Post-Game Quotes vs. Michigan
1/29/2022 3:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening Statement:
Well as you can imagine, big win for us. A good game, I guess from our end. I thought they played very well early. I thought they really hurt us on the boards. Had a few turnovers that were sloppy in that first half, but the difference in the game is they had 13, we had 13, so we didn't get hurt there. What hurt us was their offensive rebound at the end. I thought Diabate did a hell of a job on that. It hurts because we didn't double down on Dickinson, but that was kind of the game plan. I guess when you don't shoot as well from three, and they've been shooting the daylights out of it the last three games. Its been, this is the way the year goes. They played three or four games in a row where they didn't play well. Then they played three games in a row where they played very well. And then this game, I don't know how he felt, how they played. They didn't shoot it as well but if the ball doesn't go in, that's a problem. I was pleased, I thought Marcus (Bingham) did a pretty good job until he got into foul trouble. Our game plan was to run. We got some open ones. I think the worst part about our turnovers was this was a game I think they had four layups that were correct layups and one three-point play. So I guess our defense must have been pretty good to hold them to 37 and 15. And another key is, even thought they got 17offensive rebounds, second chance points, we had one more than they did. So our defense stopped that too, which was encouraging. But we have still a lot of work to do. We find ways to do somethings but I thought overall, Max was phenomenal in the first half. And I thought, did a very good job defensively on Brooks, who I still think is one of my favorite players. He does a lot of things and Max did a hell of a job on him. I thought Malik's (Hall) energy that first half and the things he did. Shots he made, was phenomenal. Then when we got into foul trouble. Ill be honest with ya, it brought tears to my eyes to hear the crowd chanting 'Joey Hauser.' He gave me everything he had. He rebounded the ball, even though he didn't get a lot of them. He hipped him, he did everything he could, by hitting those big threes, made a difference. I thought we shot pretty well from the line. I thought we didn't defensive rebound enough but that's a good basketball team. That's every bit of the team that was a top ten team. I think that their best basketball is in front of them. Just because they are starting to play well together. I thought we did a hell of job on Houstan too who's been on fire lately too.
On depth for this game – Gabe slow first half, Max quiet second half…
Well it was a funny game, it's not like we were ahead by a lot the whole game. But I think our depth is good. Our four men had 29 points and 8 or 10 rebounds, something like that. We had a good one two punch there. I swear I wouldn't do this, when I do it's normally disastrous. I do have to give AJ (Hoggard) a lot of credit. He's been in with me and Monty (Mike Montgomery) for two weeks. I thought he really played under control. He did really controlled things. Getting a double double. Getting 10 assists was a big deal for him. I thought at times, Tyson played pretty well too. Tough game too be in when you haven't been in it before. I thought the crowd, I would like to say that the crowd was unbelievable. It reminded me of old times. Between COVID and all the other things but the crowd was fun. Seeing Mel over there with all of his guys. Seeing the other coaches, it was an incredible environment. But I thought our depth did help. Both point guards, both four men. Jaden Akins gave us a some minutes, got a couple big plays. Julius Marble I thought did a very well in his time in there. We can play some guys. We're still going to get Pierre Brooks, finally got him in a game where we can get him some more time. He's been playing very well in practice. So I think we'd be two deep at each position where I don't feel afraid to sub guys.
On light switch intensity momentum – first versus second half…
If those locker room walls could talk. I thought the end of the first half, the last six or seven minutes we played with more intensity. I don't know if intensity is right, but I think we played smarter. We made some average plays and those turnovers, you know when you throw it to them on an outlet pass and they dunk it. You throw it to them on another one and they lay it up and get fouled. Those things take a lot out of you and I think we had four of them in the first half. So we did do a better job. We vowed that we were going to play all twenty minutes. I thought we did but, Michigan is good. They're good and they've got a good team. I thought we did a decent job on Jones too, he's been doing well. But this game is about shots go in, shots don't go in. Today our shots went in, theirs didn't. Lately their shots have been going in and ours haven't.
On AJ performance and vision – composure…
I think the composure is the critical part. Playing on two feet. Getting in there and spraying the ball out, he made a couple of great passes. Figured out when he had the ability to slither in there and get a shot. He didn't have the charges he's normally had. I think he did play with a lot more composure, with the little floater. I was happy for him. Because its been, you ask Monty (Montgomery), it's been a tough week on those point guards, week and a half. We just felt like if you don't have a quarterback running your team, you can't be any good. So I took those two football guys and I made them explain to those guys. I told Keon, 'If you get open and the quarterback doesn't get open, how do you feel?' He's like, 'not running the patterns as hard.' That's kind of like our analogy in basketball. I didn't think we were spraying the ball good. We've gotta get Gabe (Brown) more touches too. I thought he got a little frustrated, but he did bounce back and made a couple big plays. We've got some weapons, we've got some pieces, we've just got to put them together.
On Juwan (Howard) saying that they clawed in the first half, second half MSU got every loose ball and rebound, music to ears? Ultimate compliment…
Well it is, I agree with him on the first half his team did. They got all the loose balls and they got all the rebounds. Mike Garland said to me after the game, Denzel was in the locker room, KT, and some of our other former guys. Mike walked by and he said, 'that's how we always play.' So I told Denzel, tell these guys what some of these things are like. But we're making progress. We're just eyelashes away from being really good. As we continually knock down those turnovers. Continually get a little smarter on things. I think we have enough different weapons to throw at somebody if they've got a good center, we can throw Marky (Bingham). If they've got somebody else, we can go Joey (Hauser) and Malik (Hall). We can go about it different ways and that's going to help us down the way.
Joey, Bingham, AJ – describing in the ruts, finding a way to push versus let up…
Yeah, that's been tough. And I've done a lot more meetings. I've done a lot more not riding and I don't think that's good. A guy doesn't do what he's supposed to do, he should hear about it. And yet between COVID and the fragileness and the screwed up country we're in right now. Sorry. But as far as you know, I can't say nothing to anybody. We did it a little different. We didn't do it in front of anybody but we had meetings. We had a lot of meetings this week. Just kind of went over film, it was driving my assistants nuts. I think we corrected some things. What I got was I got good guys. I don't have bad guys, I have good guys. Getting everything out of them is, there's roadkill in doing that. That's what it's all about. Unfortunately for me, I think it was Bo Schembechler, 'those who stay will be champions.' In this day and age, that's very true. Everybody just thinks they should bolt. Thank god I've got a bunch of guys that want to stay. You're right, there gets to be that teetering time. AJ's been there. So has Marcus. But I can tell you so many good players in the past. I mean Morris (Peterson) lived there. He built a house, he stayed there. And he came back around but there's been a lot of guys that go through that. I think that's the beauty of our program. I might get on them, but I never write them off. There are very few kids that I write off. I just keep pushing and pulling and pushing and pulling. Give my staff credit, I thought DJ (Stephens) he did the scouts did a good job defensively on what we wanted to do. Offensively we worked on harder, We thought we've been very poor offensively on some things.
On whether he knew the Malik Hall foul would be reviewed…
He might have thought it was, I knew it was going to be on Jaden Akins the whole time. I think I just asked the official if he would review it. Personally, I was 99% sure, but he did play with a lot of energy. It was at a point in time that I wouldn't have changed anybody but I was 99% sure of the call.
What Malik Hall and Max Christie brought when Michigan took the lead…
To be honest with you, Joey [Hauser] was struggling a little bit then and Gabe [Brown] was struggling a little bit then and my point guards were a little up and down, but those two guys did a lot, then we got them threes. We felt like we had to move their bigs around a little bit and did a decent job, there were times when we screwed that up a little bit that I think we will be able to work on but we did some good things and they did some good things. They can get the ball in and when he is on the block it is hard. I am sure, as always, you are frustrated that I didn't double, but the one time we doubled, we didn't double on him, we doubled on somebody else that we weren't supposed to double on at all and they hit the three.
On Joey Hauser coming in to get some big stops…
Well, Joey [Hauser] said to me he really couldn't handle him and I struggle with who is allowed to do what, displacement goes both ways. Can we displace them? Can they displace us? He said 'if they aren't going to call it that way I am just going to front him and hip' and I said 'be my guest' and he did. It was him and DJ's [Stephens] decision and it was a good decision. He still scored some but we made it a little harder and forced him out a little bit farther. It was a calculated chance, do you want to give up the three or the 2 and we did what we did. If it would have went the other way, we would have kicked ourselves.
On the halftime speech being player led or coach led…
I dragged [Mike] Garland off of a few people if I was to be very blunt about it. When I came down the hallway I could hear his voice and it reminded me of [Mateen Cleaves] in the old days. I kind of got that straightened out, but then I was upset with my team. I didn't think we were doing the things we have to do and we vowed that is what we are going to do. We looked at some things, we looked at some coverages that we were having a little trouble with, we did some things that were unlike us, on purpose and those were our coverages. We wanted to make some adjustments, so we did. I think the beauty of a team in a rivalry game, I think they knew. We showed a little highlight tape before the game and it was about all the former guys that built the place and what it means to them. I said 'if you want to be a part of that 5, 10, and 15 years from now, you have to do your part because you are not part of it if you don't win these games. It really wasn't as crazy, I mellowed and I told you that.
On something clicking for Joey Hauser and fighting for the ball…
He was getting mad at me. I went down to Zel [Denzel Valentine] and said 'Zel does this look familiar?' Then I saw his mom in the stands and said 'does this look familiar?' and then I knew we were in good shape because familiar is a good thing here. When people are getting on people, it is a good thing at our place. He made a couple of mental mistakes and he very seldom makes mental mistakes to be very honest with you. I think my problem with Joey [Hauser] is that he is so unselfish that he is never ready to shoot and he is one of my best shooters, I've told you that forever. Maybe he was mad enough that he said 'to hell with him I'm going to shoot'. The trick with that was I was thinking 'good', I wasn't upset with that, I was happy. It was his shooting that really saved the day, it was the defense, the diving on the floor, it was his energy level, trying to cut out. Their two bigs are really good, really good and that is not an easy job for anybody and I was just happy for him because he has been through a lot and he is an unbelievable kid. The guys love him and you really pull of guys like that. Just because I got on him, I love my son and I get on him every day.
On the importance of the depth of the bench and tiring Michigan out…
I couldn't agree with Juwan [Howard] more or you more. That was our game plan, we thought we had to run every time to try and get him even at the ball screens. Just trying to move him around and I think he got tired, but give him credit he still battled, [Hunter] Dickinson, he was a horse. We felt running them would be a big part of the game for us and maybe they got tired, I don't know, I'm not in his huddles but I had some guys that got tired too. The emotion of the game, you just can't appreciate what that crowd does to you. I am sitting over looking at Mel [Tucker] and he has a smile through his mask about this big and I said 'this is what this place is like'. It has been a weird couple of years, as we all know, but I think that helps too, just like it will probably help when we go down there to play, it will probably help them.
On Max Christie from the Illinois game to now…
I will be honest with you that was one of the things that I changed. We decided to put him in some ball screens, put the ball in his hands a little bit more and I thought he answered the bell. He still doesn't know how to make all the kick outs and there were a couple of times. I'll tell you, that kid is a, he was in here watching film, I told you when it happened, he was 2-16 in the two losses and he is not cocky enough to not let it bother him. He has the perfect demeanor that he is confident in himself but he was upset by how he played so he did the old fashioned thing and came in and worked, watched a little bit more film. He picks things up so fast and he had to do it on both ends and I don't know how many minutes he ended up playing but it had to be a lot. That is a lot of minutes to try to run the break and be our guy there and then to guard a guy like [Eli] Brooks who moves better than anyone else in our league. Hats off to Max.
On this game feeling like 'old times'…
Well not only this team, I think the last couple of years, but they all go hand in hand. When you make a great play and those stupid dummies that were sitting up there with those cardboard cutouts, they don't cheer you out and don't do nothing. That all bleeds to the energy of everything. I said to Mike [Garland] 'everything goes together, man' and that is the one thing that I would like to get back here. President, AD, fans, coached, all on the same page and this is one of the more difficult places in the country to play and we haven't had that. Even a year or two before that, there were issues and problems and it was things. It felt good, it felt good from a fan standpoint, I had my AD waiting at the end of the court for me at the end, and the players were on the floor. Don't slight Michigan, I am the first to tell you what I think of everything, their best basketball is the next 10 games too. They played awfully hard and they got a little tired maybe and that was part of the crowd and the number of subs we ran in on them, we just kept running people at them."
On rescheduling the Michigan game in Ann Arbor…
There is not a lot of times where you can redo it and I don't know what the efforts are of KP [Kevin Pauga] and the Big Ten office. Everything I hear, it is going to be late. Maybe like last year in March when we played four games in eight days or whatever it is. Personally, I don't care, I just want to play all of the games or double headers.
On being outside of the Breslin Center at 6:30 am with fans…
I think it was a little later than that but we had some fans there early and we gave them some hot chocolate. A couple of my managers said 'Coach, they are freezing out there' and I went down there and infused a little UP power in them and told them and said 'hey, this isn't all that bad' and then I got my butt right back in there in the warm weather and let them freeze to death. I begged our people to let them in a half hour early and that is what I did. I love the place, I love our students and I love when our place is electric like that. I think today was a good win for Michigan State and Michigan State means the world to me.
Michigan State Sophomore Guard A.J. Hoggard
How does he manage his up and down performances?
I'm trying to bring everything I got to the table, focus in practice, don't let days slip by, and build towards the game. I take those days very seriously, and just bring my practice to the game. Let the pieces fall where they lie.
About the atmosphere...
It was exciting. It's something you live for as a basketball player. Being able to play in these games at such a young age, it's just fun. Especially, being in an environment like that and being able to play in a rivalry like this.
About walking through the mentality changes to limit certain habits...
Coach says not to play scared, just to play smart. Playing smart and playing with passion and energy and to always be in a good flow. So, I think that kind of eliminates some of the things that we had to fix in the past.
Michigan State Freshman Guard Max Christie
What was the process between the Illinois game and now?
I think I really watched a lot of film in between the Illinois and Michigan game, just seeing what I did wrong in Illinois, and how I could have put myself in a better position and have a better game. I think one of the things I did well and even the coaches did well was putting me in more ball screen situations putting the ball in my hands a little bit more. And then me moving off the ball, so just setting random flare screens or pin downs and just moving, keeping myself active, keeping the defender active, so I am not just standing there. And then when I'm moving, sometimes I just magically find the right spot to be in and then get opportunities out of that.
About tiring Michigan out...
That was one of the keys to our game, in the pregame especially, making sure we did our best to wear them down. We know we are a great running team and we know we can punch it inside a lot, and once we punch it inside, we get a lot of kick-outs. One of our main keys was really to wear them down, with Marky (Marcus Bingham Jr.) running up and down the floor as fast as he can going through ball-screens, to make sure (Hunter) Dickinson gets worn down. And just, in general, with wings and guards pushing the ball in transition, that's one of our strengths.
About making reads through ball screens...
I think I'm very prepared for it, I think I've been in ball screens a lot even before my time here, so I think I know how to make certain reads in certain situations. I'm not going to be perfect all the time, I can obviously get in and watch the film on certain ball screen reads and watch pro basketball players and how they make reads. I think I'm very comfortable in ball screen situations and as time goes on as I get put in more and more of them, I'll become much more comfortable and much more relaxed in those situations.
About if he asked for more of those...
Maybe a little bit, yeah, I've been asking for a little bit more on the ball just sort of get me in ball screens because teams when we get into these pin-downs, it can get tough sometimes to get open off the ball. But when you have the ball in your hands, I think it's a little bit easier to sort of create your own shot. And even if I have the ball it's not always a shot for me, it could a shot for Gabe, Malik, Joey, Tyson, Marky, or anybody. So even though I have the ball in my hands and I'm trying to go through ball screens, it's not always a shot for me I can get other people open too.
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On Keon Coleman's basket…
That was crazy, I was excited for him. As soon as he got it, I knew he was going to the basket with it. I really thought he was going to dunk it but for him to finish it off and be excited about it was always good.
On Coach Tom Izzo always challenging him…
From a coach like him, when he's harping on you that you can do more stuff, that means that he knows that I have more to give to this team. With the energy and effort that we showed in the second half, it paid off, He does a good job of getting us riled up and making us take on challenges and challenging us at halftime and stuff like that. He's a really good coach and he's been in this job for a long time for a reason, so it'd be doing me bad if I didn't listen to him.
On the Breslin Center's energy and the fans…
Man, it was crazy. I felt like any time we made a big play, the crowd was there for us and I think it kind of messed with them (Michigan) a little bit. The Izzone was crazy tonight, even the fans all the way at the top. You can see them up there going crazy, I glanced up there a couple times seeing them going crazy. The fans were crazy and we appreciate it.
On the development of Max Christie…
Oh man, the sky's the limit from Max. He's playing really good. As a freshman, you go through times where you don't know or you're nervous, there's certain situations that he's been through, and I feel he's fulfilled his role up until now. He has stepped up defensively for us, guarding one of the best players on each team we play against. He's getting his groove back, today in the first half I feel like he had it going. In the second half, I was trying to tell him to look for his shot more, but he played with poise, he played with a lot of emotion. He, Jaden (Akins) and Pierre (Brooks), they took on the challenge that Coach gave them at halftime. Being a freshman in this rivalry, you have to have the most energy because you don't know what to expect. Max stepped up tonight and he played a hell of a game too.
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Michigan State Senior Forward Joey HauserÂ
On the crowd chanting "Joey" at times in the game…Â
Yeah, it's awesome that they keep supporting me, but my job is just to stay focused on the game during that time. To be honest, I didn't really notice at the time, I know my teammates really jacked up for me. It was an awesome game and an awesome moment for my team and myself. Â
On his strategy for defending Hunter Dickinson…Â
I was just trying to get physical with him, to front him a little bit. But there's only so much you can do with the guy, he's a really good player, he is that big. You just got to get physical as much as you can, make things tough for him because you know they're going to look inside to try to get him some post looks, so trying to out-work him is really all you can do. Â
On playing in the environment of a rivalry game…Â
Yeah, it's a rival game. Last year, it felt a little bit different just because we didn't have that those fans. Even when you go on the road, you don't have the hostile environment. So this year was a lot different. It felt good to get back to that environment and have that rival game so they really helped us out today. They helped us through some ups and downs in the game.Â
What the message was in the locker room at halftime…Â
We didn't think we played our best half. Michigan did some good things. They got a little bit loose with the ball there, offensive rebounds were kind of a problem the whole game, and I think they out-rebounded us so we just needed to be tougher coming out into the second half. We need to be tougher. Get on n our own run a little bit and go from there.Â
On how important it was producing more offense in the second half…Â
Yeah, I think it's really important. Malik [Hall] has been shooting the crap out of the ball all year. You know, I've struggled a little bit there, but I pick it up here and there. So whenever one of us is out, we got to pick up the slack and produce from that position. So I think we're doing a really good job of that. And I don't know a lot of teams that have got the talent and skill that we have at the four position, where they can play two guys in and out like that. It's a really good thing for us.
AJ Hoggard's performance…Â
AJ did a really good job. He has a really good job of getting downhill and he's big for his position. There were times where he really helped us out, and there's times when Tyson [Walker] who really helps us out. And today it was one of those days where AJ just did an unbelievable job. I think he had a double-double. So you know, this was an AJ Hoggard game. Â
Michigan State Junior Forward Malik HallÂ
On playing the post position with Joey Hauser…Â
I love playing with Joey [Hauser], for the most part there's no problems with Joey. I think when we were both in there together and when we're not, just being able to shoot and get to the basket, we both bring a presence when we're in the post. So I think it's a beautiful dual-headed thing that we have going there.Â
On playing in a hostile, fan-filled environment…Â
The energy in here definitely was crazy, shoutout to all the fans, they were outside for a while and they brought the energy even … shoot, I'm not gonna do that after being outside, being that cold. It definitely did feel like it was two years ago like my freshman year. It was fun. I think it'll be big for our team too, just as we go on ... I think we only have four left for home games left or something like that. Yeah, so I think those four will bring even more energy, and every time we'll be more and more excited. Â
You're growing into kind of a primary offensive option, which is definitely a change for you...
It's definitely something that is taking some time for me getting used to, before I got here I wasn't always the main offensive option. I mean, it feels good, it's an honor really you know, to have your number be called and to hear, 'Hey, we need to hit a shot.' I think it's something that makes me happy so I'm just gonna keep trying to do my best, when I have those opportunities.Â
You came out in second half just played phenomenal. It did feel differently for you in terms of the energy and the overall vibe of the team. How do you capture that?Â
The second half definitely was a lot different than the first. I think we gave up too many offensive rebounds. We still gave up some in the second but, that and the turnovers. It was a lot less in the second half but I mean, stuff like that, stuff we've been talking about all year … Coach [Izzo] came into the locker room fired up and the rest of the team, we just respond to that. Playing harder is something that that I think we have to work on just from the start of the game, just coming out punching people, riding them out. But it's something we're continuing to work on something that we talk about a lot as a team. Â
How do you bottle this intensity and energy and take it with you to Maryland and Rutgers?Â
Really just try and keep everybody focused. You know? It's a good win for us. And you know, it's a great year when you beat your rival, but it's not the end of the year yet. We still have so much time left and a lot of games left to play. So I just need to remind them of that. Â
