EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo calls it a “bucket list” venue, a basketball mecca in which the Hall of Fame coach always has wanted to coach.
Gerry Geistler knows all about the Palestra mystique. He was there 50 years ago, the last time Michigan State played at the venerable Philadelphia arena that has hosted many of the game’s biggest icons.
“Playing in the Palestra was a hoot. I mean, that place was wild,” Geistler said. “And we were an undercard game. It’s not like we were Princeton playing Louisville. It was just a wild place.