Post-Game Quotes: Wisconsin

MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement…
Well, God I should be thrilled, as normal I'm not, but I am pleased with a lot of things we did. I was disappointed in our rebounding in the first half. I don't know how many, I think they had eight offensive rebounds in the first half. I thought we had six turnovers; we had some foolish ones. I thought we shot pretty well. I thought we rebounded okay. In the second half, I thought we rebounded a lot better. Until the last six minutes, we were up 25, we were shooting 53 percent, and we were shooting over 40 percent from the three. We had a 25-point lead, and we go 0-for-7 or 0-for-8. Maybe to some people it doesn't matter. It does to me, and I just felt like Cash (Winston) had a tough night, and to win a game like that with my star having maybe his most average performance, I guess that speaks volumes too. At the same time, Xavier (Tillman) had some really good plays, and he had some tough plays too. What I told them is leaders have to lead, and I keep saying I have two guys with any experience, Cassius and Xavier. But on a positive note, all those sophomores and freshmen at no experience. Gabe (Brown) played his butt off, and I thought Aaron (Henry) played one of his best games. It's great when they can bounce back. I think Rocket (Watts) shot well, but he played well defensively too. Those three guys went 15-for-21 and overshadowed a 3-for-12 night. So, what I was trying to say to them is we're not going to win games like that on the road. If you want to win, if you want to really compete for this championship, we have to figure out how somebody on the court has to grab the bull by the horns and change some things. I felt good about the win. I felt good about the way we played at times. I was disappointed in a couple of those five-minute stretches where they went on 13-and-0 runs. We just didn't seem to do what we needed to do, but we did beat a quality team who was playing some of its best basketball. They were the hottest team in the league. (Greg) Gard has done an incredible job after a tough start, and I thought defensively, I don't know what they ended up shooting, I mean we did a pretty good job there considering they hit five shots in a row and then a little bit at the end.

On what it means for Izzo for Cassius to get the assist record and for Mateen Cleaves to pass it off...
It was great for me because I guess if you look at the four years with Mo, and you look at these four years with Cash, they've been some of the greatest seasons in Michigan State history and some of my greatest seasons. I guess it tells you why when you've got to be successful in football, you've got to have a good quarterback, and I had two of the greatest ones standing out there. What a thrill for me to be able to say that I recruited both of them and coached both of them, and they carried me.

On Cassius seeming like he was trying to get the record and pass more than he usually does...
Some other people asked me that, not even close. I don't even think even close. I mean I was disappointed that he came off those ball screens and drove it instead of pulling up and taking a shot. He didn't drive it to pass it, he drove it and threw up something, and I thought he got bodied a lot. I really did, and I guess they did a good job, but I think he took some hits. But, that is what they're going to do to him.

On Aaron Henry's game...
It sounds crazy, but Aaron just needs people to artificially motivate him. That's a good choice of words there in a polite way, or in my way he needs someone on his butt morning, noon, and night. It's just the way he is wired right now, and he is starting to figure it out though. I mean he had a great week of practice. If he could keep focused, and he is a smart kid - just sometimes he drifts. Tonight, I agree with you, I thought the practices carried over to the game. He scored the first couple of buckets, he made a couple big plays in critical times, made a big basket before halftime. I loved the way Aaron played. He was mad that he didn't rebound well enough, and I would agree with that. I think he could've had a few more. I thought Gabe did a great job going after them, but Aaron was mad at Aaron, and that's always a positive when a player can self-evaluate. There is no question that him, Gabe, and Rocket were special for us tonight.

On Izzo's expectations of Cassius reaching a high level...
No, I really didn't think he'd be the scorer that he has been, but what a great tribute to him. But I thought he would be, and I said this his sophomore year in high school to his high school coach, I think he is one of the best passers I have ever seen. I think he has the highest basketball IQ of most guys I've ever seen. The other parts about him; the ability to handle what he has handled, the ability to think the game like he does. He is starting to coach the game in practice now, and that's why I was a little disappointed. I didn't think that him and X took our team over, and that's what they've got to do. Player coached teams are the best, but there is so much on his plate, and I keep putting more on his plate. I'll just say that I am really proud of him because when you start talking a record that is 20 years old, and when you start talking a Big Ten record besides, and we've got, I don't know, we've got a lot of games left. I think it's just incredible what he has done.

Tom Izzo Post-Game Press Conference
On how nice it was to see Rocket Watts get into a groove…
It was awesome. Rocket got what he deserved though. Let me tell you this. My graduate manager Chris Fowler and him have been spending more time on the shooting and Rocket has really spent time this last week, week and a half. Now, in fairness to him, he was injured before that and couldn't spend extra time out there. I was really concerned because I thought this was a game that we needed Kyle Arhens to battle those guys in the post and have a 6-5 guy that was strong enough for those guards, and Rocket did a good job on that. He did a good job on the open court. He took shots that were unbalanced. I just thought that that's going to be a big lift for him, and I'll be able to say you earned that. You earned it the last 10 days. I think those things will start to grow. I really do.

On Rocket's shot getting off so easily remind you of another player you coached…
It is a blessing and a curse until he figures out how to decide what's a good shot and what's a bad one.

On biting your lip with 2 seconds left on the shot clock and he chucked it up…
No, there was two seconds on the shot clock and plus he didn't make too many, so I wasn't going to be mad at him then. I think you are right. He can get a shot off, he can get separation, maybe as good as, I'm just trying to think, Keith Appling could get it, no, I say he is the best. He reminds me of a Sam Vincent back in the day. He just had a first step that was off the charts. And as he continues to practice, he can keep getting time in there without getting injured; I think we are going to need him.

On still playing well without Cassius Winston…
Well it made me feel good for one night. I'd prefer to never have that happen again. He is just so valuable to me, and so what I'm trying to clean up is the turnovers. He is just too good to do that. They bodied him, they did some things to him and, in fairness to him, he is just kind of kept playing him, and I want him playing through that. I think him and X (Tillman), a lot of flu going around, we got (Thomas) Kithier that hasn't practiced in a couple days. We had Gabe (Brown) or Aaron (Henry), one of those guys was getting a little sick. We had 10 girls (on the women's basketball team) that were sick, so I don't know if it was that. I thought Cash was good, but I told you guys and I know there are going to be days when it just didn't look the same but at the same time he battled through and made some big plays when we needed him. I'm happy for Foster (Loyer), Malik Hall. I thought played awfully well considering, and I think we need all those guys to play well because we don't have a lot of depth right now, but we need Cassius and Xavier to play well all the time."

On sitting Cassius because of the flu…
No, I don't think he was one of them that was ill. I sat Cassius or DJ (Stephens) did because he looked a little tired, things weren't going well, we got a little run, Rocket made some shots, and we just kept him out for the stretch run. I didn't think the lead would get up to that and we got to learn how to play Cash too instead of playing him to death. He sat a lot of those minutes and still had 32 minutes in the game. Some of those things like I said, I thought for the first time I saw him get frustrated. Wisconsin is a physical team and those guards will guard you. We did a hell of a job defensively, if they don't hit those three or four shots in a row those percentages are in the teens and the twenties. I thought we did a damn good job of covering their swing, and I said we have to try and defend without fouling and they had 11 free throws. I said we can't turn the ball over. We had nine until the last three minutes; we had three in a row, so that's not bad. We had 20 assists on 27 baskets. I thought we shared it. I thought there were a lot of positive things it's just when you have two 13-0 runs against you at home some of that has to be my fault, so I'll revaluate the film and see what I can come up with.

On the connectivity of stats and assists by the players…
I say that's a good point that a lot of guys got assists. Xavier got four, Aaron got three, Rocket got three assists, no turnovers. I mean that's a big night for Rocket because I think as he keeps workng, he is a tough competitive kid and I think it's exciting to see around the corner a little bit.

On seeing Rocket rotate as a 1…
Yeah, I do. There are certain games where everybody, I mean Foster when he went in a second time, I thought played better than the first time, but here is a team that posts their guards not the greatest thing for Foster. There are going to be situations, but right now I have to work Rocket a lot more in a lot of places because without Arnie we are just so weak on the wings as far as any subs. Hopefully we get Arnie back in a week or two. Rocket will play some 1, he will play some 2, sometimes Cassius and Foster like playing the 2 because they are shooters and they like coming off screens. Foster hit a hell of shot coming of the screen.

Senior Guard Cassius Winston
On what this night means to him...
It's a special night. The family was there, the assist record that was up there for 20 years came down, and that's a lot of assists so it's really a blessing to be in this position right now.

On what it means to have Mateen Cleaves here...
It's huge. He's part of the family, and he's probably one of my biggest supporters. He was always rooting for me, pushing me to go get it, and that's all love right there.

On if he could imagine four years accomplishing what he did...
No, not at all. When you come in you want to win games and have a chance to play at the next level, and it's as simple as that. All of this stuff, the assist record and the team, it is beyond me and I am just happy. I put my time in and put my work in, and I'm just happy for the chance to be here in this situation.

On teammates carrying the load tonight...
It was huge. It was great to see them play like that tonight. It was awesome to see Rocket (Watts) come alive, I don't think Gabe (Brown) missed a shot tonight, and it was great to see Aaron (Henry) to have a game like this, Xaiver (Tillman) as well. It was a real team win, everyone showed up today, and they held it down tonight.

On what Mateen Cleaves said to him at half-court before the presentation...
He just told me how proud of me he was, how much he loves me, and he was proud of how I went and got that record. How I did it with style, respect, and class. He said he appreciated everything about me.

On how kids are going to be chasing his record now and what it means to him...
It's special. It's crazy. At first, it's a far out number and you kind of creep and inch toward it. Finally, you're like, man, I have a chance to do that. Hopefully, one day it'll come down, hopefully it'll take a long time you know. He got 20 years out of it, so I'm trying to get my time too. At the end of the day it's just a blessing to be in this situation.

On how much the record was on his mind...
It wasn't really. It was such a small number of assists so it wasn't a lot I had to go get. Mentally, I knew we had a lot of games left so I knew it was going to happen eventually so I wasn't really worried about it. I'm just glad that it happened and we got the win tonight."

On what happened when Mateen Cleaves gave him the ball...
Oh man I dropped it. It was my first turnover. My ratio is still pretty good so I'll take it.

Freshman Guard Rocket Watts
On how he turned his game around after halftime...
You know I was just letting the game come to me. I wasn't trying to force anything and was just trying to do more things to help my team win. When I started hitting some shots, I started getting hot a little bit, so I just kept shooting with confidence and it kept going in.

On if today was the biggest groove he has felt at MSU...
It felt like my Spire days a little bit. I just trusted the process and the game is just coming slower to me now, and I;m just trying to get better.

On if his step back is his most comfortable move...
Yeah, oh yeah for sure, and my jab step. I actually didn't really get in my bag of tricks yet but it's alright.

On how big of a game this was for the Big Ten and protecting home court:
We have to protect the house for sure. It's something the team and coaches stand on, is that we don't like taking losses at home. This game is something we are going to grow on. Keep improving, keep practicing hard and keep winning.

On playing next to Winston...
It's a blessing playing next to him. He is a great dude, and a great leader. I just ask him little things about the game itself because when he leaves, I know I'm going to have to play a bigger role. So I try to pick up everything I can from him, and I'm glad that I can be playing next to him.

On describing Winston...
Smooth, tough, a great guy to be around to love and enjoy.

Michigan State Forward Xavier Tillman

On what getting the basket to the assist that made Cassius Winston the all-time Big Ten assist leader…
It kind of put the icing on the cake. A bond in the duo that we have had in the last two years.

On what it meant to snap back from Purdue with this win…
It meant a lot. More so for us personally just to know that we can still win games with also just losing, so it definitely gave us a lot of confidence. Especially at times of the game when we went up big, you know we are good, we can still play. We just have to work on a couple things. We will be alright.

On other guys, besides Winston, putting up points tonight…
Their points are needed. Me and Cash, we get gassed, so when Rocket can come in there and create for himself, or when Gabe can run the wing and get some big-time 3's or a big-time dunk or when Aaron can come off a screen and make his three. Those are big for us because they give us a break and at the same time, we are still scoring and putting up points.

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard

On his assessment of Cassius Winston over the years that he has coached against him…
Yeah, I mean he's obviously come in and developed and added pieces to his game, every year. But I think the one thing any really good point guard that plays at a high level does a great job of having a feel for the game and understands how and when to put pressure on the defense and he does it as well as anybody in the country, of really stepping on the gas at the right time, but yet controlling and running his team, when that is necessary. So, obviously he's a heck of a player. I'll be glad when he graduates and is done. No, but he's made himself into a really good player, his vision. I mean I've watched all the films of him, he is a tough cover, I mean, he makes people around him better.

On if missing shots was the worst part of the night…
Yeah, and the we settled for. I thought we really settled for jump shots and mid-range things. You know this group is a group that, you know, needs to make three's, so 1-for-9 doesn't help to start the game or in that first half. But I thought we settled too much for contested jump shots, and I like the way we battled, liked the way we competed and fought back from wherever it got to there in the second half. But we have to be more consistent. Michigan State plays in spurts and there was a spurt in the first half, we clawed back to get it to six, and then there is another spurt. We just have to minimize the inconsistencies during those times that lead to that.

On if he was concerned coming into this game, after Sunday afternoon…
Well, win or lose, let's cut to the chase, Michigan State is really good. So, whether they won at Purdue or lost to Purdue, we were coming in to play a really good team. Whether that is extra motivation on their part, that's for them to answer, but regardless I knew ... we were well aware of what type of team we were going to see.

On how tough of a cover Michigan State is when they have such good balance…
Especially when they have Aaron Henry. I thought any time that they needed a basket and it really wasn't from an action from a set, he went and made a play. He gave them a big boost. Obviously, Tillman, Gabe Brown doesn't miss a shot, Watts hit two tough step-backs, so they obviously have some production from other places. Except Aaron Henry was the one that really impressed me in terms of just creating something out of nothing at times.

On what he saw coming out of the half from Reuvers that allowed them to come within six…
Well, we just needed to get our composure again and start playing inside out a little bit and got the ball moving a little bit better, and took good three's, and sometimes in the first half we didn't take the best three's that we could've taken at times. I think the ones that Nate took, for the most part, were good.

Players Mentioned

Gabe Brown

Malik Hall

Aaron Henry

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Rocket Watts

Cassius Winston