Post-Game Quotes: Grand Valley State

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo

Opening Statement...
Coming back from Tennessee, I felt very good about how we played. After today, I'm very disappointed in our energy during the first half. You can say that that's expected, but that should not be expected. We called out every player, except the player that played the hardest and the best, and that was (Tyson) Walker. (Joey) Hauser got in foul trouble and did not play very smart. Malik (Hall) did not play how he's been playing. Mady (Sissoko) was a pleasant surprise, and he's been that way all year. He really did a nice job offensively, believe it or not, but defensively, he didn't do a very good job either. We weren't very good defensively. Our lack of depth hurt us. I did that on purpose with Hauser (playing him with three fouls at the time). We told him that we were going to play him, which maybe in a real game we wouldn't, because of our lack of depth until we get (Jaden) Akins back. I felt that Joey, for as smart and as good of a player as he is, made an insane mistake there that really cost him and us. The other area that was impressive, was that Tre Holloman and Jaxon Kohler brought the energy. Tre brought a lot of energy at the point, putting pressure on them. We rebounded and played much better defensively during the second half. I would be remiss if I didn't give credit to Corn (GVSU Head Coach Cornell Mann). They were tough. I said at the beginning that I always have some keys, and my key was to play Spartan Basketball. What does that mean anymore in this day and age, where it's harder to maintain culture and things? There's been a saying that has been on the championship rings, and it's never changed. It never will change. I don't give a damn what parents say, or what fans say, or what the media says. Players play. Tough players win. That doesn't change. Doesn't change. You can tell me about finesse. I watched the Lakers. Teams with talent. This and that. Players play, and tough players win. We had more talent than Grand Valley, and they played tougher than us. Simple. So, it was a good lesson. But, against a very good Tennessee team, we did bring it with some energy, and we played tough. So, consistency is what every coach looks for, and we got our work cut out. So now, it's back to the lab, my favorite place to go. We will see if we can get our guys to play harder and guard a little better. The other negative was that, I don't think our fast break has looked very good to this point. I don't think our ball movement was very good. We had been moving the ball, and we had a couple in the second half where we moved the ball well, but we just haven't been very consistent in that.

On the challenge of playing an opponent like Grand Valley...
I tried to tell them that I've been Grand Valley. That's the advantage of being a Division II guy. My first collegiate start at Northern Michigan was against Benny White and Gregory Kelser, at Michigan State. I can remember it today just like it was yesterday, because it was the biggest moment of my collegiate career. These guys get to play here, which is pretty impressive for them. I thought that Corn did a great job. They are going to win some games now. They've got some toughness. Their center played very well; he's a Division I transfer. We didn't play very smart. I didn't think we did a very good job as a coaching staff either, you know, because you have to pick and choose what you do in these games. You want to get an idea. You want to get a feel. Is this going to be a player-led team, or is this going to have to be a coach-led team the whole time. We didn't over-emphasize anything, and we handed out the scouting report. Since everybody gambles now, I was gambling with our assistant coaches to see who would read it and who wouldn't, not knowing who drives it or who shoots it. So, they flunked that test. We flunked the test too as coaches. Twenty-seven, entering my 28th year as a coach, we should know better. I should know better. I took some of the blame, and I will take some of the blame. That means that we think we can turn it on or turn it off, and we all know how that works. That doesn't work very good. We had a good second half, and we played better. That showed a little something, but I promise you I'll have something to coach tomorrow.

On Tre Holloman playing a role in the rotation after Jaden Akins returns...
There will be some guys that will become a part of things. We are experimenting a little. Malik played so well down there (in Tennessee), but he didn't play as well today. In the second half, he was better, but we need Jaden Akins. He's one of our best players from the summer. More than one of our best players. He can do a lot of things, he can guard. But, we're better defensively than how we played. We just looked like we didn't respect them how we should, so I guess we went on load management and just decided to take it easy a little bit. You know how much I like that, right? It's right next to Twitter, the transfer portal, and all the other things, so I'm not real fond of that.

On the team's offensive improvement in the second half…
Well, we got the ball inside right away. We got some inside outs. Passing the ball inside gets you some spacing, and it makes them respect you a little bit in there. I did think we did a good job of that, but with Joey (Hauser) out of there – Joey's been the best player during the summer, and I'd say Tyson's (Walker) been right there with him – and getting in foul trouble, and the way he did it. He didn't look like he was in sync compared to what he's been. But unlike last year and the year before, I think he'll bounce back, just listening to him in the locker room. So I think that'll be all good. I think we guarded a lot better, so we got some turnovers, and we got some breakaways from long rebounds. I didn't think we fast broke like we should, but I thought we got some breaks. Fast break points – 21 to 7 – really looks good. I think that the scorer's table is a little bit like the referees – they're coming back from a long summer too and maybe don't see things the way I see them, because that looks like we really fast broke good, and I didn't think we did.

On what he likes and needs to see more of from A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker…
Tyson's in great shape. A.J.'s got some work to do in that area. It's kind of funny, it reminds me of Draymond Green when he wanted to be a three. Everyone wants to play these other positions, and with that comes the responsibility. I think it was a good learning experience for Tyson. He said "I didn't feel tired," and I said "Maybe you didn't drink the water, maybe you didn't do the things you did." Tomorrow, I'm picking on everyone. I'm getting the trainer, I'm getting the Gatorade guy, I'm getting them all. And we're going to figure out how we can do a better job. You know, that was good, but A.J.'s four turnovers are unacceptable. Bad turnovers and we can't do that.

On the status of Jaden Akins…
He's been working out. Just talked to his dad, I'm going to have a talk with the doctor in Green Bay tomorrow. He's not had any pain. He says he's not in great shape, but he's the best-conditioned guy I got. I ain't worried about that. I think it's sketchy from my standpoint, like it was with Cleaves. I'm not going to jeopardize a season for a game. But all I can do is go on him. There's no more X-rays. If there's a little bit of pain, he's off, if not, you move forward. He'll work out a little bit tomorrow. We're not working out. He's done layups, he's done fastbreak stuff, he's done things like that. He's run on the treadmill. The hardest thing people come back from with foot issues is lateral – can he move laterally. But, I was watching him dunk yesterday. I chewed him out for it, in fact, but I kind of enjoyed it too. I didn't know which way to act. I do see him coming back. Will he play in that first game? Again, I don't know until he starts doing the side work stuff, starts scrimmaging a little bit. Would he be ready for the second game? That's where the schedule creates the problem because there will be no game that he can ease his way or we can ease him into. But he's such a smart, tough, competitive kid that I'm not worried about it. Jaden Akins is one of my best two-way players since I've had since Gary Harrison I think, and we need him back. Especially with the lack of depth we have a little bit this year. But, one more body in there, it changes everything. One more body changes a lot. I'm expecting him to practice Saturday and Sunday, if everything is good, he may play on Monday. But that'll be up to Jaden, somewhat his father, his father's been great though. The doctor's been great, the trainer. But it'll be more up to Jaden than me because I trust him. I really do. I trust him. And he knows I'm not playing him, I'm not asking him to play even remotely hurt. So, we'll get him back 95 percent, or he doesn't play. If he can't practice two-three practices in a row, he won't play. If he can, hell yeah I'm going to play him.

Closing statement…
We'll be better, we were better the second half, and hopefully better in the next game. I've really enjoyed this team so far except for the first half of this game. But I think bouncing back says a little something, but I probably haven't given enough credit to Grand Valley because they made some shots too. The one big guy made the three. I thought that No. 11, (Chinedu) Kingsley Okanu, he really played well. He played physical, he played hard, he took it right right to us. We went against some seven-footers at Tennessee that didn't do that. So, give him credit, he made some of those shots. But I don't think we did a good job either like I said. Now, I can say I didn't do a very job either. And some of it was purposeful, to see if our team would be a player-coach team. They're not yet. And some of it was for various reasons. You don't want to make every game like it's the Super Bowl. You got a bunch of Super Bowls coming up. So I think I learned too. I'm still learning, I promise you that.

Grand Valley State Head Coach Cornell Mann

About his thoughts about the MSU team and how GVSU needs to improve...
I think it's; I don't want to say it's typical. I don't think that's the right terminology, but they are good in the areas they are normally good in my opinion. Tough, play hard, share the ball, especially in the second half they were able to move the ball one, two, three passes to an open shot. I thought in the first half, we did a great job of closing in on those shooters and closing down in the paint, and for us we have to do a better job on that. Before we played, I told my guys, Michigan State will be better than people think, I do believe that.

On the first half…
Michigan State, they knew what we were running, which is above normal in the season. I think (Chinedu) Kingsley did a good job when he got the ball, and he was able to play single, one-on-one, and he was able to score the ball. Kingsley can score the ball, especially one-on-one, in the long post, 15 feet. And he's a monster, and he's big and strong and capable. So he was the focal point of everything to be done in the first half, that's who the guys fed off of.

On how his read of the team has changed as he's adjusted to his new role of being head coach...
The read is that these guys want to be great. And they do understand the places that I've come from. I've worked with some really good coaches, different styles of play, and we had success. And so they understand that, so they trust the things that I'm saying, and they're such good dudes. And we know that no matter who is coaching, they're going to listen. The difference is, that I think I'm a tough guy, and so I think they embody a little bit of who I am. And when we take the court, we are going to fight, scratch, and claw for everything we can get. And I thought in the first half, we did that, and just like in the second half in the Eastern (Michigan) game, I think we ran out of a little gas. And we ran out of some guys due to foul trouble, and we still had guys on the side not playing.

Senior Forward Malik Hall

On what he has been doing to take a bigger step as a player
You know, something Coach (Izzo) has talked about is just being more vocal and trying to bring more energy. I'm naturally very calm, and a chill person with a monotone voice. So, I have just worked on being more out-spoken, and being able to be a little bit louder and make sure that I am bringing my teammates with me. And, it's not just trying to lead by example, things like that have been a point of emphasis.

On what strategies coaches have been using to get more out of the team
I think we have played a little bit with different groups. So, I just think he (Coach Izzo) is trying to see who's going to play well together. And looking at moments when we are down, and seeing who is going to step up and fight. You know, if I knew him, I would say he would try to go deep into his bench and try different things out. And, I obviously can't say I know everything, but I just think he is trying to figure out what is best for our team going forward.

On the foul trouble and how that affected the team…
It kind of just has to do with everybody just being good on the team, talking on the team, being able to talk to a person, being like "we really need you, you're really important." But it's also a self-confidence type of thing that you really need. I have charisma towards my team, I can't foul, I can't do this, I can't turn the ball over, things like that. My team needs me, you kinda just have to know what your role is, I think that's also really important.

On being back playing in the Breslin…
It was a little nerve-racking, quite honestly, but it was fun. I had a good time. I think the crowd brought it. It was really exciting just coming to support for the first half.

On finding his footing in the second half, and if he did anything differently in the second half compared to the first…
I think I kind of just settled down really. I mean, the first half, first time coming back at it, a little jitters, stuff like that. But I think I just kind of calmed down and allowed myself to feel the game a little bit better.

On what made it nerve-racking, just "first day of school excitement" or feeling a lot of pressure…
I think it could be a little bit of both, you know. I haven't really had time to process it really yet, but I think it definitely just was a little bit of both because I was excited for an opportunity with this. So just all of the excitement of being in the position I am, just kind of feeling a little bit of pressure from myself, and it's just something that I've gotta work through.

On coach's message after the first half…
He was just disappointed honestly, and he had the right to.

Senior guard Tyson Walker

On playing in front of the Breslin crowd...
It was fun. I was a little bit nervous, you know first game of senior year, but it was fun to be honest. It was good though and it got loud when he (Coach Izzo) got the tech. It was good to be back.

On things the team can work on...
Bringing more energy in the beginning of the game, just making more shots. We missed a lot of easy shots today, and locking in better defensively.

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