Post-Game Quotes vs. Toledo
12/4/2021 8:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement...
I thought that was as good a first half as we played all year if you looked at offense and defense. I was really pleased with the penetration kickouts to open threes, we just could not make one for the first five minutes. Then we started making our threes. We started moving the ball. There are some incredible stats and then some crazy ones. 22 assists on 26 baskets is good, 10 blocks is great, we shot great from the line and shot great from three. But I thought we took some selfish, poor shots. More than a couple guys I thought missed some tough twos. Because the NBA and anywhere else, that is what they want you to take, a tough two, a leaner off the run or off the dribble. I give Toledo a lot of credit, we were 26 up and we said let's put it away now. We missed a shot and they came down and hit one. Then that last shot, we just backed up and let them shoot it right in our face. That gave them some momentum coming into halftime. You all wonder why I sometimes go off a little bit at halftime, I should have, because I did not inspire us very good, and we did not inspire ourselves very good. And I would say the coach that did better at halftime was Tod (Kowalczyk). He got his team ready, they came out, they played harder. Our defense early was so good, it was so good. And even late, it was good from the three. But they drove us a little bit more, we just looked a step slower, our wings did not compete very well defensively after a good start. And so then we were left with, instead of enjoying the day and the game, and giving some guys a chance to play that should have played a little more, we had to grind it out. So, disappointing in that respect, again I can find probably 20 minutes of really good (basketball). And it shows our immaturity, and as I told my captains the lack of leadership about who can get guys rallied in the second half. I did feel like my point guards played a lot better. AJ (Hoggard) got a little out of control second half, but I was really pleased with his kickouts in that first half. Tyson, I thought, played really well and six assists and no turnovers. He made some shots, but missed a couple of those tough runners. Those were encouraging. Gabe (Brown) and Max (Christie) just struggled to shoot the ball, and that struggling to shoot really caused some struggling to guard. So, all in all, I was worried if we were ready to play. We were really ready to play. Our offense was not great, our shooting was not great, but our defense was great. And second half, we just played the score, and give them credit, they did a better job.
About winning those first four minutes of the second half...
We are really going to look at that film and try to figure out how many bad shots we took. We have not taken many bad shots all season in my mind. But, we did take some quick shots, I should say. What I am going to have to say to Tyson is he has to be more demonstrative. I told Gabe, we are 12 up and they hit three or four baskets and he comes down and jacks a wide open (shot). That is the problem, they are wide open. Time and possession, you know, stuff they do not learn in AAU ball. That one was not the time it was to score, the rally and what they did and we did not. We did not act very mature in those areas. We got to shore that up, we are sitting at 7-2 and I think we played one of the better schedules in the country. Our defense is way ahead of where I thought it would be. Our offense is below where I thought it would be, and the turnovers are way more than I thought there would be. So there are some positives and some negatives.
About what Jaden Akins has shown him...
Jaden brings some energy, he led us in rebounding. He plays hard. He plays good defensively every once in a while. He too makes a good shot and a bad shot by leaning and that. When he was squared up on those threes, he made every one of them. And that is part of the youth. There are times out there where we have two or three freshmen. It is going to take some time to figure out how to play together and what we got to do. I think we got a lot we could use in the film. If turnovers ever made a difference, we got 36 shots in the first half with four turnovers, and we got 30 shots the second half with eight turnovers, but we had more free throws in the second half. Turnovers make a difference, you know, and we are going to be able to harp on that.
What would impress you more in this game, 12 turnovers but not a lot of bad ones or 22 assists on 26 shots made…
Yeah, you're right. We didn't have a lot of bad turnovers. I thought both of AJ's and he agreed. He took one too far. Guys are trying to pass it in. You know another thing that was a shame, I didn't say is as far as being unselfish. He and Tyson (Walker) threw some great lobs but they were lobs that were lobs. I was taught by a guy that's up giving God some problems probably right now. I was taught be a guy that it's gotta be an ascending pass. Not a descending pass. Those were kind of lobs. I think we missed three, four dunks. Two in a row. But the encouraging part is we're looking for them. We're throwing them, we've just got to correct that. So I'd say that there weren't a lot of bad turnovers. And hell we didn't step out of bounds, so that dog fence, invisible dog fence. Maybe I'll put it on the market for basketball.
On Gabe Brown's ability to jump-start/ aggressiveness on offense, what liked, especially first half…
Well, contrary to probably Kenny Smith, I love Gabe Brown. I do. But he has his moments when you know he gets it going and then he doesn't figure out and understand time and possession. But we were disappointed with our wings in general, it was the way they guarded. They were so good the first half and so poor the second half. Gabe struggled to guard today and he's struggling to rebound the ball like we think he can. So we're fine with his offense, we know he's going to make shots. We don't worry about that. We've got to get more out of him defensively and more out of him rebounding the ball. He knows it and I think he's not fighting it. So it's going to improve, rather have it sooner or later. But it's going to improve.
What's been the difference on the first seven minutes (especially on shooting improving)…
I think we're getting some inside out passes. We're taking good threes. The threes we're taking are good, the two's we're taking are bad. So I think we're taking good threes. I know this, every game now, home game, we're coming in and shooting for a half hour at night before the game, from the line in the auxiliary gym. We've got a guy at almost every basket, a coach at every basket. So we've tried to spend even more time at it. But I think we're a good free throw shooting team. This team seems to lose a little focus. Some of that is not only maturity, and some of it is not only youth but some of it is inexperience. None of them have a great amount of experience. Gabe probably has the most experience on my team and so I'm trying to look at that as something to do with it. Like, why'd we lose some focus to step out of bounds, miss free throws. Are we really able to home in. So that's what we're going to work on next.
With Minnesota coming up, grind of games, feeling like it's going to spring board?...
I think it's going to help us a lot, especially those three or four games and we did have to really. I was talking to John Calipari there this morning and he was just saying it's one thing we've done. We've played a schedule that we're playing teams and we had win games down the stretch, we had to do some things. Sometimes we didn't do them as well. But, we were in those situations and I think that's going to help us as Big Ten comes. We're looking forward to it. It's still weird for me being in the league, as long as I have been in the league that we're playing two big ten games in December, before final exams. But it is what it is. There's other teams playing. I think you'll see the conference is under way. The Purdue game was a hell of a game. I was a little surprised, especially with out Murray (Iowa) in there. But everyone is tough. Conference play is so much different than regular season play. And Minnesota, they've won some games. They won a tough, close game last week. Ben (Johnson) has done a great job with his team. They've got two guys that really really shoot the ball. Last year we went up there and got our clocked cleaned. I mean we got dismantled up there. So you know I'm looking forward to getting some good practice days in and playing better when we go up there on Wednesday.
Max's (Christie) performance giving him a challenge defensively…
Well, I give him a challenge every week. You know, he's going to guard one of the best guys. I don't know what, I think Rollins is a hell of a player. He shot thirty percent and was one of seven from the three. It wasn't an easy job, I mean that was a weird twenty-one points. But I've been so pleased with Max's defense in general. But I also think it's got to be frustrating for him to miss some of the shots he missed. I think today was one of the first days I saw it bother him. But he's got to get over that because he shoots it well. Gabe shoots it well. I thought when you start out, you take a couple of tough twos or you miss a couple of threes, then your confidence. I mean shooting is so much about confidence when you're young. Gabe has no conscious, so it doesn't bother Gabe as much. But freshman I think it does. We try to go to them early and give them a few shots. We did get him a few shots early that were great shots. We all pressed on the perimeter, even as good as Jaden, I though he made some great threes. But took some tough twos by jumping back and falling back and didn't make a lot of those. But he was three for three on threes and zero for four for two. So we're going to have to work on that too now you know. Free throw shooting, get that solved. Now we gotta get our two-point shooting, we had to work on our three point shooting. That's all part of the process of hopefully a great season.
Freshman Guard Max Christie
On the difference in the first half versus the second half for the Spartans…Â
I think a trend with our team right now for some reason is, we come out really strong in the first half and then the second half comes in, the first four minutes [into] the first media timeout, you want to win that and recently, we have not won any of it. I mean, Toledo came out and absolutely kicked our butt in the first four minutes. And that kind of set the tone for the rest of the half, they outscored us, we were up by 26 at one point they cut it down to [however] close it was. So that's a trend on our team. We've got to find that consistency for sure. Just being sure that we come out fast in the first half, and same thing with the second half.Â
How the team performed better in the first half…Â
I mean, in the first half, we took care of the ball and we only had four turnovers in the first half. So if we can take care of the ball like that, we get more possessions and more shots. And if we're able to draw two when we get into the paint and approach open shots like we did in the first half, especially from three, then I mean, we're a great team.Â
How Toledo managed to nearly catch up in the second half…Â
I think it's just the fact that we didn't come out to play in the second half. To be honest. I don't know if there was anything [Toledo] did really. It was mostly self-inflicted wounds. We didn't come out in the second half ready to play. We came out really slow, lethargic and in the first four minutes they took it to us, and to be honest, it set the tone for the half.Â
On Christie taking on the challenge of tougher games…Â
It's certainly tough. I think it's a really big transition period for me right now, in these past couple of games especially. I got a lot- 14 shots I think, so that's pretty good, but at the same time, I only made four of them. So I think it's just an adjustment for me, getting that assignment on defense, everybody sort of shading towards me or just making it difficult for me. I think it's just a transition period. I'm going to do my best to not stay frustrated; it's going to happen. So it's just something for me that I have to work through and not feel sorry for myself. And just keep working at it.Â
On Christie's improvements so far and areas of his game he'd like to improve…Â
I'd say for improvement, my defense has improved a lot; set aside this game which is just going to happen, but for the for the most part these past couple games I think defensively I've done a great job. And then offensively the game is slowing down for sure. I just need to make sure that I'm staying patient with myself especially with these past couple games where I'm feeling the attention from the defense. Make sure I'm staying patient with my shots, getting good shots, not forcing anything and staying patient in general. So I'd say improvement defense-wise I've done a lot a better job for sure.Â
On an increased role on the team with ball-handling…Â
I think it fits my skill set perfectly. I know I can handle the ball, I think I can run the team if I'm tasked with it. I don't have any pressure really to bring the ball up the court and feel pressure from the defense. I think I've worked on that ever since I got here, and leading up to this point for sure. So I think it's something that I can do if they're tasking me, bringing the ball up and leaving the break. That's something I can do. Â
Taking on tasks like guarding a team's leading scorer…Â
I'd say it was more of a personal goal, to be honest. I know in my high school years, maybe years leading up to this, I wasn't necessarily as good of a defender as I am now and I didn't really test myself with being a great defender. And so now I think if I implement the defense into my game, it could lead to my offense. Eventually if I'm playing hard on the defensive end, I get steals, rebounds, and I run out, I'm gonna get wide open shots. So I think it was more of a personal goal and I showed that in practice and then now it's turning to a point where I'm getting put on their best player.
Junior Guard Tyson Walker
On the slow start to the second half…Â
We were really just flat coming out [in the second half], didn't have a lot of energy, which we usually really do. That's really what it was. A lack of energy, [not] getting shots down. I don't think the score [impacted], it just didn't feel like we were excited. Â
On Jaden Akins' performance…Â
Jaden is really good. You didn't see him make as many shots, so it just didn't seem like he was playing as well. But if he's not making shots, he's rebounding, he's catching put-backs, and he always plays good defense. I think he's good, and he's playing better and better and he's gonna be even better down the road. He's very athletic, and he hasn't even really showed it yet either. He surprises me, he did today. Â
Heading into the team's first Big Ten game against Minnesota…Â
I think we are very prepared. Especially [after] we played on the road at Butler, a tough environment, I think that really helped. Just playing all these good teams helps, so we'll be ready. Â
What he is most looking forward to in Big Ten games…Â
The crowds. That is a big difference for me. I don't think Coach [Izzo] and the others really recognize that, but even today, I thought 'It's pretty crowded in here,.' It's different than where I come from. Every game is a tough game. The crowds are good, the players are good ... I've never really played in [that type of atmosphere], so that's what I'm looking forward to.
Senior Forward Gabe Brown
On leading the team after a slow start to the second half…
One of our mottos is to come out and bring energy. Every second half I feel like we've come out and played sluggish. I feel like we just haven't had that kick that we had when we first came out in the first half, so I just try to encourage the guys and the first four minutes, we try to really attack and really go hard, and if you need a sub, get out. I feel like today we came out with no energy, and it felt like we were just trying to get through the game, and that's just not Michigan State Basketball, so it's my job to bring energy and my job to help encourage guys, and I have to do that next time.
How to prepare the younger guys for Big Ten play…
It's all about experience. I'm going to do my best to hold everybody accountable and try to bring that type of enthusiasm and energy, and show them that you can't come out sluggish in any game in the Big Ten, because you can end up losing at any moment. So I have to do my best to be a leader and be the captain, and show guys that energy can really win games.
On making more 3's the last few games...
I feel like guys are focusing more on it, working on their shooting, and you know I always work on it. Guys are coming in and focusing, but it's really the passing from our point guards, each and every player, the passes are on the money, so guys are able to lock in and take great shots. I feel like we're in a great space right now on the court where we're spacing the floor out, and we find great looks, so we're doing a good job on locking in on our shots.
On first half…
All I can say is guys are finding the right spots and shots came open. We tried to pick apart the defense as much as possible, and our point guards did a great job of finding us in transition, helping us get shots.
Freshman Guard Jaden Akins
On finding good shot selection in three-point range today…
Yeah, I feel pretty confident. I hit all my threes today, I feel like they were pretty open shots so I just took them and tried to knock them down.
Assessing the two games played this week…
I feel like we kind of played one half of basketball both of those games. We should have won bigger than we did, but we're going to build on that and grow from that.
On what Coach Izzo said in the locker room after the game on avoiding slumps like the second half…
Really, just energy and effort, play hard and execution. I feel like that's the most important part. Its executing our offense and getting good sets and things like that.
On his current role and what he thought it'd be at this point…
I thought I'd be able to make an impact coming in. I just bet on myself and the work that I put in. So, I feel like my role could keep expanding, and I just got to keep making plays for that to happen.
Sophomore Guard A.J. Hoggard
On his two steals in the opening half forcing Toledo's first timeout…
I was just coming in and trying to not fall asleep off the ball. I think I do a pretty good job (with) on-ball defense, sometimes I lack on off-ball. So, focus was just to not fall asleep. We did a good job, huge shout out to our scout team, knowing their sets and knowing they were going to do, so that kind of allowed me to kind of cheat a little bit and just use my length and my athleticism to get into pass lanes and come up with those steals. So, I give them a shout out and I just appreciate them for allowing us to have a good head start coming into the game.
On what he would tell guys like Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins to expect in Big Ten play…
You should expect a lot. Even though we didn't play to our best in second half. You can't count nobody out in the Big Ten, its filled with 14 great teams. We're all well coached and the conference is just one of the toughest, if not the toughest, in America. You just got to come and bring your hard hat to work every day and just be ready to play. Ready to get everybody's best foot forward because we are who we are. That just comes with it. So, just being ready to be focused, night in and night out, from the walkthroughs, from films, to everything, you just got to be ready to be prepared to get everybody's best foot.
On Big Ten Conference being tough to play in and physically tough…
Both. Big Ten is the most physical conference in America. So, you got to be ready to not get calls in a row. Maybe not get some calls you might think you should get at home. Just be ready to play. Be ready to be (in) a dogfight each and every night. Everyone's coming out to play, everyone has something to prove. So, everyone had a COVID year, everyone thought they had a down year, so everyone's ready to get in conference play and show who they are. So, we trying to show who we are. Everyone's going to show who they are, so we just got to come out and be prepared and ready to play.
On what he thinks is causing the lapses in focus on team...
Yeah, I think it's a mixture of both (having young guys and new guys). Just kind of getting used to playing with each other, still learning each other as we go. New guys, new system for some guys. People still adjusting even though we're nine games in. Guys are still adjusting to the speed of college and speed of how we play. So, it's just got happen to get better each and every day and just continue to finish out the job.
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