as a basketball player is far from over.

“I just love the game – I love playing basketball, so as long as I’m on the court playing it . nothing else matters too much.”

To prolong his time on the hardwood, Izzo plans to make the jump after graduation. While most Hoya fans and television crews and beat writers fall over themselves analyzing whether Green should stay or go, Izzo plans to quietly pursue a career in professional basketball.

“After I graduate I’m going to look into seeing if I can keep playing somewhere, maybe overseas or something like that,” the Chicago native says.

Over the summer he plans on traveling to Europe to meet up with former Hoya RaMell Ross (COL ’05), who currently plays in Ireland, in hopes of securing a roster spot for himself in an English-speaking country.

When he’s gone, most of his peers on the Hilltop will remember Izzo fondly, for they will always associate him with the carefree euphoria of a lopsided Hoya victory. Here’s to Kenny Izzo’s continued hardwood success overseas, in an English-speaking country, of course.

After all, “IZ-ZOO” just won’t sound the same with a French accent.

– Staff writer Brenna McGee contributed to this report.