Post-Game Quotes vs. Oakland

Oakland at Michigan State
Post-Game Quotes
Dec. 13, 2020

MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo

Opening statement...
That was a game for the media, for TV, for our fans, for our parents, and for our players, because we scored 109 points. For the coaches, there were some disappointments defensively. And yet I'd be remiss if I didn't start out, and I mean this so write it, Greg Kampe is a hell of a coach, not just because he's a friend, it doesn't matter if we're (number) one in the country, or five in the country, if we're 25 or 105, doesn't matter if they're real good or very average, I tell my team every year that it's going to be a dogfight because he just does a hell of a job, his zone was very good, the way they played it, I'm not sure that guys will shoot the ball that good again but (Rashad) Williams was unbelievable. We actually did a pretty good job on (Jalen) Moore, and then he still ended up five-for-seven (3-point shooting), still ended up with 26 points, but we did a decent job on him. We didn't foul him on things, but our 3-point defense and our dribble-penetration were atrocious, so from a coaching standpoint, there's going to be a lot to go over, some disappointments. On a strong point from a coach, we went into halftime and nobody was very happy and our kids responded, I think that was a positive, Aaron (Henry) and Josh (Langford) took over a little bit, starting talking about how we've got to guard better, but what it still comes down to too is we're still playing a zillion guys and it's not going to just end but it's going to start shrinking a little bit, I think Julius Marble is proving that he can do some things, we've got to get him more time, we want to get Mady (Sissoko) some time, and that big body of his is, I think, going to be useful and yet we're not giving up on anybody, (Thomas) Kithier got in foul trouble early and things like that, but I was very pleased with Aaron Henry, other than the turnovers, I thought he drove it, he had some great threes that were just a hair short, made his first one, got to the line, didn't rebound quite as good, but just the turnovers. Rocket (Watts) got in foul trouble and struggled a little bit there. But Josh Langford I thought maybe defensively and offensively is starting to look better and better. I didn't think we got Joey Hauser enough shots, part of it was the way they took away the middle, we couldn't get him the ball. We've got to do a better job on that, and yet Joey still has a double-double. So, in general, Gabe Brown shot it really well, Foster (Loyer) came in and backed up, played pretty well, I thought A.J. (Hoggard) played pretty well.

I thought Kampe coached better than we did, and I'm saying that not with tongue in cheek, they just did a good job, we had 18 turnovers and four steals, they had 11 turnovers and 11 steals, and maybe the one stat I'm still proud of was 39 baskets, getting up to 76 shots was great, and we had 32 assists on those 39 baskets, and out-rebound them by 20-some, those were two things that we had to do and we did do. We responded at halftime but we've got a lot of work to do so. Those of you that think we're somebody yet, we are somebody, we're somebody that needs a lot of work, especially guarding the dribble drive from our forwards to our guards.

On Gabe Brown being rewarded for his hard work…
Really beneficial because at 6-7, long arms, athletic, great kid just a great kid, I mean he is coming into his own, he's going get a little better defensively too, but he's starting to get better in a lot of areas, he's getting arch on that shot, he's gotten what he deserves because he does work on it. I mean, coaches can take a little credit, not a lot, but Gabe deserves a lot of credit because as you said, he's probably down there now, he does that in the mornings, he does that in the afternoons. He is like a Josh Langford, like Miles Bridges used to be, or Denzel Valentine. He spends a lot of time in this building, a lot of time on his shooting, and it was nice to see him get what he deserved and I thought he did. I don't know how he ended up rebounding... only got one rebound (today) and those are the things we're working on with him, but with his production, I didn't think he forced anything, just really happy, proud, again, just happy for Gabe because he works so hard.

On Joshua Langford looking more comfortable and his rebounding…
You know what? That's exactly right, for Josh today he gets five rebounds, he gets three offensive, he gets a put-back, his defense early was phenomenal, I mean he was into people. He's running pretty good, we're trying to not manage his minutes, but we're just trying to make sure he just keeps moving forward and I still say for him and Joey, they're a couple weeks away from getting their feel back, but I thought this is the best Josh has looked, and it's exciting because he made a difference at halftime, he makes a difference on my team. I think he can guard a lot of different people. And if him and Aaron are really into it and I think Rocket, today he got a little sideways when he picked up the two fouls meaning it just affected him and we talked about it after the game, but I think Josh and Aaron are even helping Rocket in that respect, but yeah as far as Josh goes, I thought he's getting more comfortable, he's not sitting out at practices, and God Bless him man he's worked and he's earned it, and he's staying healthy.

On halftime conversation and the energy the team came out with in the second half…
Well, I think the beauty of it is, my assistant, Mike Garland wasn't real happy. I was calm and collected, but I really liked the way Aaron and players started talking to one another, and the theory here is a player coach team is better than a coach coached team; has been that way since (Mateen) Cleaves started it, and I think they deserve a lot of credit. They knew they weren't covering the way they should, they also know the kids from Oakland hit some shots, but they vowed to do a little bit different, get the ball reversed side-to-side a little bit more, which they did, get a running game going a little bit, which we did, and try to lock up a little bit better defensively, I guess we did a little better, we didn't do a great job of that, but God they made some shots too, so yeah, I thought the halftime speech wasn't a Knute Rockne, it was the players, and that impressed me.

On the new cut-outs that were on the sideline…
I'm glad you noticed because we're just starting, we've got a bunch more going up, what I wanted to do is look at the people that have either been here and left, or been here and died, I hate to say, from my father to DJs (associate head coach Dwayne Stephens), that have been instrumental in my life so those are... I'm paying for those, those are from me and we've got some other things, of our former coaches going up, by next week we should have a couple rows and different things, and I want to keep remembering and honoring, we're going to have a thing of the two championship teams, hopefully we're going to have something of all them and the great players that were on them, and we've got bigger fat heads for them. It's just trying to get all these things coordinated, David Thomas (director of basketball operations), poor kid has been going nuts, but by next week, Big Ten time, I think we're going to have a lot done down there and it means a lot to me, it really does mean a lot to me because there's so many people, so many players first of all, and we're getting more and more players that we're going to have there, but so many people, and some of them have either been sick or died, or been with me for 25-30 years, and so there's a reason for a lot of them, but there's going to be more, there's more coming. But there are more people that have, a lot of them have passed on, a lot of the former head coaches, the Gus Ganakas's of the world, and I even tried to get somebody like George Webster and Bubba Smith, they'll be coming because those guys meant a lot to Michigan State, Kirk Gibson's battling something right now and so we're trying to get a guy from each sport too and believe it or not, I'm glad you noticed, it's been one of the things that David and I have talked about, I brought up the idea. We're going to get a couple rows, we're going to spend some money of our own, and enjoy all the people that helped me. I mean we've got one of the nicest arenas in the world and our people have done a great job, and I'm hoping that within the next week-and-a-half, it even looks a lot better than it looks now, because we've got some things planned.

On the decision to not sit Rocket Watts after second foul…
I've been a guy that usually sits my guys, and I just said that, Rocket's athletic enough that he can achieve it so I told DJ (Dwayne Stephens), we're gonna have to play him, and again I'm thinking of the future and see if he can be smart enough to play his way through some of this. So we did, and we got him in there for a while, and it was a good lesson for him to learn now and got one cheap one and he just can't do that. But I thought Rock handled it really well. And it was a decision that was made between DJ and I, and I would take responsibility. But I did what I wanted to do and if didn't work out I have to own up to it, but it was good to see Rocket do that. I think at times over the years - I think of some of the guys that I sat maybe too long, but it's a lot of times because you don't know how the game is being called and what's going on. And especially if you're on the road and there's fans in the stands, maybe it was a little different because there weren't those people in the stands, ones that were in the stands weren't talking back to me, so it was pretty cool.

On changes made to gain control in the second half…
I thought that Aaron and Josh did a better job in the second half. I think that we got Joey the ball a little bit more. We came down with Rocket and starting passing just to get the zone moving. Where the first time we came down, maybe that was an error on our part coaching it, because I thought we did a much better job in the second half of moving the ball to start it out. We told Rocket let's get it moving before Joey gets in the high post because they were taking him away. So, you know, I think Josh is right you know I got two very experienced guys in him and Aaron on each wing and Joey's one of my more cerebral guys. And we got to use those guys a little better than I did. And we, got a little sloppy. We quit running our break, and that's what zone teams do to you sometimes. When we hit the middle we kept dropping into the corner the corners were wide open. And anytime we moved the ball three times we thought we got a really good shot. And it wasn't that we took bad shots, but a good shot could be a better shot with a little more passing, and I thought we did that the second half.

On expectations for Josh Langford heading into Big Ten play…
I was really happy that Josh got 10 shots up. You know, I think him and Aaron still, and this is part of Aaron realizing now that he's a scorer, he's one of our first options where last year he was our third option. And he's got to be ready to shoot; I think Joshua has got to be ready to shoot. Joshua early in his career was always ready to shoot. And then sometimes I thought took bad shots. Now, I'm trying to tell him he's got to be ready to shoot and shoot it. You know he shot up one airball three, but I was really pleased with the shots he took. I thought he could even take in a few more but if we can get him 10, 12 shots. I feel really good that he's going to shoot 50 percent. What impressed me today, his defense was maybe the best of anybody in our team, and he got down he got after it. You know he's become a much better passer for some reason. He's throwing some great passes. I think Aaron's a pretty good all-around player. Josh probably shoots even better, and you know if he stays healthy and he movement his feet today, you know, first time you went in an offensive rebound. Now we've been talking about him rebounding I think, as he said in the back of his mind. You know you haven't done it for two years. And I think he's starting to feel more and more comfortable. And because of that, I think, Josh is just going to take off, I really do, if we can keep them healthy, and there's been no worries so far. But, he's started to be a coach on the floor, on the bench. God, am I glad he came back.

On whether or not a game will be added this week…
We're trying to add a game. Big time I mean I'd like to get one Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. I guess we've got permission here. You know we can't go on the road. And the problem is we got to find teams that don't have finals this week, and some teams are starting conference play. Poor KP (Kevin Pauga) -you know he's been in a cave for three months between football and basketball, and I'm going to keep him in there for a couple more days. So the mad scientist can come up, I think he's making up a university right now just so we can get a game. But he's gonna do the best job he can do- tonight and tomorrow will be critical on that. I just think it would be important to play win, lose or draw, just to get us more and more experience get Josh and Joey more time get Rock a little more time at the point. Get some of our subs of centers in there to play. So we're working on a couple different things. We're not holding anything back. The minute we know; you'll know. You will talk to me again. I mean I'll have a press conference in a couple days I'm sure. But as soon as we get some information. I promise you, we're going to share it because there's nothing to hide on this. And we've got some different options of ways directions we could go. But it's just not easy right now and being finals week makes it harder, and we're going to do the best we can do.

Graduate Guard Joshua Langford
On how he has settled into playing games again…
Oh yeah, most definitely. I'm starting to get a little rhythm. I think that's a testament to not just me, but also my teammates and my coaches they've done a great job with just know continuously encouraging me and just trying to find me in different areas throughout the games. I definitely feel like I'm getting more of a rhythm.

On what he's been doing to continue getting stronger and his hopes for Big Ten season…
You know, I've just been in the gym, and been in watching film. I'm trying to do all the things that I can do to make sure that I continue to just help myself be in the best position possible. And not just for myself but for my team as well - because it's not just about me. I've just been trying to focus in on doing all the things that I can possibly do; controlling the controllables.

In terms of the Big Ten season, this is definitely one of the better years in this conference so I'm just excited. I'm ready to go out and play.

On his role as a veteran player…
The biggest thing that I can bring to this team is experience. This is my fifth year, and even though I didn't play the last two years I was still a part of the team. I still got to see things, I still got to be a part of different things. I think I've just been trying to give my experience in that. And with that being said, the biggest thing I want to continue is to just push staying even keel. A lot of times within the course of the game, you see so many different runs. You see so many different highs, so many different lows - and I think the great teams, they really know how to sustain and be consistent. You know, just throughout the whole course of the game, great teams try to control the controllables. Those are the kind of things that I try to just vocalize to the guys. Outside of my scoring and different things like that, I think it's a lot of secondary things that I bring to the table, because I've been here for a long time.

On the energy to start the second half and what was said at halftime…
Oh man, I just think we went in after the first half and said that we had to be better. Obviously, you know, you give credit to Oakland and to Williams, and more of those guys who are unbelievable players. But, you know, we just said we had to be better. And that's what we tried to go out and do - just play Michigan State basketball and let the chips fall where they may. There were a lot of effort-related mistakes that we had in the first half, a lot of lackadaisical turnovers and different things like that. I had a few. And so we just wanted to come out in the second half and try to just put the first half behind us, learn from it, but not let it control how we moved forward within the course of the game. I think we did a good job in the second half, just progressing forward.

On the team's depth…
Very deep, and I think this that's one of our strengths within this team this year. And I think it's not just from the scoring standpoint but defensively, we have so many different guys they can defend and so many different guys that can go get you five or six, 8-10-12 rebounds. I think one big thing that this team has really been emphasizing is taking care of the ball and sharing the ball. We didn't take care of the ball as well. But I think we shared the ball really well and so there's so many different things in this team can bring to the table and I think that speaks to on how deep we are as well.

Junior forward Aaron Henry

On how deep this team is…
"We are deep. All of us like to compete, and all of us like to see each other be successful. When we get that ball moving, and don't let it stick in our hands, I feel that we are a more dangerous team. Everybody is just finding their groove and their way. It's something to hopefully grow on and keep pushing for."

On exchange between Aaron and Coach Stephens in huddle and how Josh calmed him down:
"Josh has been a guy that has always been there for me. In learning moments, in my best moments, and he is going to hold me accountable in those moments too. That exchange, and exchanges like these, get blown out of proportion by some people. I'm happy you saw it the right way and saw it for what it was. We are just competitive guys here at Michigan State and that's something that everyone does here at a high level. It may look like we are arguing or something is going on but it's more, I have this man, or no I want him, that is my matchup. That goes on a whole lot."

On how exchanges like this can be misinterpreted…
"It's cool, things are going to be misinterpreted. That's the world we live in today. As long as the thirty guys we have within our group and our locker room are on the same page then that's all that matters. We all are, and we came out with a good win."

On what Aaron saw from Gabe…
"Gabe is my favorite player, honestly. He is someone that I always want to see win, and somebody that has so much room to grow, and he has already come so far. He is a guy that takes everything serious. You all always see him in the gym shooting and working on his game, but you are missing a whole lot of hours that even I don't get to see. It's the little things that he does that make him the player that he is, and those things are the reason that he is going to be successful."

On how they were able to gain control back in second half…
"We decided to play better defense, rebound better, move the ball more and get better shots. It was just a great meeting at halftime because we couldn't play any worse than we were already playing. Lets play basketball, play defense and move the ball."

On even though MSU is winning are coaches still emphasizing negatives they are doing…
"Absolutely. I feel like as leaders myself, Josh, and Foster have been here a while and played with guys like Cash and X. We have been to a final four our freshman year, and Josh has been through a lot, so I feel like experience is at an all time high here, The fact that I can be a leader on this team and still learn, and that openness to try to get better from a leadership standpoint from all of us is important. Understanding the deficiencies of where we need to improve from previous years, and even this year is something that I have tried to emphasize. Being on the court and seeing how they are playing and what they are doing to us and then trying to pass that along to the players and coaches in the huddles. I try to get my point across to Coach because he trusts me and I trust him, and that goes hand in hand. I am an extension of him out on the court, just like Josh and Foster are. It all comes back to how we approach things, along with our preparation. That all comes from Coach and spreads down to the players and the locker room. We are all on the same page."

On consistency this year…
"I hope not to be consistent with six turnovers but being able to be consistent in the other ways is something that Coach holds me to. The guys are going to go off of myself. How I am carrying myself, and how I am playing. It all starts with my approach. How I am playing on defense, how I am playing on offense, am I rebounding the ball. The things that we call staples here and help us win games. The things that might not show up on the box score, that will eventually lead to the stats that show up in the box score. You can point at a lot of different things, but just trying to be consistent is something that Coach has ingrained in me and something that I have made a point of emphasis with myself to be able to affect the game in those areas."

Junior Forward Gabe Brown

On talking to Rashad and seeing him put up double digit points…
"I've known Rashad since I was a sophomore in high school. We are really close, we played on the same team together, so for us to go out and play Division 1 basketball against each other is probably one of the greatest things to happen to two kids. He had a very good game, and he is a very good player so I'm happy for him. I hope they continue to progress down the road and I am just wishing everyone the best."

On transition from freshman year to now…
"It is crazy to see it. As a senior in high school, I thought I was going to take the world by storm. I thought I was going to come in and everything was going to be handed to me. Coach Izzo humbled me, and I appreciate him for that because it taught me a lot of things during my first two years. Now that he believes in me and has trust in me, things are starting to happen. That is just from Coach Izzo and my teammates believing in me and trusting me, along with believing in myself. The transition is crazy. Coming at 190 to being 210 , along with becoming a vocal leader. Doing things that were out of my comfort zone and never did, it is shocking to me."

On how good Oakland actually is…
"They are a very good team. You can never take a team for granted. Just like University of Detroit, they are a very good team. I feel like they are the best 0-6 team because due to circumstances and situations they didn't have all their players or be able to practice. They are a very good team, and during the road and their conference they are going to make a big stride. Rashad, and their bigs are all good. They have good players."

How Oakland took MSU out of stride in the first half…
"They force a lot of turnovers, and they play hard. That's one thing that we didn't lock in as well on. They do force turnovers, they do play defense, and they do rebound the ball and that is something we have to look back and correct along with watching film. They did cause some troubles for us in the first and second half. They also have shooters that can get hot so we have to come ready for things like that."

On energy in second half specifically alley oop…
"One thing that I do very well, along with my teammates, is I look at them. They know if they throw the ball up that I am going to go get it. I do it in practice a lot. I give them a certain look and it happens. Shoutout to AJ for throwing it because that's one of the few passes he has made in a game since he has gotten here. So I am proud of him that he threw it to me."

On carrying this momentum into Big Ten play…
"I have to keep working, maintain my focus and watch film. I did some things out on the court that I shouldn't have done on the defense end that either caused the team to score or certain things to happen. So I need to go back and watch film because this is one of the best conferences, and you cannot relax on any team."

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Players Mentioned

Miles Bridges

Gabe Brown

Joey Hauser

Aaron Henry

Joshua Langford

Rocket Watts

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