MSU 118, Alcorn State 60
12/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2008
MICHIGAN STATE BASKETBALL
Post-Game Quotes
Alcorn State
Dec. 13th, 2008
Alcorn State Head Coach Larry Smith
On Michigan State's performance...
It was a nightmare playing them. State is a very good team and they came out and played very well. They did whatever they wanted to do and made shots, rebounded the basketball and they were very athletic. We were just unable to control them through the entire game.
On the benefit of playing a team like Michigan State...
Financially, it helps tremendously, but it is still a very good thing for the student-athletes. I think that is great exposure for us and it gives our kids a look at how a big-time program operates. It is really fun for them and they enjoy it. Hopefully we will get an opportunity to come back here.
On MSU's defense in the second half...
I think that they had a lot to do with us missing shots, they are very athletic and they have size and length. With that they created situations that we were not able to handle. Some of those things we need to work on; we are relatively small so we just need to work at other things and improve as the days go along.
On what was impressive about MSU's team...
I like their athletic ability and their ability to get down the floor. Their bigs are very active and they run the floor well, and their guards make plays. And when you have athletes like that, chances of winning are great. If they keep playing like that, they are going to be very hard to beat.
MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement...
First I'd like to say that Larry Smith, who coached with Jimmy Boylen, will get that program going. It's tough the way he came in (to the program). I told our media that we had a great week of practice, which is odd during finals as you never know how guys will respond during finals. If I had to pick one topic that I'm most proud of today, it's 35 assists out of 44 baskets. I thought our point guards, like Kalin (Lucas) did a great job distributing early, and Korie (Lucious) came in and did a pretty good job. Chris Allen, who has been playing better, maybe played his best game. Delvon's starting to play a little bit better after a slow start today. It worked out, keeping our lineup and keeping a little bit of a substitution pattern. We needed a game where we could play some of our guys, and not at his [Larry Smith] expense, but we just needed a game to get this team on track. We're not kidding ourselves, we know it was a tough trip for Alcorn State, but we still need to make shots.
On the assists to baskets ratio, and his ideal percentage...
I think in the high 60's would be really good. At halftime, we had 22 baskets and 20 assists, and that's unbelievable, so is 35 out of 44. We put on the board before the game, that Magic (Johnson) proved here, that it's as much fun to give as to receive, and as much fun to make a great pass as it is to make a great shot. I felt like this week we did a better job of that. I think some of it too is that we are getting those wings to run a little bit better and it opens things up for Kalin. We have a long way to go, but the good thing is that Suton started to run a little bit today. Now with getting more out of Marquise (Gray), Draymond (Green), and Delvon is going to continue to improve. I think we're going to have the depth on the inside and on the perimeter and we can start getting into a pattern. That's what these next couple of weeks will be for.
On holding Troy Jackson to 6-of-17 shooting...
I think he is really good. I've seen him make some tough shots, and I've seen him make unbelievable shots on film. Walton did a pretty good job on him and he got a couple of them late. We had some other guards - Chris Allen may have been his best defensive job in his life. I thought (Allen) did, and not just on Jackson, so much better defensively than he has been. But I do think he [Jackson] missed some shots that he would usually make.
On Korie Lucious bringing energy to the team...
He does bring energy. There may be a time when, we talked about if defensively certain lineups, we could play those two guys together. I think the only thing we're harping on Korie for is that he hasn't been shooting as well as he has and he's turning it over too much. I think some of those passes, where Kalin makes the simple one, Korie might make a spectacular one but then have the 5-6 turnovers. He brings a little zip, but some how he has to find a happy medium with the turnovers.
