Post-Game Quotes: Tennessee

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo

Opening Statement …
Damn, why would I do that in October? That's what I kept asking myself on the bench. You know, there were a lot of good things. There were some good things and there were some things that really bothered me. Give them a lot of credit, they came in and shot the daylights out of it early and I didn't think we guarded very well but I think they made some shots too that we didn't expect. The turnovers were a joke. I mean, theirs were worse, Rick's not real happy either. But our turnovers led to some touchdowns that they got early and that was a depressing moment when you get down, what was it, 17-1? 18-1.

I guess my team deserved some credit for coming back from that. I thought that as well as Tyson (Walker) played, Malik Hall did the things, you know he missed a few layups, but he did the things though that I needed to be done from him. Gets the double-double, gets 14 and 11, gets to the free throw line. I thought that he played pretty well. And Tyson, it's like we have to do a better job of getting him involved earlier because we had some guys that just overdribbled it or overhandled it early and ball movement wasn't as good and that's because they're really good defensively and they're big. They're big. I mean those guards were 6-5, 6-6. They had some big guards and that hurt us a little bit. Freshmen, I think Jeremy's (Fears) going to be fine, but when you take it in there on those big guys, it's hard to get it up. I thought Tre Holloman played really well early, got us back in the game a little bit. Coen (Carr) played pretty well, and Xavier (Booker) did O.K., we didn't get him as much time for a couple of reasons.

But if there was a disappointment it was that our wings, our guards have got to get more rebounds. Jaden (Akins) didn't have a rebound. And our bigs had been playing really well in practice in there and didn't play very well in there. With that said, you lose by one in a game that I think was a hell of a game for the people.

And most important, and that's why we did it, I hope it does bring light on the people from Maui. There's so many things when something happens there and then something happens in Russia and then all of a sudden something happens in Israel, it seems like it gets by the wayside a little bit. Maui, I've been there and next year will be my fifth time. I think Rick, this year is going to be his fourth time. So, it meant a lot to both of us because when you go there you get treated so well and I thought our people here did a great job, it was a phenomenal crowd. It's not easy during football to have a crowd like that. So, I give a lot to our fans, our students, our marketing, our tickets, to everybody, they did a great job. Questions, I'll take them.

On the full-court defense, how much does that help to integrate into the program …
Well I was pleased with that, what I didn't get to do was rotate guys enough. If I had to do it over again, I'd give Tre and Jeremy a few more minutes in there, a little cleaner rotation, but they played 11-12 minutes, that's more than a lot of freshmen do and even Book played eight or nine minutes. So, just getting that rotation down will be very important. There was a reason they turned it over too – our defense was pretty good in the full court. In the half court, they weren't very good and that's what we've got to continue to reflect on."

On the game being a win-win deal with the game being a March-like game in October and raising funds and awareness …
That's, I think, the best part of the game and that's what Rick and I talked about before the game, during the game a few times and after the game. It was cool. We both went Hawaiian, we both had our Maui shirts on. It was the right thing to do, and it was the right opportunity the NCAA gave us to do something like that and I don't know how much money that will end up raising but a lot more than it would've if that was an empty place. As far as for us, the crowd was phenomenal, I think it helped us get back in the game, they should feel good about that and Tennessee should feel good that they were able to handle a crowd like that. Every time we cut it to six or four, they made a play and I told Rick that was the most impressive thing with them. Those two guys, the new guys he got, really played well, Gainey and Knecht. They really, really played well and that was the difference in the game.

On leadership and communication and why communication is important at this time …
I think you evaluated it yourself; we had some slip-ups, we had switches where guys were wide open under the basket. Some of its playing different lineups, some of it's the way they ran things and some of it was just mistakes. They knew it right away when they did it, they knew it, we need more practice on that, that's why this game was so important. I mean, when you think about was it a good thing or a bad thing; it was such a good thing to play this game. You never feel good when you don't win but it was good in a lot of reasons and ways, not only for us and for Rick, but also for Maui. And even for our fans, I think it was awesome for our fans, you get to see a top-5, top-10 team come in here and that team is picked to win the SEC and you can all see why. I mean, they're going to be good, and they've got depth too. But their young guys struggled too, just like maybe a couple of ours did. But I think all in all, the communication, why is it hard? Because the NCAA and Nike won't let us put these [holds up cell phone] on their belt buckles. You know guys don't know how to talk; they've got to text. They've got to send an e-mail. Those don't work with uniforms so we're trying to constantly get our guys to communicate more, and we've done a little better job but today there were sometimes. That's where Mady and Coop, they're good at calling out those screens and we just didn't do it. But, now we've got a week to get better.

On whether the game felt like an exhibition or March …
Oh that felt like March. Are you kidding me? I asked Rick, 'Are we stupid, or what?' You know, we don't need this in October. A couple of people sitting next to me, I said, 'Damn. We've got five more months of this?' But that's a good thing, you know. It really, really is. It's a good thing and it was good for our players, in some ways, my philosophy around here is it's good to get punched in the mouth. I thought we did early. I thought we got punched right in the mouth. And I did think we were able to come back. Tyson getting that rebound late, he's the smallest guy on the floor, it tells you a little bit about him. We've just got to get a more out of a couple of guys that have it to give. And those freshmen, you know Jeremy and Tre Holloman, Coen, we'll get Booker going here – they're going to get better, so I still like everything about my team. I'm a little disappointed that a couple guys defensively didn't play as good as I thought they would.

On whether it was okay to get their butts kicked in the first 10 minutes …
You know what Fred, I was sitting there, and I looked up and it was 17-1 and I said, "God. This is fun!' Hell no it wasn't O.K. to get my butt kicked! Jeez. I'm kidding ya. I can have fun today because we did something for Maui, I played against a good friend of mine and I do think that's a good point. We had a couple recruits in there and I said you skinny guys better get a lot tougher because there's no question that will be one of the more physical, athletic teams – there's physical teams and then there's athletic teams and when you've got physicality, athleticism, and some size, that's what makes them a pretty good team.

Now, they had some problems too, getting the ball up the floor, and they're going to have some decisions to make on those big guys, the bigger guards, can defend better, but they can't run the ball like those smaller guards, those smaller guards don't shoot it as well. And he's got one guard that's really good, but they aren't going to play better than those two guys played. I mean he told me after, that was the best and hardest Knecht had played. So that means that's good for them too, so I just thought that all in all, it was a great game, it was sad to end it that way with was it a foul or not a foul. He asked me a good question, he said, 'well if it was the other way would you have wanted it called?' I said, 'hell no. I would've wanted the game won on the floor and not at the free throw line. Now if it was during the regular season, hell yes.' But it was a bang-bang, it could've gone either way, as they all said to me, the officials, that was as high-caliber of a game they'll do until probably in the next two months. And that was one of the most high-caliber games we'll play in. I don't care if its Duke or anybody else. The advantage of playing in a game like this as an exhibition game is, you don't care about fouls as much and things, and that was a tough game to play in and it was a tough game to officiate. I learned a little lesson there to, I had a couple guys that were chirping at the officials, that'll be ended tonight. Because that's one thing that's not going to be tolerated. Hell, that's the only fun I get to have is yell at them, if I've got a player yelling at them then he takes away my fun."

On Walker defensive growth…
I think nobody would argue that he is the best player on the floor, for us. He can do it all, we probably played him too many minutes, to be honest with you, but hope to get that down a little bit. As you can tell he is the best condition guy on my team. I love the way he plays, one time he got a little wordy with the official but other than that he was phenomenal. He's grown a lot and he's a good player, we must get him going early, that wasn't him, that's us, some of that falls on the coaches too.

On how a game like this prep him and the players going into the season…
Well, it gave us a chance to run something at the end that we didn't execute correctly. One time we looked at a two for one early. It really, I'm sure for Rick too, was a game that I can't believe was 89-88 with 37 turnovers, I mean that's hard to do. So, maybe there's a positive in there, when did we have one? In the first five to six minutes of the game? So, we probably went and scored 87 points in 34-35 minutes, that's pretty good on a positive against a team that's good defensively, and he (Rick) probably thinks we're good defensively. Our defensive then showed up, we turned the ball over too much, both of us. They shot the ball better, he had a couple guys who really shot it well, 6-10 and 8-16, that's two pretty good nights. Even though Malik was 3-9, I got to give Tyson the star of the game, but I put Malik right there because he did everything, I needed him to do to be successful.

Benefits of this type of game that outweighs private scrimmage…
I really enjoyed it, you know I did it a couple of times with Gonzaga, when you have friends that you have that you can play against tomorrow or even tonight. Rick and I would talk about how much we're each mad at our teams. You get a lot done, you get a lot to talk about it and when you can attach it to a fundraising deal its pretty cool, when I mean fundraising, I mean, charity, that's pretty neat. Rather it be that or for the Boys and Girls Club, or something to help people, we're near Thanksgiving, feed people like the homeless. Could we do something with this to help now, you look at it the University is going to lose money; if we did it for nothing the University was going to lose money anyway if we played it and there was no crowd. I want to thank, all the people that came, and spent their money on this, I think you got your money's worth as far as the game. I think the wrong team won if you're a Spartan fan. It was a hell of a game, I kept saying to myself on the bench, man, this is an high intensity game and that was early. So, we got a lot of work to do, but this gives us something to check and figure it out; were going to get those wings to rebounding better, we're going to take care of the ball better, we'll get better.

On if this was a teaching value with the environment like if you were to go down there…
Oh yeah, I would go down there, I'll go down there too. That's why we play one of the games in front of people, if you do the division two, you can play in front of them. I do that so our freshmen, and new people can get out in front of a crowd for the first time. We had a decent crowd the other night, but this was a great crowd and you saw some guys with the old, deer in the headlights look. I think it's a good deal and I think it's a good deal for Maui.

On why Tennessee is a top-five team…
Rick and I has been friends since he was at Texas. We always had tight games, started at the first one in Madison Square Garden was a one score game, we played in the NCAA Tournaments, I know the way he coaches, I know what he does. I think he got more depth than what he normally has when he gets those guards back. I think he has interchangeable parts; he can bring those bigs in; Awaka, is a man, he's just a man child, he gives them a different look than Aidoo. Then he brings in those two guys he got that has size, but all those wing guys are 6'5, athletic and long. I don't know how well they shoot it, but Dilione hit a three, and Josiah, I recruited Josiah's dad to play here so he probably hit a three to stick it to me, but I was happy for him, a great kid and Mashack hit a three. They were efficient too, they didn't take bad ones, 1-1, 1-2, 1-1, 1-1 and their two best shooters go 4-7 and 3-9, that's good, theyre well coached, they got good depth, they got experience, even their transfers are juniors and seniors in once case. I think since he's a good friend of mine, lets put pressure on him. That's a final four team, I really believe that I really do. I think he feels good about that, you got to be good you got to be lucky. Tennessee is a team that is going to beat a lot of teams and have a legitimate shot, because they have enough depth. They put James at the three and went real big, they can go real big or small and put him at the four. I think when you can do that, that's always healthy in the tournament when you run into different styles of teams. This will help them because they got to play a Big Ten team and we got to play an SEC team its going to help us, help them. The referees won, that was a high intensity game for them, I told them towards the end that's a hard game to officiate too, it was physical as hell. Hopefully our fans won, hopefully everyone won but I got to look at it on the scoreboard. What I got out of that game was way better than any other game I could play and win by 20, because our kids learn. They took it to us and we bounced back, when youre down that big to a team that good and have a chance to win it at the end, that's pretty good.

Graduate forward Malik Hall

On how it felt being out there after having surgery…
"It obviously feels good, I'm excited to be out there playing. I'm just happy and blessed."

On how much games like these help him prepare mentally for the season…
"It helps me for sure, I would give most of the credit to my teammates and coaching staff doing a great job all summer. All through the preseason, I was just making sure I was ready for this moment and these types of moments."

On the value he has gotten out of a game like this compared to closed practices…
"It just makes it more real, to be honest. When no one is watching it's a little bit different, it's quieter in there and the momentum swings are serious. There is so much you learn about the environment, especially the freshman and some of the younger guys that got to experience a high-quality game like you would see in March. I think it would be cool to continue this tradition down the road, it's really cool for not only us but other basketball teams. It would be exciting for not only the community but also the fans and the coaches/players."

Freshman forward Coen Carr

On if this game felt like a regular game to him..
"Most definitely. Tennessee is a top-10 team, you can't just go into the game thinking it's only an exhibition game, that can't be your mindset. From the jump we took this as a real game because we were playing a good team, so we didn't take it as anything less."

On what he's been doing to get playing time…
"I'm just playing my role and I don't go outside of my place. Especially on the defensive end, I'm just playing hard. I'm doing what I came here to do and what my coach wants me to do.

On if he has the mindset that he can get over anyone when he's dunking…
Yeah, if I feel like it's one on one with someone in transition, I feel like I'm going to win that match up every time. All I see is the rim and that's all."

On his one block behind Mady…
"I knew Mady was going to jump first so I knew he was going to have to hang in the air and move the ball to make the layup and I knew it was going to be a tough layup to make. I just used my athleticism and jumped second. I've been doing that for a long time, I'm just trying to make plays with my team."

Graduate guard Tyson Walker

On if this felt like a real March Madness game to him…
"It didn't feel like a game that should be happening in October, but it felt good. Last year when we played Kentucky it was early on, this is a similar game so there were a lot of important things that we learned. It was a good game to have now."

On how they turned it on after they were down 17-1…
"I think that when the subs came in, they did a good job picking us up and the young guys played great defense so they just came in and had nothing else on their mind except to play hard so I think that really helped us out."

On how good this team can be defensively this year…
"We can definitely be good when we start picking up. We have athletes and people who want to defend, that's always a good thing. You don't have to try to guard because everyone wants to do that, so that's helpful."

On how playing a game this early has helped the team integrate with new techniques that are being used for the first time…
"It's good, especially for the freshmen. I think that they did a good job and for us the game just happened quickly, and we had to bounce back, figure things out but it was overall a good way to come back for us and a good game."

Senior guard A.J. Hoggard

On if this felt like a regular game to him…
"Man, it felt like a real game and in my mind like a March game because of how physical and how well coached they are. Two hall of fame coaches on both sides so both teams were well prepared on both sides of the court."

On how it differs from last year…
"It's still as competitive as last year and Tennessee is a physical team. I think it was the game as we had last year except, we put fans in here and they gave us a little more of an adrenaline rush, but it was fun."

On how much help this game was for the freshman on the team..
"I think it helps them out a lot. It's their first time playing a real game and no matter what happens it doesn't count for anything, but they get to see how certain mistakes can make us lose the game. It's a good learning curve for them, so they can start understanding what a real game is like so they can be prepared later."

On how this game was good for trying out new techniques in a game…
"Even offensively there is stuff that we can tighten up. It's a learning curve for offense and defense. This is a game that both teams can learn from and get better. Top 10 game that doesn't count towards our record and was highly competitive and fun so both teams can learn from this game. It will make both teams better."

On if he forgot that this game was only an exhibition game when he hit a 3 to tie up the game…
"I think I did. It was probably one of my biggest shots in Breslin, but I couldn't get too excited because there were 4 seconds left so I had to wait to celebrate. It felt good though. You must stay locked in, and you can't get too high or too low, so you have to roll with the punches until the buzzer goes off. Both teams played well so overall it was a good game."

Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes

On the relationship with Tom Izzo…
"Tom is a guy that makes me proud to be coaching in this profession. We met when I was at Ohio State. He is the kind of guy that if I needed something and asked him, he wouldn't even ask why. I really appreciate him and Michigan State for putting this on for Maui. Tom is a guy that should be a model for young coaches. You know, you want to get better, and you can do that by watching him. He is one of the greatest and I consider him a friend that would always be there for me."

On the benefits of this game and would you do something like this again…
"These types of games should be done more. I think it does more to prepare the teams. The atmosphere is great. This helps us, but the refs need it more than we do. We get to practice, and they would tell you they need the practice too. As the league goes, keeping some of these games going are great. We can all come together for a great cause and different places around the globe to support people. Tom was happy to do it with us and he has such a giving heart which made it all really fun. More games like these would help all of us."

On the response to every run Michigan State made…
"We had some guys that practiced together but I'm happy with our guys, but I didn't know how we would respond. Our younger guys found out it's different. We knew how hard they played. Some guys were nervous, which you could expect, but we both probably wanted to play with more people coming in. But you forget it's an exhibition game and try to build your team to help them move forward. We should have done some things a little differently."

On how important these moments are to work kinks out…
"We expected this. Us being without two guards. We want to play like this but we couldn't sustain it. I was impressed with their guards. They are very physical and worked us very well. We want to play like that. They scored off some of our mistakes. We got sloppy a little, but it had to do with their physicality. The way they played is how we want to play because it is effective."

On Tobe Awaka defensively…
"I haven't seen that. Offensively yes. We can see that he is a gifted player. But the good thing is it's on film and he is raising the bar. He proved that if he wanted to lock in, he could. As a coach we want to see the physicality. He worked very hard today."

On Jordan Gainey and Freddie Dilione V…
"Jordan has the best free throw percentage. Jordan is always someone who loves to shoot free throws in practice. Freddie will be fine; this stuff is good for him but he will have to change a lot. He was struggling but we wanted to keep him in, and his teammates really encouraged him."

On certain guys handling the ball in this type of environment…
"Proud of them. We have had them working on different ball handling skills. Michigan State is very hard to guard and as much as we want to be a defensive team, we really have to have the depth. The older guys are fighting through."

On being pleased with the attention to detail…
"Other than the dunks. We told them who was going to run to the corners and dunk. I will give them the benefit of the doubt saying fatigue had to do with it, but that is one thing we have talked about a lot. The communication was good. We've got spread out a little bit. We really tried to prepare for this game like a regular game. We scouted regularly. For the most part, our guys did really good following the scouting report."

On Coen Carr's leaping ability and to play in Maui Invitational…
"Coen Carr is critical, but his dunk really surprised me. It brought me back to my playing days. He is a traffic player and will do great. A guy like that you don't have to do a perfect pass because he will go get it. Maui is heartbreaking and it will take a lot of time to rebuild. I cannot thank Tom and Michigan State enough for having us and for helping us support a great cause. I hope Maui knows how much they have done for college basketball, and I am thankful that we could help in anyway."

Players Mentioned

Coen Carr

Malik Hall

A.J. Hoggard

Tre Holloman

Tyson Walker

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