An emotional Tom Izzo joined Fred Heumann on Mad Dog in the Morning Wednesday, after news broke that Lacey Holsworth had died.

The 8-year-old St. Johns girl became part of the MSU basketball family this season as she battled cancer. Holsworth developed an especially close bond with Adreian Payne, which Izzo said was one of life's "difference-making events."

"I'm sad, but I'm also proud," Izzo said, mentioning Holsworth's incorruptible spirit. "She taught me, she taught my family, she taught my players."

Izzo said he talked with Payne this morning after Holsworth's passing and told him: "You made a difference, and that's what we're all trying to do in this world--make a difference in somebody else's life, not our own."

Listen to the full segment with Izzo here:

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