Michigan State - Loyola Post-Game Quotes
12/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2002
MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo:
"This is the time you hate stat sheets because the stat sheets look pretty good, and I was very disappointed in the effort and the way this team played today. Which goes to prove coaching is getting harder. I didn't think we had a great practice before Kentucky and we played very well and I thought we had a great practice yesterday. In fairness to the guys, we have had a lot of sickness. They were sick yesterday and I was sick tonight because we just did not play with the game plan that we wanted to play with. I take nothing away from Loyola, I thought they played awfully hard and made some plays. That was not fair to our fans to give the kind of effort we gave tonight."
"We have to get better in practice or we are in trouble on Saturday (vs. South Florida)."
"Sooner or later you have to grow up. Leadership on this team is nonexistent right now. If you wonder why I have to get more involved that is the reason, and I will, starting tomorrow."
Loyola Head Coach Larry Farmer:
"Needless to say, we're disappointed, particularly with our shooting and rebounding in the second half. We were very excited about the opportunity to come and play a team like Michigan State. Our kids respect Michigan State, but we were not afraid. If it wasn't for their great shooting, transition game and excellent defense, I thought we could've made it a closer game. However, I was pleased with our effort, and I thought we battled.
(On Coach Izzo's reaction to the game):
"Nobody knows this team better than he does. And if he's not happy with some of the things they did, maybe he's just trying to get them better. For us, when you play teams like Michigan State, a lot of your weaknesses are exposed. Once our players understand things like boxing out, good shot selection and getting back on defense, we will get better. Games like this reinforce these things. From our standpoint, our guys got a valuable education tonight."