Post Game Quotes: Maryland
1/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Michigan State Men's Basketball Coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement…
Well when two teams shoot 37 and 38 percent- whatever we both shot…but we are two teams that fought awfully hard. I thought that was the hardest we played in years, and I don't mean that in not complementing our other teams but we needed that type of effort…We didn't shoot the ball great, who am I proudest of? Well I'm proudest that we had eight turnovers...that was a big thing. Plus 10 on the rebounding was a big thing. Shooting almost 80 percent from the free throw line was very important. Costello…I think I'm just joining Allen Iverson - who needs practice? He didn't practice for three days, he didn't do nothing, so I guess practice is overrated. But the guy just sucked it up and played. And yet there was an argument in the locker room between the players and the coaches on who should start. Costello definitely deserved it. Believe it or not the guy who went one for eight and had a bunch of great looks did a hell of a job on Trimble. I know he got 24 points, I know all the things I'm just telling you that Eron Harris…coming from the beginning of the year when he struggled to guard many people did an incredible, incredible job and didn't let his offensive woes- he had four great looks in first half, but just couldn't buy a shot- didn't let those affect his game. And another thing, I think when you see a team more dialed in, you have to play smarter. We had so many time outs that we then came out and scored in the pockets, the execution on those was great. Our fast break was probably as good as it has been in a couple of years.
And Denzel wore down. He did, he was walking on his knees there for a while. But, when he can rebound like that- that was the one thing I thought was still missing from his game- and then came back...it made a big difference. So it was a big win for us, but it doesn't put us back in the human race yet- we have a long way to go- but I am really proud of this team. I am proud of this effort, I'm proud of my assistant coaches. You know, we had to weather some storms this past week. There weren't just storms out east, there were storms here, and I thought they weathered them. They competed - they just played four games in 10 days - and I thought we had incredible effort.
On Matt Costello bear hug…
I was surprised that Matt played. I really thought that he played in the beginning- he didn't even go through walk through. Give our trainer credit, give him credit. Yeah, I could use a ride once in a while, it's not all bad.
On tonight's crowd…
Give the crowd credit. I thought in the last game they really tried to pick us up and we were falling down but that's what you need. And then tonight, it was really an incredible crowd to have- 150 of our former guys back, hopefully a bunch of football recruits-I'm sure we'll get something but I credit Nike also for the uniforms and shirts. I know they're crazy but 17-year-olds like them and right now I like 17-year-olds more than 80-year-olds. I just thought our crowd was sensational.
On team's defensive effort…
I thought the first half we kept the ball out of the paint incredible well. Second half, I'm sure their plan was to go right in and punch those in and then start penetrating a little more. We got a little lazy on our step-ups-our bigs. But you have to give our bigs credit- DD, I was on him all night because he has got to learn to get up, up, up. But pretty good job especially for a freshman. And then Costello was just off the charts. Kenny Goins gave us something, Schilling gave us something. And Denzel, you know, I say he is back 95 percent healthy but I don't think 95 percent win-wise. He was sucking wind there for a while and I'm proud of Denzel. Somebody missed a couple shots and he would have had a triple-double but I mean 14 rebounds is a ton for a guard playing against a team of six foot plus a lot of the night. Give the kid credit, it shows what he can do when healthy. Our break, he pushed it pretty good even though it wore him down a little bit- that was the only negative.
On Bryn Forbes overcoming an offensive slump…
You know we ran the first play when it was supposed to be a tip play- we thought DD could win the tip, but I think he lost by a foot, he might have been a little nervous there- but we were going to Bryn right away and I felt like we had to do that. We had to get him going. The last few games he's really struggled and yet every shot he's took was good, and I'm happy for him too. There's no one that works harder at it. He played pretty good defense. A lot of guys shot pretty good- but like I said we didn't shoot good overall. We ended up scoring 75 points because we got 17 offensive rebounds. I mean, Denzel I think got three off of missed free-throws. So, a lot of guys did a lot of things.
On 59 points from three seniors…
You know, that is a great way to put it. Seniors are supposed to come through and when you look at Costello injured, Denzel back but like I said nowhere near the condition he needs to be in, and then Bryn in probably the biggest slump of his basketball career…When you look back in those games and see the shots he [Bryn] took like against Nebraska…shot after shot, they just wouldn't go in. So that shows a little bit of character. That shows the character of those three seniors and it shows that they can still do something special. As I said, we are humbled one week; we're exhilarated the next…but we are still a good team. We are a good team that has got to get a lot better. We have a little bit of a rotation; we had a couple of guys who stepped up from off the bench. I think we have something to build on now and we're going to keep building.
On playing less players or not in the future…
You know, I made some calls to some coaches this week who have some major programs, and we talked about what their philosophy was or what they were thinking. And you know, everyone wants to shrink the playing group. It's easier in a way but it has to be earned and to be honest with you we still aren't completely sold on what we got but we are taking some steps forward. You know, with Deyonta in there, it lets us bring Gavin in, and Kenny is playing better; I really thought I was going to get Marv in there and give him a shot. But I don't know if it is a nine or ten man rotation. Nine is still a lot, but it worked out and in that game you had to play them. We thought at times, 'Man, if there was only Tum'- because there were times where our break was really going but at points we couldn't twist it, Denzel just couldn't go. But that's a hell of a team. I think Trimble is better now than last year, I really do. Even if he isn't scoring as much- although, tonight he did- but taking care of the ball he just makes some great plays.
On response to second-half timeouts called…
Well, I'm not sure exactly what happened, but, for the most part, every time there was a dead ball, I thought we responded. We either made or shot, or we got a good shot that didn't go in. And that means guys are a little more focused and wired in and executed a little better. Those were big plays. I think sometimes I hold on to my timeouts, so I chewed myself out for the Iowa game and a little bit for Nebraska, and holding a timeouts with one less. I called one when they made two baskets in a row which is not normal for me, but I like the way my guys responded. I like the way they executed coming out of those, I thought it was a big part of the game.
On difference in this game as opposed to previous two…
Well, you think about it - making baskets - we made more baskets in both of those games [previous two losses]. As far as percentages, we shot better in both of those games. So, I don't think it was making baskets. When there was that scrum on the floor, I thought of all of our old guys sitting up there. I could just see Andre going hysterical and having some fun. That made a difference. We got more loose balls. To out-rebound that team is big. Especially with the way we are right now. Costello is - I'm telling you, he did not practice a second. He did not go through walk through. Heroic effort by him, but I like the part about the three seniors. I get maligned a lot for having seniors, sometimes, and it's nice to see seniors do something special. As I told them, I was talking to Austin Thornton before the game. We were in the locker room and the guys had just come in and I said, 'Man, I still don't sleep nights on these big games. They're just special.' I wish the players understood that this is a privilege and this is an experience that the memories will last a lifetime to play in these kind of games. You go out there and the students were so good, the crowd was so good, for us, not necessarily for them. Just accomplish another goal. That was another memory maker, just one game, but a little special. I got a party tonight for 200 of my former players and managers at my house. I'm going to have a good time.
Senior Guard Bryn Forbes
On the relief of snapping the three-game losing streak…
It feels great after a tough stretch to come out and beat the No. 7 team in the nation. They're one of the better teams we've played so it feels great. To actually play like us is what probably feels the best. To actually get back to doing what we do and who we are, felt good.
On the defensive effort on Melo Trimble…
Melo is very good. He's very talented off of ball screens and it's hard to guard him, but Eron did a great job. Eron was a big part of this win.
On being effective down-low…
Matt Costello, Deyonta Davis, Gavin Schilling, Kenny Goins, those are the guys that really put in the work down low. They did a great job, especially Matt [Costello] down the stretch. That's what won us the game.
On the impact of the home crowd…
Spartan nation was amazing tonight. I think we have the best crowd and the best fans in the world. They're always enthusiastic and they always fill the Breslin. I love them.
Redshirt Freshman Forward Kenny Goins
On how important it was to get back in the win column…
It was really important. We were in a little bit of a slump in the last few games. Every team has to go through it during the course of the season, but we got ours out of the way. Now that we're back on track now hopefully we can build off of this and keep going.
On the mistakes throughout the game that were corrected…
We had some lapses here and there, but I think we played tough and played harder than we've had in the past and that really made up for all the mistakes that we had. It was easy to cover it up by just playing hard.
On how the team plans to stay on track after the big win…
It feels great just to get over that hump. I feel like we could have won both of those past few games. Now that we're over that hump we're just going to try and stay on track.
Senior Guard Denzel Valentine
On the challenge that Maryland presented…
They're really talented. They have a lot of guys that can do a lot of things. We had to stick in those gaps and talk to each other and rebound.
On being two assist short of a triple-double…
I was two assists short and so wasn't meant to be I guess. I'm just glad we got the win. That was the biggest thing. The win is the only thing that matters at the end of the day.
On how the team remained focused despite all the distractions going on…
We played Spartan defense and played Spartan basketball; we played tough and got the win.
