Michigan State vs. Long Beach State Post Game Quotes
12/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement…
Well, a lot of things to be thankful for, a lot of things to go to Christmas break, with the balance that we had almost six guys in double figures and Gavin (Schilling) with the Magic Johnson pass that got Conner (George) a basket was nice. I felt sorry for Dan (Monson) against. It's the second game in a row that his best guard was out, had knee, I guess, surgery today. But I think I'm maddest at Miles Bridges for throwing that ball to Nick Ward right before the half and Nick had to shoot that or throw that one at the basket, otherwise, you know, he wouldn't have missed a shot in two games. So I guess Nick, you know, is I think 16-for-17 now in two games and playing very well.
It was, Miles rebounded a little better. I thought those two guys played well early. I thought our guards struggled early, you know, turning the ball over and that but they bounced back in the second half and you know, other than giving up some layups, I thought for the most part we were okay. Good way to leave on break with 28 assists, yeah 28 assists on 39 baskets, the unselfishness continues. Still think we have a lot of room for improvement.
On unavoidable vs. avoidable turnovers…
Well, we talked about that. We talked about illegal picks and charges and I mean, that was borderline ridiculous, you know, and then the fumbling of the ball. Those guards are just, I mean, I don't know what was going through their minds. You know, I think I'm learning that it's getting to be a little bit harder to play against, you know, it'll be good now because we come back from Christmas and I think teams will get a little better and then we'll be right at the Big Ten play.
You know, right now we didn't do as good a job on that area as I would've liked us to. There's no secrets about it. I think if you counted them tonight, we counted about seven of our first nine were borderline ridiculous, unforced, whatever you want to call them. So, I don't know. You know, we're working on it every day. We're talking about it every day. Should be easy to correct because it's not even trying to make a play. You know, we're out in the middle of the court and we just throw it out of bounds and we did some things, so that's the only negative.
The good part is we only had three the second half and you know, I thought we played a little better and rebounded the ball. We're still messing with lineups, too, and we're going to get Ben (Carter) back in, but when he sits for a while, they just, trainers felt like for him and Kenny (Goins), there's no sense in going back in because they get stiff if there's not a little bit of a sequencing of events there. You know, (Matt) McQuaid's shooting better, that was a big thing. I thought Josh (Langford) really played well early, but we had our moments when we still didn't guard like I wanted to, didn't, turned it over too much, so it'll give us something to ask Santa for on that big night coming up.
On the break for the team…
I think it's perfect. I really do. Even though we had two games (where) we scored 100, I think it's really good that we get a break. I think we need one mentally, physically. I think even the coaches need one, you know, it's been great. Guys were great in practice these last two days. I mean, really focused, and to me, the practices were a lot more intense than the game, as far as how we played. So we still got to figure that out a little bit, but we're going to get off until the 26th, come back the day after. This is like one day longer than ever and I think that'll be good. I think we'll get some guys freshened up and we got to make sure Miles (Bridges) get a little cardio, because his conditioning is just coming back and he's starting to look, I mean, I thought really good even when he missed some of those shots. You know, got to make sure Nick (Ward) stays in tip-top shape, and Cassius (Winston), I guess, was a little hurt tonight. He had a little tendinitis in his knee, so that'll give him a chance to rest a little bit, too.
On the consistency of Nick Ward…
Yeah, I'm not going to, I told him I'm going to give him credit, which I did. You know, his communication out there is maybe as good as anybody's, and believe it or not, Miles (Bridges) was the other guy that's communicating better, so those two things are really positive things for us. Nick's playing as well as he needs to play, and at the end there, I mean, he's only playing 20 minutes a game, I mean, he's got five more minutes in him. Now early, he was really tired because he was working and running, and then we got a little complacent, all of us, but I think you're seeing more of what Nick can do. He's starting to pass the ball out of there, he's stepping up on ball screens, he's starting to communicate defensively. I don't think he's rebounding like last year. That's the one thing I told him, you know. He went up and got a couple of them but he was getting a lot more two-handed ones last year, but there's a lot more big bodies in there you know with Jaren (Jackson Jr.) and tonight we got Miles (Bridges) flying around in there a little bit better. When (Xavier Tillman) is in there, he takes up a lot of space and Gavin (Schilling) has been rebounding a little better.
You know, all these things are tougher because we've got better players around them. You know, I mean, Miles is averaging the same points as I said as he did last year, but it sometimes doesn't seem like it because we've got five guys in double figures instead of one. So, in Nick's case, he's just got to stick with what he's doing and I've got to stick with what I'm doing with him, because those two things are, I think are working.
On how hard Jaren Jackson Jr. is playing…
Well, I wanted him to go a lot harder than he's going, like when he ran the court a couple times and hit those wide open 3's, that's what, even Miles (Bridges) said to him at halftime, when he was playing the four, that's where he got a lot of his 3's. He hasn't even been getting those. So he's running better, but he's still, you know, I'm going to get out some Wilt Chamberlain things and tell him this is now who you want to be, you know. He's just, he's got to be aggressive, man, when he made that one move, when he put the ball on the floor and he got fouled, I mean, that was a quick move. I don't think any of us know how quick that kid is. He's got, he's got a-whole-nother level that he can go without even doing a lot, so that's going to be one of the things that we're really going to try to hammer on him, is get in better shape. He's playing a decent amount of minutes, probably too many minutes for the condition he's in right now for the way we'd like him to play, but man, he's still. It takes effort to block 4, 6, 10 shots a game. I mean, this is, I think we're averaging 11 or 12 blocks a game in the last 5-6 games, now a couple of them against teams not as good but some of them against good teams, you know, and that's an incredible number. I mean, I'm not sure, did we ever block six in a game last year? Maybe we did, but I don't think so. So that is helping.
I did feel like they shot better against us. They made a banked-in 3 and a roll-in one, but they shot better. You watch, that team will do well in their conference. That number four (Temidayo Yussuf) was a horse, that, he's just coming back from knee (injury) kind of like Ben (Carter) and Dan (Monson) said he's not quite there yet. They get that point guard back, Elburts, and he's a really good player, and then they'll a little more depth. I thought we wore them down a little bit, especially inside.
On the message to the team as games are coming easy to them…
Well, that's why I just keep hammering on the mistakes we're making because those are like lazy, mental mistakes and maybe, I think, it was even you that asked me this and it bothered me when you asked it, not that you asked it, it bothered me that you should never have to coach effort. That should be a given. You shouldn't have to coach it, but there is, you know, this is kind of new territory for a lot of us. I don't' think for me totally, but definitely for them. I mean, Miles (Bridges) has never been through this. Cassius (Winston) has never been through this. We were barely favored in our Green-White game last year. (Audience laughs.) You like that one, Larry?
You know, it's somewhat true, and so you're right. We're, you know, that's my job, but it's not my job just to pick apart. I think you guys are agreeing that some of these things are not good, you know, and we have to build control. You know, is it because we're not focusing in enough when things go well and get off to starts, maybe, you know, I just hate to be that way. I want to be different, you know? I gave them a sheet of about 10 teams that have been upset in the last two weeks. You know, and last night, you know Carolina goes down but Louisville probably should've and somebody else, Tennessee probably should've. Still our motto is let's be different than everybody, you know, which means can we stay focused in all kinds of games?
We haven't proven that total and I say that we won by 40 points two games and I think that Dan's team is a lot better, but we still are shooting. We shot 60 percent in both games. We've shot in the high 40's. We've shoot 80 something from the free throw line. There's all those assists, those are a lot of positive things I just think that the turnovers and at one time they were shooting 44 from the 3. They cooled off at the end, but we didn't. The first 3 of the game you know, we knew 11 was going to shoot it right away and just weren't up on him. So, are we losing a little focus? Maybe, it's been a grind for these guys too though. I mean you come off finals, you know you can say the same for everybody, but everybody doesn't have this bullseye on their back that we have too.
If you add all those things together, I guess if you were to ask me where do you want to be at Christmas? Would you like to be winning games by an average of 20 points a game and who you played and can you be 12-1? I think I'd have taken that. Plus, I'm seeing improvement. I mean Miles has definitely a lot better than he was two weeks ago. Nick is a lot, lot better than he was two weeks ago. Cassius played so well, maybe not quite as well in these past couple of games, but I think tonight a little bit the knee. You know Josh and McQuaid coming back is big for us and the bigs. You know we're just going to be rotating guys in there and somebody's going to have a good night as far as X (Xavier Tillman) or Gavin (Schilling) or even Ben will come back. We'll get Ben back in there. I said it'd be Christmas and that's what it is and we'll see what we can do.
On making progress with bench players…
Well I think Schilling, I think McQuaid a lot, but you that's what's kind of bad too was I almost felt bad. I had Miles in there a little bit longer, but we got three-year starters in there and Tum (Nairn) at the end because we're redshirting those two kids. You know then Kenny (Goins) is sitting out medically just to make sure he doesn't do anything and Ben. We're playing guys a lot of minutes that you wouldn't normally play. I think it can help some of them. I think it's definitely helping McQuaid right now, but at the same time you know I want to get Nick in the best shape he can get in. I have a certain amount of minutes I think some of those guys are going to play.
I think I've played a few of them too many. Maybe Jaren is playing a little bit too many for the shape he's in and Nick a little bit too little. For Miles, I'm right about where he is, Cass you know, close. Tonight, Josh got in a little foul trouble in the first half, but he still played 20 minutes. I mean those are because the games have been lopsided, but we're still playing 10 or 11 guys when the games not lopsided.
On his team's efficient shot selection...
Yeah, that's a good word, I am very. I think we're running our offense better that was one of the, you know I kind of forget some of the good things because I'm so driven on these turnovers because I do think that will be a downfall for us and the 3-point shot defense, but we said a couple weeks ago that practice would get us more efficient offensively and I think we're a lot more efficient in the last five games now. We've been going against maybe not the same kind of competition, but wide-open shots are wide open shots and now we're making them. Screening better, we're coming of them better, moving the ball a little better. That zone gave us a little bit of trouble. I didn't think we attacked that great, but it was partly because our point guards just weren't with it early. I think we'll fix that and getting zoned doesn't bother me at all.
On his team's execution…
You know what I do think we're executing better and I think one of the reasons is Miles is doing more now. He's starting to turn the corner, he's starting to curl a little bit more, he's getting some mid-range shots, that helps. Nick is becoming not a black hole that he was so now when people double him it's not a turnover. Nick, I don't know if he had any turnover tonight, but I guess he had two. I only saw one, but Nick has been more efficient. He's been more efficient getting the ball out of those doubles and I think he's done a great job.
So yeah, in general our offense has been more efficient and I mean the negative if we want to come up with two we have been harping on this turnover and defending the 3 things for probably quite a bit of this season and I see it changing in practice, but I've seen it change in a game as much as I'd like to see it change. The good news is we've got four days to practice and three days or whatever. We can have a couple two-a-days and get some work done here and they'll be rested and hopefully fresher mind wise.
I will say Santa did come yesterday, we had our best academic semester since 2009. It's always been pretty good, but I had a lot of 3.0 guys and better. So, no damaging guys at all so that should be noted someone because like I said I really liked our approach academically, and athletically, and socially and that's kind of what you have to do in college is manage those three things. The social media maybe we're not getting a high grade in that one, but I don't think you guys are either. So, I'm probably the only one with a 4.0 in that area and hopefully I'll continue to improve it.
On taking time to look at things needing change…
I do have to. You know we have to look at a couple things that we talked about. A couple different way to attack the zone, we'll come up with a couple different out of bounds plays. We've actually been pretty efficient and I don't know if you've noticed, but the difference is this year is we're not zoning the out of bounds plays anymore. We've given one basket now in 12 games or 12 so that's been a big plus for us. We've done a much better job of that and we've worked on that, but we'll throw in a few new wrinkles, but I think I got to spend most of my time still pressing up, defending the three, and I got to figure out what I'm going to do. I asked each guy to give me something, to beg Santa or their parents or somebody, to what we can do a better job of as a coaching staff to get a sense of urgency on these turnovers. That would be, I'm going to beat that horse to death because I still think at the end of the day, you look at our team right now we got to be shooting 52% or so for the year, somewhere in that area. The 3-point shooting is moving up. We're probably close to 40 now. Our free throw shooting is moving up. We need to get more shots because if we get more shoots we're going to score more points.
Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson
Opening statement…
I'm very impressed with Michigan State. I thought that, 28 assists - they're very unselfish. Early I thought we had them a little disgruntled defensively, but once they settled down they carved us up and pretty much got what they wanted.
I thought our guys fought pretty well in stretches. What I think we learned against a team that's, you know, a national championship-caliber team is that stretches doesn't work. You've got to play 40 minutes of not just near-perfect basketball, but you've got to fight for 40 minutes and stay together. We got a little bit…second half, a couple of two minute stretches where we just gave up.
I was really pleased in the first half they only had 14 points in the paint and in the second half we just didn't have enough resistance and enough disruption to keep them out of the paint. We knew what the boards were going to be against Michigan State, but we were trying to keep it out of the paint and contest jumpers and they got into a rhythm from 3 and that's the end result.
On where he thinks this Michigan State team ranks of all the MSU teams he's seen…
Well I think it's hard when you don't give a little bit more resistance because the fact is that, I told Coach (Izzo) before the game - I really think he's got as good a team as possible. And he said, you know, 'time will tell.'
It's early, and against us today it's hard to say, 'oh that's a national championship team', because we never got - I tell our players - you've got to get to their underbelly, you know. You've got to get to that, you've got to get them frustrated, you've got to get to that underbelly, that soft-side and see how they react. And we never challenged that soft-side, you know, got them frazzled, got them frustrated enough to really see. That's what makes a special Michigan State team is that toughness down the stretch when they're down six in games, so time will tell on that.
But personnel-wise, as I told Coach before the game, personnel-wise I think they're as good as they've been. Those guards are playing so much better this year than last year and that front line is as good as any in the country. And he's as good of a coach as any in the country. So if I had to bet where they're going to be at the end of the year, they're going to be right there. But, you know, off of today's game it's really hard to anoint them anything except that they're definitely better than Long Beach State at this point.
On how to defend a team that has five double-digit scorers…
Well, again you've got to pick your poison. For us, we had to hope they had an off-shooting night. I wish we would've contested a little bit better, they made seven 3s the first half and I think five or six of them weren't contested very well. And part of it was because we were kind of in some jump zones and stuff. But for us, you've got to hope they have a bad shooting night. That's why we zoned so much and tried to neutralize because you can't, man-to-man it's so hard with Bridges at the three, it's just so hard to match up man-for-man, we just don't have the personnel.
That balance is impressive. And when you couple that with sharing the basketball like they did today, I know Tom (Izzo) is always negative and it's never good enough, but what's he want 30 assists? (laughter) I mean he should be pleased with that stat there.
Sophomore guard/forward Miles Bridges
On how important that performance was going into break…
It was really important because there were a lot of teams getting upset around the league and we didn't want that to happen to us. We knew they were a good team - they played a lot of top competition. We knew they were going to be good, we just wanted to play solid.
On keeping focused heading into the holidays…
We have to remember our ultimate goal and that is to win a Big Ten championship. We're going to continue to win as many games as we can, we can't go home and not stay focused. That is on us.
Sophomore guard Joshua Langford
On the most important thing they wanted to work on in tonight's game…
I think the first thing for us was to make sure we put out and defended the three better. The last game against Houston Baptist we didn't cut out as well as we said we wanted to before the game. We also wanted to defend the 3 better. It was more of a focus this game and then also on top of just running, rebounding and defending and playing Michigan State Basketball. Those are two keys for us - cut out and defend the 3 better.
On what they are taking away from this game…
The biggest thing for us is our next step is communication. I think we do everything else pretty well and communication is important. That is something that we have to get down tonight and also the last game. These are things that are going to help us get better down the road and for our next game.
On importance of maintaining focus during the holidays…
Well of course you know it's Christmas, so everyone is going to go home and have fun with their families. At the same time, you have to have that focus and stay locked in and remember that we have a job to shoot. And until we finish that job, our job isn't done. We need to stay focused, but at the same time have fun. Always keep in mind the goal at hand.
Freshman forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
On importance of coming out and performing well in this game…
Very important. Just because you see good teams beat around this time of year and sometimes you can get stagnant. We wanted to make sure we had as much energy as possible and go out there and play as hard as we can.
On Long Beach State's performance…
They were a good team just like any college team. We don't look past any team, whether it is Long Beach State or North Carolina, it doesn't matter. Around this time of year you get certain games like this where you are tired, especially right before the break where sometimes energy lacks a little bit, but I don't think we did that and we played hard for the whole 40 minutes.
