Post-Game Quotes: Iowa
3/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2011
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Michigan State head coach Tom
Opening Statement...
Well, it wasn't pretty early but I thought that against a team like Iowa, that everybody looks at and says 3-14, but if you watch them play, they had Michigan all but beat. They had Wisconsin all but beat. They had Northwestern right to the ropes. This team has played well. Fran McCaffery has done an incredible job with them for a first year, and early on we didn't play real sharp. I didn't think we were quick. Our subs really helped us with Austin (Thornton) and of course Nix and Payne and Appling hitting those shots were so big. He really has been working on his shooting. We couldn't get Durrell a bucket there for awhile but he did go to the boards a little harder and did some things there and took it to the whole a couple times. So, it was a good team win because we probably wouldn't have had won the game without our bench. With all that being said, Draymond hardly played and I look at the stats and he's just stuffing it. He went 4-for-5, 1-for-1, 3-for-4, eight rebounds, 12 point, five assists, one turnover and only played 16 minutes. He never really was involved in the game, if you ask me. That speaks volumes in that respect too. We're going to cherish the moment. Our administration, I thought, did a great job with senior night. We'll go from there.
On Keith Appling's high scoring performance and defensive rebounding...
Well, I think you saw a little bit of the future with Appling and Payne. Those guys did a pretty good job. Payne got six rebounds in 16 minutes and gets eight points. But Appling hitting those 3s, I sat him down the other day and I said you scored 46 points in this thing one time in a state tournament. He said yeah I scored them from all over. And I said well did you make some jump shots? And he laughed and said yeah. I said you just have to work on it harder. He's been working so hard on his defense and he's done such an incredible job for us defensively. I thought he did a very good job handling the ball and taking it to the hole, and I thought he and in all honesty, Thornton, hit his first three and as he said since it's been 2011. I'm not sure he's off, but it's been a very important couple of shots for him and hopefully it gets him going a little bit. Considering the amount of time we had Draymond out, and that really hurts Kalin because they work well together, I thought our subs did a phenomenal job, especially Keith and Nix and Payne.
On the senior class...
I would rather talk about them than the rest of the season tonight. It's been challenging. It's been different. It's been interesting. It's been hard. It's been fun. It's kind of like a whole gambit of things of emotions that you go through. When you cut through it all and you look at two Final Fours and two Big Ten Championships and a Sweet Sixteen and over 100 games won, they really did deliver. Like I always tell them, I'm never going to be happy, I always want more for them, themselves and our program. I think everybody handles adversity differently. I'm kind of hoping that we have some basketball to play. We are starting to understand that if you are a good defensive team, it can make up for offensive woes. We are starting to do more together. We are starting to enjoy it a little bit. There just has been so much pressure on this team for the whole year. It's hard for them to enjoy it. As I said, and I've meant this, I've learned a lot from this team, good and bad. It's going to make me better in the long run. I think in Kalin's case, he's grown up so much this past year and his playing his best basketball. He will be playing beyond here. Durrell, it's been a slump for him. It's kind of interesting. I've told my players about John Smoltz talking to my team. He called the other day and just said keep fighting and keep hanging in there. I said yeah, remember when you came up here and talked, and I was telling Durrell that. Tonight, he took some good shots but at least he moved a little better and got to the whole a bit. I think he will feel better about it and take a couple more steps. Mike Kebler is the all American boy. He's everybody's dream. You grow up wanting to play in your hometown at the major university, and here it is his senior year and he gets the chance to do that on a fairly consistent level, at least down the stretch. He started four or five games and got to live the dream. Not many people get to live their dream.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery
On level of concern with defense in the second half versus a lack of offense...
I don't think our defensive execution and, or intensity is anywhere what it was in the first half in the second half. If you're going to beat this team, especially here, you have to play with the same level of intensity as we did in the first half. I thought in the first half, our defensive execution was very good. We were still down four, but we fought. We made some mistakes, but we got some steals and we hung in there. I thought we competed on the glass. They had a few more rebounds in the second half than we did, but they're going to crash; they're coming and you know they're coming. That's why we wanted to make sure we rebounded well. Our best offense today was transition. We just didn't get as many run-outs in the second half as we did in the first half.
On Keith Appling's level of play tonight for Michigan State...
The thing about him is, he is a terrific player. I think everyone knows that. Sometimes he plays the point and sometimes Kalin plays the point, but I've been impressed with him. His shot has not been what it was tonight, but everyone knows that he is capable of scoring. He's had some good scoring nights, but nothing like this. So, from that standpoint, I'd liked to have seen us do a little better job.
On coaching a team showing a lack of intensity, and moving forward...
There were a couple things that were disappointing. I was trying to sub for what I thought were players that were dragging. I thought Cartwright was dragging in the second half. Granted, he was guarding one of the best players in the country. If we're going to beat this team, we have to get him under control. We had him under control and we beat them the last time. I thought Marble did a better job on him; I was pleased with that. But I thought our ball screen defense in the second half was horrendous. That's my fault, it's not their fault. Maybe I should have subbed a little bit more. I played my key guys major minutes.
