Post-Game Quotes: Washington

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo

Opening Statement…
When you have a game like that, it's hard to even know what to say. I hope every media person, every alum, every student and every fan appreciates the specialness we have here. The alumni reunions that we have every year are incredible.  But for that many former Izzone members to come back over 20 and 30 years was special. It was special for me, special for my team. I almost felt sorry for Washington. I mean, they probably thought they were coming in here and there'd be no students. That group was so good and so fired up. There was no entitlement.  None of them left, none of them transferred. They were unbelievable and I could've stayed there for a half hour after and thanked each and every one of them. But all the things that happened, please appreciate that this place is different.  It's different. This place is damn different. I'm just thankful for them, and I'm thankful for our marketing people and thankful for the Izzone. I'm thankful for all the people that put in the work to get this thing done. I don't want to make it bigger than the game, but for Tom Izzo, it's bigger than the game.

So onto the game, Danny (Sprinkle) is a hell of a coach.  He's done a hell of a job. He just came off two incredible performances against Maryland and then had Illinois to the wire. We had those days to prepare for them and I thought my assistants did an unbelievable job and the player stayed dialed in. I told you it's going to be different as our model right now and being different means don't cave in. You come back from Christmas, you're all fired to play and then that next week, a lot of teams there's been upsets. There's been things we talked about.  We worked on it. We showed film about it. I thought the players did a great job. Defensively, I thought we were unbelievable.  Offensively, I thought we moved the ball and did good things. We just missed a bunch of shots in the first half. But they ended up shooting 50 percent, only 33 from the three and Jaden (Akins) had some great looks early. but I thought Jeremy (Fears Jr.) played one of his best games, both offensively and defensively.  I thought Jase Richardson just made some things happen, which he's capable of doing and he gets five steals. Tre (Holloman) and Jeremy between them, had 16 assists and two turnovers. Jaxon Kohler, didn't get a bucket the first half and had seven rebounds and did an incredible job on the big kid at times. I thought (Carson) Cooper played one of his better games on him. Coen (Carr) came in and lit up the Izzone, like he always does.  He got one of his signature dunks. It was our night and it wasn't their night. The 28 fast break points to two, I think was maybe the biggest difference in the game. We still wore our ugly hat a little bit with the turnovers late, ended up with 12, but we were at eight and turned it over some. All in all, great performance, all in all I think you're gonna see some of this. I know Danny didn't want to make any excuses. He didn't want to make any excuses about the West Coast. Until you go through it, you don't know what it's like, but college guys are gonna struggle with that a little bit. It just wasn't his night and it was ours, so you're gonna see that team still is gonna play some good basketball and hopefully we grow from this.

On the toughness of the team…
I think we are getting tougher.  I think we rebounded it, I think we defended it really well early. We put our bodies on some people, we are getting better at that. Jeremy starts some of that with his pressure out front. Halftime was, 'You wanna ruin a good night or you wanna make a good night?' In other words, we've got all these games and over the years, you don't play as well the second half, we didn't play as well, we gave up some points, but they made some plays too.  I thought we played awfully well, we stayed focused. We actually shot better in the second half. We rebounded a little better in the second half. We went 17 for 18 from the free throw line, which has been a constant. Few turnover problems, but we're playing a lot of people. I did see it in their eyes.  It was fun to see that. I saw it in practice. The only day of practice of the last four days was yesterday, just kind of was concerned about it, so we met about it last night and I'm just gonna try to keep staying in front of it, but we still got a long way to go. It was one of those nights tonight, but this team is getting better. The camaraderie, the fast break, the strength in numbers, the constantly coming at you.  There's some plus to that right now.

On redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. first career double-double …
I thought Jeremy moved the ball the best he's moved it. We talked a little bit about giving it up earlier on the break, he did for Jaden a couple times, and got him some great shots. He did it for Jase once and then drives it. Jase is so effective driving the ball from the wing and he made a couple shots.  He made one great kick out. So I think that ball keeps moving we're a better basketball team. Jeremy is the straw that stirred the drink there and then defensively, he went at it.  And even nice things to know, even when that number eight, Harris, started making some shots, even though he's 6-8, Jeremy's yelling at me in the huddle saying 'Let me take him, let me take him, let me take him.' Those things are all serious positives as we continue to move forward, but we're right back into the fire on Sunday, so we'll see what happens.

On the substitutions…
You know what was cool tonight?  My players made three substitutions. Jase, Jaden, and Tre. Jase and Jaden asked to come out more than once and you could look at that as, 'Are they not in good shape?' I look at that as that is how hard they were going. We were running our lanes. That's why it was 28 to 2  in fast break. We haven't been consistently running. I thought Tre, Jase, Jaden ran their tails off, and that opens it up for other guys.  Not as fun as a coach when you don't have to make the substitutions, they're kind of making them for you. I thought they deserved to be tired, and I didn't think any of it was because of bad conditioning, but it was because they worked their tail off.

On Akins filling in as a top scorer for the team…
Well, I think he's settling in, you know, and as we said, Jaden is our go-to-guy, but that doesn't mean he always will be because sometimes, as I said, I don't know who it's going to be, so I know that- sure as hell know- the coach down there doesn't know who it's gonna be and that's not always perfect, but it's it's good. It's good because those guys, you can see Jase, Jaden, Jeremy, Trey, they felt so good with each other and they were happy for each other, and that's that speaks volumes.  

On keeping the team grounded after games like this…
Yeah, I wanna keep them grounded, just because I don't think we've accomplished anything yet.  We still shot 33 percent on the three, those and some forced turnovers. We still had some mistakes. They missed some shots early too, okay?  It wasn't just us. They missed some shots early too, but I think the biggest thing I'm trying to do with my team is keep consistency. Can we stay consistent?  Not too high, not too low. Can we stay consistent? And even in the loss at Memphis, loss at Kansas, we've been consistent.  Some of our wins that weren't routine or were, we've been pretty consistent. The first 10 games, we consistently sucked from the perimeter. You know, we were awful, didn't make any shots, but we were consistent, and we found other ways to win.  And I think that was important and now we're doing a better job in some of those areas, and we're finding more ways to win, getting to the free throw line. Only negative, we only got their 18, we try to get there 20 to 22 times a game. But we wanted to get 65 shots, we got 61.  We're starting to accomplish some things that we're going after, but trust me, boy, the other problem you're all gonna have, I'm gonna have, our fans are gonna have … some of these schedules are front loaded, they're back loaded, they're this, they're that, who plays who when, where. You know, like I mean, we play, Michigan was out, played USC and UCLA. UCLA had to travel from Nebraska to go home to play a game. We play now and then we play 11 o'clock on Sunday morning, Northwestern hasn't played since last Sunday. There's gonna be all these kinds of things that are not excuses, they're facts of life, that we're gonna have to deal with and see if we can work our way through.  What do we do now? We're gonna go upstairs, have a meeting. We talked to our team right away after the game because tomorrow is preparation for Northwestern.  And what do you do, you know? We had some guys tired tonight. So we've got to figure out what's the right way to practice, how much is gonna be mental, or how much is film, how much is walk through, how much is getting after it. And yet, the team we play has been there for seven days.  And those things are gonna happen, and sometimes they work to your advantage. Sometimes they work against you. And I just gotta make sure I'm just keeping everybody,  I mean, you say grounded … we don't act like a team that's 4-0, or 13-2 to me. And that's a good thing. I think we're confident, but I don't think we're cocky, but I I think, we know where we are and we know what our strengths are and yet we know what we got to improve on.

On how Izzo expected the game to go initially…
No, no I never feel that way about us. Although our defense is getting better and it's been pretty good most of the year, but no, and like I said, they did miss some shots, they missed some shots too, and I thought we were scrambling.  I thought we were fighting. I thought we got loose balls, I thought we cut out and got rebounds and I thought we ran, I thought we came right at them, which is exactly what you should do on a team that came in here with some momentum and feeling good. And I do think you laugh as you may, but when I walked out and saw that green, and I knew they were all coming, but it was kind of special. And then, uh the guy we brought out – the military guy – I mean, it was just one of those nights when, somehow, someway; a referee came up to me and said, you guys do it. the best I've ever seen.  And he was so impressed with the way we handled the pre-game and it's just normal here. It's normal. And I think our people are different.  It's different, and I think our people deserve a lot of credit, not me. Our people, but I'm gonna start finding a way to appreciate- as Tum TUm says, 'I don't have to be here, I get to be here.' It's pretty good.  

On Jeremy Fears Jr.'s development and maturation as a player…
 Well, I think he's coming more and more. I mean, he looked like he was coming out of there with the ball, at least to me, I don't know what he looked to you guys. The other thing is defensively,  you know, he got a little sloppy late in the game but he was pretty solid on their point guard, not letting him get in the paint and stuff like that. So, when the front of your attack point is neutralized, that makes a big difference in the game. We got a guy that can do that and so, I I told him right on the floor as I was taking him out, this is your best game, it wasn't your high scoring, and it wasn't this and that, it was your best overall game. And I do believe that and I think, I just love the fact, lit really tells me a lot when guys are asking to come out.  That was, that was the second coolest thing other than our alumni group being there. That was really cool for me.

On how different crowds provide incentive for the team…
 God, I told Jonathan (Smith), Jonathan was sitting right next to me. I said, 'Maybe he's gotta come on the road with me,' somebody's bringing us luck. But that group, it's just so much fun to see. You know, some of those guys now have been out 25, 30 years, right? So that makes them, getting a little older and, still be able to act like idiots!  That is awesome! I mean, how can you ask for more than that, they were cheering and getting right up. Jase made that block and that whole section,  I mean, God, that was… I will save that tape and I told my video people, make sure you get a lot of the crowd. It probably doesn't mean as much to you guys, but it means the world to me.

On alumni traveling back for the game…
I did not talk to them, but I know over the years it's been Texas, Florida, California if they can get here, but I mean, some of them, this is that important to them. We used to have a dinner, and I think I let them down a little bit because, money's money with everything nowadays, but maybe maybe Izzo's gotta do something with that because they deserve to spend some time with us here and not just see them. That's why I asked if I could talk to them at the end.  I don't get to see them enough and I don't get to tell him how much I appreciate them. But they started it, they probably tell after a couple of years they say this was the toughest place to play. And that wasn't because of Tom Izzo, that was because of those students, and now some of those students are heads of companies, some of those women have been very successful and yet, on one night, on one great night, they can still act like 20 year olds.  And that's pretty cool. That's really cool. So I appreciate you all. Onward to Northwestern as we know, they're, we have not done very well over there lately, so we gotta get ready for them.  We're starting right now. Thanks. See you. 

Washington Head Coach Danny Sprinkle

Opening Statement
Credit to Michigan State and their players. I thought they played with a lot more competitive spirit than my group did. That's probably just the main thing. I'm not disappointed with missing shots and aggressive turnovers, but our competitive spirit wasn't there tonight, our physicality and our toughness. In order to play against Michigan State, you know what their program's built on, and we knew what we were coming into as a staff, we tried to convince that to the players and obviously didn't do a good enough job of doing that. We have to get a lot tougher mentally and be a lot more competitive and physical before Sunday.

On travel with this new historic experience with the Big Ten…
Yeah, maybe in a month or so, but like I said that's not an excuse at all. We had plenty of rest. We got here Tuesday night. We just got our butts kicked tonight, and I wish I could blame it on that. Maybe after the third, fourth trip back and forth from west to east coast, but tonight they just out toughed us, they out competed us, they played with a lot better energy and effort than we did.

On the pace of the game affecting Great Osobor…
I don't think it affected him; he just didn't play very well. It's no excuse to miss layups at the rim and to finish. We know that's what they're great at, they beat us up the floor on two of our made free throws. We made free throws, and they pushed it up faster than we got back. That was one of our emphasis' where we wanted to get four guys back tonight because I know how elite they are in transition, and I think (Jeremy) Fears is tremendous, slicing the ball, there's no wasted movement. If somebody's open ahead, he pitches the ball ahead, and their wings know if they run up they're going to catch it if they run hard enough. They do a great job in transition and when you're not making baskets. I think we started the game 3-for-18, it puts so much pressure on you and your transition defense because your floor balance isn't as good.

On Coen Carr getting on a run and affect the energy levels for you guys…
You guys know better than anybody. He might be the most athletic player in the country. He's just a momentum player and when he gets those dunks and gets the crowd rocking, the crowds rocking anyways, but when he does that it's special. We knew he was fast and athletic and even on some of the downhill drives he had he puts a lot of pressure on your defense and guarding one-on-one. It's tough, and when you come and help or get in a gap he's kicking out to some really good shooters. Or even when he does miss it, their bigs are rolling to the rim, and they're one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country too. We just tried to slow the momentum a little bit, the game was actually a little bit out of reach even at that point, but just trying to slow the run a little bit.

On how the crowd was a factor…
It was awesome. It was what I expected, it's everything that you see on TV, and that's why they have such a good home court advantage. Not only do they have a great coach and great players here, but that's why it's so hard to win here when you add that on top.

With the depth that Michigan State has, could you see them being the class in the league…
I think there's a group of those teams that could be the class of the league. I think it's going to be really hard to come in here and get a win. I think they're different, some of those teams, Illinois is a different type of team, they lead offensively too. It'll be a heck of a clash but Michigan State just the way they guard and the way they compete, they're always going to be in the game, they're always going to be at the top of the conference as long as Coach Izzo's here.

Senior Guard Jaden Akins:

On Jeremy Fears Jr. ...
Jeremy is someone you love to have on your team, and hate to play against, so I am happy he is on our side. He brings that energy, effort, and that 'dawg' mentality to the team. When he has a matchup set in his mind, he's going to do his best job to shut that guy down and make it a tough night for them.

On his overall performance tonight...
I feel like it was solid, got some shots to fall later in the game, but I just try to have a tough mindset and a tough mentality if things aren't falling. Early, you know, it's a long game, keep going and everything's going to turn around.

On how short the halftime speech was...
We were still going over plays and just talking about who needs a good second half to continue our performance, so it was like any other game.

On if this was the best team performance this season…
I feel like this, or Nebraska is the best we've done. Taking momentum into the second half, we had a couple of mistakes at the free throw line and rebounding, I have to clean that up, but for the most part I felt like we did what we needed to do.

Redshirt-Freshman Guard Jeremy Fears Jr:

On tonight's crowd…
The best. We got the best fans, the best crowd. Obviously, I've been to some arenas, it kind of got loud, but they don't get as loud as the Breslin.

On the alumni showing out tonight...
Oh yeah, definitely. It seems like the Breslin never fails whether it's alumni, our Izzone, its like a regular day. This is really why I came here though, the family, the support is great. Everyone comes out, they support us whether it's some ups or some downs, and you can't really ask for anything more.

On the team peaking yet...
No, I don't think we've peaked at all. We just slowly getting better. We want to be playing our best basketball by March, right now were slowly building, slowly getting better. Like coach says, 'get 1% better every day'."

On the calmness Jaden (Akins) brings to the team…
Really relaxing, that's our guy we trust and that's our go to guy. When things get big, everyone believes and trusts Jaden, so Jaden's going to be Jaden.

On Jaden growing into his new role…
Obviously, it was different early, obviously he was never really 'the guy', so it just took a little time and now I think he's finally starting to slowly understand what it takes, and what he has to do to be that guy. We all trust him, everyone preaches 'you've been here for a while, this is your show, were all with you and here to help you'."

On how comfortable he feels entering the meat of conference play…
I'm comfortable. Obviously still have to get better every day. I feel like I still make some plays where it's like 'ahhh I shouldn't have made that play' and still trying to help enough; uplift my teammates in any moment, and anyway I can. So, we just have a special group. Can't really ask for a better group around here, everyone comes in and competes, watch film, do what they need to do. That's what we talk about, that's our next goal, our next level, so if you're going to be a pro you have to do pro things."

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Jaxon Kohler

Jase Richardson

Related Videos