Michigan State 80, Hillsdale 58
11/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement...
I saw a lot of good things and some bad things. I was pleased with the early start and thought Adreian Payne brought some electricity and Brandon (Wood) was good early also. And Keith (Appling) struggled; he had some good shots and missed some free throws but played excellent defense. He and Brandon were a little disappointing shooting the ball and it was nice to see Russell (Byrd) hit a few shots. I think between Derrick Nix and Payne we got 20 points and 13 or 14 rebounds which is good. I liked their team and was concerned about this game. They shot the ball really well and a couple times we got lazy. There were a lot more positives then negatives though, our free-throw shooting and 3-point shooting hurt us. We only had 10 turnovers and six of them were offensive fouls.
On the play of Travis Trice...
He seemed very comfortable out there. He was very good defensively and started seeing the court a little better and feeling more comfortable. He can shoot the ball when he takes good shots. I thought he had a very solid performance.
On the development of Adreian Payne...
He is a live wire as we know, and we know is a phenomenal athlete. He made one really strong power move at the end of the game that I think he wouldn't have made last season. I think he is getting a lot better and stronger, but I was disappointed in how he got lazy when he got tired. He passed it well, had four blocks and was all over the court. I was very pleased with him.
On Keith Appling's performance...
I think he had good shots at both the point and the wing. I just think he struggled a bit but it wasn't because he is playing the point and the wing. I have a lot of respect for a guy who can struggle but not let it hurt his defense, especially as an offensive player. He is incredibly tough physically and mentally, so I'm not worried about him.
On Brandon Dawson's defensive performance...
He played ok. He had some moments where he was pretty good and some moments when he was in la-la land, but he has to get better ten-fold before next week. I think he is a kid that is great at responding and I love that about him. Even though he played about 24 minutes, I don't think he was able to get into much of a rhythm and that was my fault, and yet he still had pretty good numbers.
