Post-Game Quotes: Butler
11/17/2023 9:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement…
Well, we took a step in the right direction against a team that's been playing awfully well. I think we did a hell of a job defensively, the first half especially. I told that (DJ) Davis kid after the game that he's a hell of a player, went 1-8 so I guess I have to give our guys some credit for that but I thought he did a good job. I thought that (Jahmyl) Telfort kid did a good job, taking Malik (Hall) out of there. We still missed some good shots, but Jaden (Akins), who was my best shooter all summer, is still struggling with his shot, which causes him to struggle defensively but he knows it and nobody works harder at it, he'll bounce back, but to go 3-13 with the shots he had, creates instead of shooting 55%, maybe 50 from the three but I think we were short of that. To out-rebound them by 10, get 59 shots up, cause turnovers, those are all things that are going to help us win games. That's a good team, I thought Pierre (Brooks) played good, and now I can be happy for him. Before tonight I didn't want to be happy for him until after the game, but I thought he played good and looked good, so, believe it or not, I'm really happy for Pierre and hope he has a hell of a year.
On the key factors behind the success of the defense tonight…
With A.J. (Hoggard), Tyson (Walker) and Jaden, I thought we have the best defensive team that we've had in a while and then when you bring in a guy like Jeremy (Fears), who by the way played very well tonight, that's encouraging. Jaden, we messed up some coverages and some back door plays. I think when offense doesn't go well, sometimes it affects the defense, but we still played awfully hard. Malik (Hall) covered up a lot of things. I don't know if you could tell but both (Carson) Cooper and Mady (Sissoko) did a lot of stuff on those dribble hand-offs. Those guys both did a hell of a job and Coop ended up with 11 rebounds, Mady six, they both scored a bucket, but their defense was what really was impressive."
On the switch to start Cooper over Mady…
I was going to be like hockey, I was going to switch the whole crew because I just didn't like the way we were starting. There were some other guys that didn't play as good and I would have switched them, but we just thought this was the one that really didn't matter the most because both guys are playing 20 minutes a game but we wanted to see. We were disappointed with a couple things, Doug, him and I talked about it to give Coop a chance but we're not in any way, shape, or form, in fact he did some good things going in there. It was no, 'Is it going to stay that way?' It might, it was not for punishment or another guy sitting out, it wasn't for any of that, it was just a gut feeling, something I wanted to try.
On whether Tyson Walker was more aggressive tonight…
Yeah, I did. What he did tonight though, I think he felt he could drive it a lot, which he did, but that hurt his 3-point shooting a bit. Instead of being ready to shoot, he was ready to drive. He had a couple good looks that he missed. I'm so proud of him and how he's handled things; he's played good defense, made a couple nice passes tonight and he's becoming a complete player. He made a big call when they cut it to 11 one time and we had been up 16 and he talked about a back-door play and he said, 'let's run this play, I think it will be open,' and it reminded me of Morris (Peterson) said it on a similar play 20 years ago. What I loved about that is I've always said it's a player-coached team and I told him that shows he's thinking the game now on the court and feels comfortable enough to come into the huddle and say, 'Coach let's run this.' That was a big spot for him."
On the first couple 3's going in and its effect on the defense…
Oh, for sure. Guys I look like hell because I haven't slept in three days just looking at film on those three games. I looked at Tennessee when we did so many good things in that game other than the start, and then I looked at every game, I looked at every stat, and it just came down to if we made a couple shots and a couple free throws, it would be different and you say, 'Well that's always the case.' No, it's never the case that you go 1-20. It's never the case that you go 23-41. Those things don't happen. If they happen again, we're going to lose again. The surprising thing when it did happen, we were two up with a 1:06 left against a good team who's now ranked in the top-25. When the ball goes in, my old buddy Doug Herner who still works here some, said, 'Making shots cures a lot of evil,' and it rejuvenates the crowd, rejuvenates the players, which means everybody's happier, including the coach once in a while."
On whether Carson Cooper will remain in the starting lineup…
I'm not much of a quarterback controversy coach, I mean like I said, it wasn't done out of punishment. There's a difference when you do something out of punishment. It was just the decision we made, coach's decision as they say, but at the same time as I look at it, Mady played 16 minutes and Coop played 22, last game was the opposite, so they're both going to play in that 18-22 minute thing. They get along well, I don't think it matters to either one of them, Cooper came in today and thanked me for the opportunity, which is un-American, we don't do that in America anymore. I was happy for him that he played well, but I was also happy the way Mady cheered him on and stuck with him.
Speaking of that, I better address the technical because I was really mad at A.J. and the truth of it is I don't think he said anything to the official, I mean Fears came running over to me, and I guess he was yelling at Fears which I actually enjoy. I talked to the official and I said, 'did he say anything to you,' he said, 'well no, but,' and there was a thing that happened earlier and so this was a good learning thing for A.J., if you do those things, you get a reputation, then there's a quicker whistle. In fairness to him, I have to stick up for him on this, I don't always and I'm not against the official, I just think it was just a miscommunication and that's what happens in a moment like that, so it was no big deal I promise you."
On Hoggard's improved play and whether they can get more out of him…
I think we can get a lot more out him. I really do. I mean he still missed some great shots, but he got down-hill more, he got in the lane more, he got to the free throw line more, he finally rebounded the ball, which he can do. We posted him up, we put him in different positions, I guess the one thing that bothers me is my whole staff has been saying that if we play him less minutes, we'll get more out of him but I hope he takes that as an insult and gets himself in better shape because he did only play 25 minutes. He did play pretty well, and it was nice to give Fears some time because that's going to be critical to us and I thought he played his best game as a Spartan in a lot of ways so that's encouraging. Coen on the other side of it, they ran some good stuff that maybe he didn't quite get a chance to work on enough and got lost a little bit but they're going to be fine, I just have to give them some time, give them some minutes.
On whether the team has to have a defensive identity until the offense picks up…
You know what, the funny part is I thought this would be one of my better offensive teams. So, that shows you how dumb I am, at least so far, but I tell you there's nothing like hanging your head on your defense. It travels as they say, it's got the chance to be there morning, noon, and night. I've been impressed on my own, I look at our overall defense in those losses and we hold teams to 37 and 27, those are phenomenal stats, and they weren't against dogs, so I guess I'm more than pleased by it, I think we can get a lot better. I think if we get Jaden locked in, he can be a hell of a defender and it does do a good job. It's Coen, we've got to get better at so we can sub him. Tre was a little better tonight too, 2-4 and I thought played better but he's got a higher ceiling. It was a step in the right direction, but we've got a long way to go for sure.
On if it was his call to have Steven Izzo hold the ball to end the game…
It was kind of his call because he lived with me for 23 years and everybody gets mad at me; I'll get letters to let him shoot. I'll let him shoot if there's time left. I'm one of the few coaches that are left in this profession, I'm not going in dunking with 20 seconds left to rub it into a guy, it isn't happening here, I don't like when I see it happen. I love my son, I love the kid, he knows exactly how I think. I promise you, we get some leads, I'm going to please a lot of people and let him take some shots. I'm not doing that on purpose. Davis (Smith) would have gone in earlier, but he hurt his hip at practice. I need to say something about that, and Doug Wojcik said something to me yesterday; you know how hard it is to be a walk-on and stay three or four years and you never get any credit for anything? Davis Smith might've helped us win this game more than anybody, he played the Davis kid, made shots, made plays, he was unbelievable. We thanked him in last night's meeting and then again today, after the game. Sometimes, people wonder what these guys do, and he does a lot. He came up with a few suggestions on the bench. I absolutely love that kid; I'm prejudiced to walk-ons, since I was one.
On how impressed he was with Malik Hall's defense…
I think Malik is now putting games together, he's putting practices together. I hope that foot wasn't anything other than a sprain. I don't think we have given Malik enough credit. He was hurt all last year, then he missed April, May, June, the end of July he started working out then we sent everybody home. So, he really didn't start practicing until September, and you know there's going to be some rust on that. He's getting more confident in his shot, he's starting to realize now he can get in the post and score down there, that was one thing that was always hard with him. I'll like to see him get a few more offensive rebounds, but as I told him before the game, against Tennessee was probably the most physical and biggest team we played, and he had 11 rebounds with 14 points. I watched that game a few days ago and he was good. I'm still confused on why, a lot of it stems from missing free throws, missing threes, I just can't complain about it, I can't beat on it, I just have to live with it because I know we're a way better shooting team than tonight.
On Cooper's potential moving forward
Yeah, he's gained about 20 pounds, he moves his feet a little better, he does a great job of walling. He's a little bigger than Mady in that regards. He moves his feet laterally, Mady has more hops, Carson has more lateral quickness to help with ball screens. Between the two of them, we have a real physical guy, a guy with some size, then we'll get Jaxon (Kohler) back, a guy who can really score it. I think we will have an incredible combination down there, right now the goal is still to get Coen (Carr) in and keep working with (Xavier) Booker to get him in there and get him to guard so we can keep him in there. It's going to come, it just takes some time. If we get everyone playing well then, I love the rotation. We used it better tonight; my assistants did a good job on that tonight. This is going to be a quick turnaround.
On when Jaxon Kohler will return…
I think mid to late December is when he'll start practicing. He's out of his boot now, he's walking and doing some things, everything seems to be going great. It is funny how you complain about a guy what he can do and can't do then suddenly he's gone, you say, 'wow, we can use a guy who can score, a guy who can shoot, and shoot free throws.' I would give Carson; he's been shooting the daylights out of it at practice. Proud of how far he came along just like how A.J. (Hoggard) came along with his free throw shooting.
Butler Head Coach Thad Matta
Opening Statement...
Well, I think they played well. They've got a great core, they've got all the pieces and, you know, for us we had opportunities. We struggled with the ball in the basket, and I think the other team had a lot to do with it. But, I thought our guys competed. I am still learning a lot about this basketball team, and this was a game that we needed. I told our guys we will grow from it, and we were challenged on Thursday.
You mentioned that you're still learning. You guys are playing on the road for the first time again with so many new faces. What did you learn about your guys...
You know, we were a little bit nervous. We were abandoning passes. It was funny because we recovered the balls. We weren't on time or on target. And hopefully we get that out of our system in terms of who we are. I thought that they did a good job of staying together. But, you know, their size and the positions slipped it in the post. We are not close to being the basketball team that we're going to be, that we need to be. I told them we'll learn from this and get ready strap it on and go again.
On how Pierre Brooks played....
I thought Pierre played well. He was he was very cool, very calm for the game even leading into it. I mean, he was excited to get up here and play and like he's always played. I've got great memories here. And it is kind of fun to come back and play and I thought he did a pretty good job. I was happy for him.
From them? Today? Well, you know, I think there's the quickness and the guards and the physicality to play with. You know, they were able to knock us off the bounce a couple times and you know, we got in the room and the boys did a great job on vertical and those are the big bodies and their weight that we struggled to finish over.
On the explanation to Pierre's technical foul…
I just said that, well look, there's 14,000 people booing him every time he touches the ball and giving him a technical and he says 'I honestly don't know'. What I didn't see is what he said or did but that is what else came.
On what he saw from freshman Finley Bizjack, Boden Kaple, and Connor Turnbull…
Just it was a poor mismatch for Connor because he was trying to guard on the perimeter, and Finley did a really nice job. Defensively they were pretty good. I mean, it's great for those guys coming into this because this is what we got coming down the pipe here, you know, the rest of the season so this was good indoctrination of getting used to college basketball down the road.
Sophomore Forward Carson Cooper
On pre-game nerves…
I usually get nervous before each game, which is a good thing because it shows you care about it. I was more nervous than usual; but I kept telling myself I deserve it. I will keep working hard and doing what coach puts me out there to do.
On being a presence in the paint tonight…
Everything was coming together for me, and I will keep trying to build off of that. This is what I worked for all of this summer. I will keep trying to earn my spot.
On finding out he was starting…
I texted coach after the Duke game, and he kind of hinted at it, but I didn't know until the day after, while we were running through sets.
On defensive scheme…
Coming in, we knew they were going to ice us. For me, I had to adjust on how they were guarding Tyson (Walker) and AJ (Hoggard) and use that to get them open. Defensively, I thought we did a really good job of getting up, Mady (Sissoko) and me, on guarding those and helping our guards out. They helped us out too by being in the gaps. We all kind of helped each other out in the end.
On providing a spark…
I think that is something Coach sees with me too, and that is something I try to be for this team every day. I need to keep trying to bring energy and give us that boost in the first four minutes. This helps us be in a good spot to bring some energy. We did that today and it felt great.
MSU Senior Guard A.J. Hoggard
On his thoughts about being the best defensive trio that Tom Izzo has ever had…
I think we definitely have to rely on the rest of the team regardless of the shots. Jaden is a wonderful shooter, and we know that the stats are not showing that he is but we believe in him. We just have to continue with the shots and not just rely on defense. Just continue to do that and trust that we are one of the best defenses that he's ever had, we just have to go with it.
On what he thought led to the team having a better flow tonight…
I think everyone was more aggressive tonight, and I think that me and Jeremy (Fears Jr) did a better job communicating and commanding our team tonight. I think we were more aggressive on both ends of the floor and that helped translate our offense. We shot the ball better tonight, not to our capability still, but we are definitely growing and going in the right direction.
On his thoughts about if he needs to take steps to improve himself…
Definitely. Coach is going to continue to bring the best out of me. He's never going to let me get complacent. I just got to continue to show up and be there for my guys. I've got to go out there and play basketball.
On his thoughts about if it makes it easier in the end to make those earlier shots…
Yeah, most definitely. You also get to feel better about yourself, not necessarily just making shots but just seeing the ball going in. It makes you less tense as the game starts. Especially for our shooters, getting to see those go in, trusting it and being confident. Being confident even after being in a slump the first three games.
Were you talking to Pierre at the end there or were you talking to Jeremy...
I was talking to Jeremy. Yeah it's fine I just kind of have to be better about it, gotta be smarter but I definitely wasn't talking to Pierre. It was definitely a misunderstanding but it's fine I have to grow and learn from it.
Did you feel like tonight coming in that you guys could get downhill and get to the rim a little bit more...
Definitely. Our coaches did a good job with the scout. We knew they were going ice and ice puts pressure on the bigs and coach trusts us enough to make plays out of it, out of the pick and roll, so it was definitely good having them backing us and having the confidence to go make plays on our own.
Did you personally want to get to the free throw line a little bit more...
Definitely, I haven't shot that many free throws over the first three games, not normal for me but I definitely wanted to get back to being aggressive, get back to the line and get our team in spots to where we are putting pressure on defense.
