Post-Game Quotes: San Jose State

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo

Opening statement…
Well, they say that there's highs and lows in this job, and there are some highs and lows tonight. I really was looking forward to seeing how my team would respond with a little bit of success, and let's get this straight, because I get sick of people acting like we've accomplished something, because we win a game against a good team.  Big deal. Big deal. We didn't shoot it very well in that game. We played well enough to win the game, that was it.  But I wanted to see how we'd start out. I thought we started out, they missed some shots, but I thought we started out phenomenal. Defense was great.  We were checking, we were rebounding. We were running, we were missing some shots and missing some damn free throws. But I thought the energy, the effort was there all the way through till halftime.  What happened at halftime, I did a poor job of getting my team ready to play the second half, and we came out, and I had three key guys, and all of them had good games for you, for their fans, for their mommies, for their daddies, for their agents, for everybody else. They didn't have good games for me. Jeremy Fears (Jr.) played the best.  He did everything I asked him to do. It wasn't the threes he made at the end had zero to do with how he played, but he played with some passion, he played - we got fat and sassy at halftime, and for two seniors and a junior to get fat and sassy, that tells me that we're not where we need to be, which is the good thing. So our fans won't be fooled.  The media won't be fooled because we won one damn game. So I thought defensively, we were phenomenal in the first half. I thought rebounding the ball we were good.  When you have a guy get 18 points in 17 or 18 rebounds in 17 points, that's good. When you have another one get 17 points and seven rebounds, it's good. If anybody wants to come up and watch film with me till 4 in the morning tonight, I'll show you where it wasn't very good..  And that was disappointing. So the free throw shooting, I'll have a million fans tell me how to do it, give them more confidence, ain't happening. I'm giving more work is what's gonna happen.  And starting tomorrow morning at 7:30, they'll be working. They're gonna be working on free throw shooting. I told them a story about Bryn Forbes, some of you media people probably know it. He shot so much that we had to tape his fingers because he had blisters on the end of his fingers from the ball. We're gonna try to reenact that. It's a shame.  (Carson Cooper) Coop's been shooting well from the line. Coen's (Carr) been shooting well for the line. We didn't shoot very well from the line.  So I'm not going to say any more about it. I'll answer your questions, but please don't give fans a negative perspective or a positive perspective on things when it's too young and too early to tell where this team is. If we don't shoot the ball better from the line and three, you can only rely on your defense so long. That's one and two, if we're going to be up and down like that in the second half, and I feel bad because I think Tim Miles got a bum deal at Nebraska.  I thought he was a damn good coach. I thought he did a hell of a job there. I think he's a really good coach, in fact.  And he proved it tonight because his team was down 20 some at halftime, and he did a much better job than I did getting his players ready to play the second half. So I don't want to take anything away from them, but I just want to make sure that you know I'm not happy with how we played.

On if this game was a potential trap game…
I wish you could have saw my keys for the game tonight. Because that's all everybody talks about is a trap game.  I'm getting calls from everywhere. You got Arkansas, you got Kentucky. It's a trap game.  It's a trap game if you're not a winner. It's a trap game if your goals are so minute, that you don't have bigger goals for the team and your own individual play, then it's a trap game. I don't ever want to use the word "trap game" because we didn't have a game and then two days later have another game. One thing (Associate AD/Strategic Initiatives & Conference Planning Kevin Pauga) KP did is a great job in scheduling.  We had some time between each game, time to get ready, time to watch film. Time to show them what we did wrong, and give our team credit.  Give our staff credit - did a hell of a job the first half, and then they can't sustain it. So I am questioning our leaders, and I'm questioning the coach. So the coach has got to do a better and the leader's got to do better.  So we're all leaders. I'm the leader as a coach. They're the leaders as players.  There'll be many meetings tomorrow to straighten out what happened and why we came out the second half so inept.

On if the leaders are able to handle this…
What do you want me to do? Do you want me to hug and kiss them? Want me to, 'Guys, you're doing all right.'  No, it's not my style. So, when you say I'm demanding of them, what the hell are you supposed to be doing?  We got guys that want to play at the next level. We got guys that want to win championships. We want guys that want to get better every day.  Wanting to and doing it are two different things. So I think a couple guys – we're going to see. I promise you something.  The free throw shooting thing is gonna change. I have a lot of people mad at me, but it's gonna change.

On the positives from the team and junior forward Coen Carr having a career-high five assists…
God, I love you guys. I'm ticked off, and you're finding positives.  This is a reverse. This is different than normal, isn't it? There were some, and I appreciate you asking that.  The positives where we outrebound them by 20. Positives are we had 25 assists on 28 baskets. That's a big positive. Positive, to be honest, we got to the free throw line 25 times.  That's a positive. Positive is we only had nine turnovers. There were a bunch of positives. I don't know if I've had a player get 18 rebounds. 18 rebounds, 17 points is phenomenal.  It's phenomenal. I mean, but he didn't guard like he needed to guard and to be honest, he didn't hit shots that I think he can hit and make. He was a bear on the boards, and I didn't think some other guys were as good on the boards.  I thought they did a better job, so those are five or six really impressive things that they'll get credit for. It just won't be tonight.

On where getting the most out of his players came from…
 It came from studying coaches all over the country in every sport. But tonight, I say this often, It's never bad when I'm mad at a player compared to how bad it is when I'm mad at myself.  So get something straight here – I did not do a very good job at halftime. That's my job to make sure my team is ready to play at halftime.  Now, if we become a great team, the leadership in that team takes that on. But I am part of that leadership. So don't think I'm blaming somebody else before I'm blaming myself, because they go home right now.  I'm going upstairs to beat the hell out of myself on why – as I watch this film. So I'm gonna take care of myself first and figure out what I didn't do a good job of at halftime. I'm going to meet with my staff.  But for those three guys defensively to play like they did the second half, it's not acceptable. So, I'm the first leader as I said, when the head dies, the body follows. So, I must have died at halftime.  I got to do a better job myself, and then they do, because this was a chance to hopefully get our offense going a little bit, get some things going a little bit, get some guys some experience a little bit, and it really didn't turn out that way because of a lack of effort by the coach and the players in the second half, and it's my job to figure out which button to push to fix that, and I promise you that'll get worked out.

On reminding the team of Greg Kelser's 27-rebound game…
There you go. I'm sure that'll do a lot, Jack. No insult, but since these guys don't really know who did what back two days ago. It's living the moment for these guys, and so I think I'll tell them that on the side, but I think I'll tell them what he's got to do better to start with.

On the biggest thing the team has to improve before Kentucky…
Oh, man, we play like this, we're going to get killed. Do you think that's Coach-Speak? I don't really care. Here, look me in the eye. If we play like this, we'll get killed. I mean, they're a very good team. They have nine and 10 deep. They are athletic. I'll go into them later; I only have watched them once so far. But we have to guard better. Coop [Carson Cooper] can guard off the dribble, can guard the ball screens. I don't know what happened tonight, but we didn't do as good a job on that, okay. Jaxon [Kohler] struggles with a little bit more, but we just have to do a better job than we do. We put a lot of pressure on Jeremy [Fears] on all those ball screens, a lot of pressure on him, and I'm just happy that he responded like he did. I mean, everybody knows, Jeremy is a different personality. One that I butted heads just like [Mateen] Cleaves and I, Walt [Travis Walton] and I, Lucas [Kalin Lucas] and I. That never changes because your quarterback is your quarterback. But tonight, he took a major step because things went wrong. He was still really good in the huddles. So, I'm proud of Jeremy. And by the way, I mean, Coen was the first guy that he took a lot of blame in the second half. Every huddle, and we came out, gave up five points so quick it made my head spin. So, we all got the better job.

On what he could have done better in the second half…
Well, the old me, the fun me, the good me, I would have ranted and raved, and I would have probably subbed five guys, and you know, you got to be a little more delicate now, because people are a little softer now. And so, I have to be softer in public, not tomorrow morning I don't.

On tonight's rotation of players…
Yeah, that's what Doug Wojcik was mostly upset about because second half, we were really trying to get into a rotation. You know, we're struggling at the two spot, we're struggling, we understand that. And you know, what was really good about the first half is we were playing with energy, and we were playing with some consistency, and we still weren't making shots. That's hard to do that. It really is, in fairness to the players. It's hard to do that. But I just didn't think we did that the second half, so I'll take a look at it on film. I'll decide, but when you miss two free throws in a row sometimes, especially guys that can make them and have made them, it begins to grind at you, and it brings you down a little bit. So, I just, I don't know, I don't have a good answer for you, Jack, or you, but I will say that I better get an answer. So that's why, when a team comes out like that at halftime, put it all on the coach. That's my job. My job is to get them ready to play. That is my job. If they miss shots, you can put it on me because everybody does, but they miss shots. They miss free throws. They miss free throws, you know. But if they don't come up with the energy, that falls right here. I deserve. You won't criticize me as much as I'll criticize me, so have a field day, try it.

On what Jeremy Fears can become…
Well, I hope he keeps growing, you know, I've got a perfect example of Jeremy. It was Mateen [Cleaves], and it was a long time ago that none of you, some of you, weren't even born, probably, but I know, I know what he can do and I know what he's capable of doing. We, as I've said before, you know, the injury he had, it's amazing how he's bounced back still, but it's been frustrating for him and sometimes for us and sometimes for you. But what I think he can be is a guy that can run a team, I think he can lead a team, I think he's improved his shooting a lot, not because he hit those threes. He missed some of the last game. I'm talking about what I see in practice every day. And he's become a phenomenal free throw shooter. And I feel good about that, and his assists, the turnovers, I mean, he had that one turnover to Coop. That would have been a lob, a dunk, a couple guys missed some wide-open shots. That's a 12, 13 assist night for him if things were normal, and that's our goal for him to make him a double-double guy that can guard a lot of people.

On the initial message prior to the Champions Classic…
Yeah, I haven't dove in enough to know everything about them. I just watched them on TV once, and that's about it. You just have to play better consistently. We let the dribble drives get us a little bit, where the first half, we did a pretty good job. And then as since we got a little lazy in the gaps, got bigger and the way we play, I'd say we got to play for 40 minutes, and I think we have to do that by rotating some guys. We have to have a rotation. Even tonight, I don't think everybody played 30 minutes yet. I really don't. I think we have to do a better job of rotating them in. But guys got to have an opportunity to come in. They don't have to play great in some ways, but they got to bring it. They just got to bring their energy. They got to bring their enthusiasm, they got to run the lanes, they got to do things. We'll start making shots. We had good shots tonight. If there's another plus. I thought we took a couple of bad shots, a couple and 60 shots. That's not bad. I thought we had good enough shots. And that means the offense is working better than you think, but if the ball doesn't go in, it doesn't look like it.

On his thoughts from Cam Ward and Jordan Scott tonight…
I mean, they too, they ran pretty good offensive stuff. He's always a very good offensive coach, and they just kept running that five out and it hurt Cam [Ward] a little bit, you know, he hasn't been experienced enough. But I thought both of them played okay. Jordan missed a couple of wide-open shots that he normally makes and yet they played 12 and 15 minutes, and that's pretty damn good, you know, for freshmen. And yet I think they're going to be playing more. You know, we're going to get those two guys rotating in there more. We're trying to find the rotation we want. Like we always do, you try to give certain guys a chance first and then you adjust from there. So, listen, we're going to get better. There are moments, not just slight moments, but there are moments when I thought we looked really good. Ball was moving, passing. You know, at halftime, we had a high number of assists on baskets, rebounded well. We did a lot of good things. I just can't believe that you'd come out the second half and let that happen. And I swear to you, I mean this, I'm mad at me and my staff more than I'm mad at the players. But they better hang on if that's what they need. If that's what they need to play harder, then I got to bring it. Thanks, guys.

San Jose State Head Coach Tim Miles

On getting his guys ready to come into a Big Ten environment…
What was fun for me is to have our guys watch Michigan State on tape, and for instance, one thing that Coach Izzo gets his kids to do is they play with such pace. When I say pace, obviously they've run down the floor. Their transition is as good as anybody in the country, but it's also the way they're bigs run into a screen, the way their guards use the screen, and out fast and hard they cut off of a screen. Immediately you can see our guys like, 'Oh, we need to do a better job of that. We need to cut.' Since I've been competing with Coach Izzo since 2012 and had a little hiatus, but it's always been the same with him. You know, you're gonna deal with physicality, and with tremendous execution fundamental types of skills. Then you're gonna deal with transition and offensive rebounding. Tonight, I thought it was good for our guys to seal that up close in-person. Coach Izzo said I called you twice, 'Why didn't you come talk to me?' I said, 'You called on my old Nebraskan number'. I said, 'You can cancel that before you cancel me.' I gave my California number. It means a lot. Coach Izzo is a guy that when I coached at Nebraska and something was going tough or wrong, he'd be the first guy to pick up the phone, and I remember my second year we went to the NCAA tournament, and he called me and said, the hardest thing you're going to do is go back. You will be a national ranked next year, and guess what, for national rank next year, we did go back.He was right. That was the hardest damn thing to do, and I appreciate that mentorship. I got it from Steve Fisher and Lon Krueger when I was in the Mountain West, and you got it from guys like Coach Izzo in the Big Ten, and that's always great to learn from those guys.

On taking the lead down from 23 to 10 after halftime…
I was a little bit salty that it got to 23. I thought we had six or seven wide open looks that I told the refs, 'I think we hit the rim on half of those,' and not in a good way. Once we settled in, it was good. I had hoped that when we got it to 12 in that first segment, and then they stretched it back out to 20, then we got it down to 10. I was hoping if we could get it under double figures, you could cause some stress. I was happy our kids competed, and we saw a lot of fight. We got some other kids in the game. We got a couple of kids out, two starters are out - Adrian Myers and JaVaughn Hannah. To see some of these other guys get in in different roles like Melvin Bell [Jr.] and some of these other guys, I was really happy to see those guys compete well.

Have you seen anybody else like (Coen) Carr when it comes to dunkers?
He's as good as there is. There was one in the first half, I'm like, holy cow he's going to hurt himself up there. Then that one in the second half was amazing, too. He's as good a dunker as I've ever seen.

On (Jeremy) Fears as a distributor...
Yeah, that's what I noticed at halftime, especially, I think they had like 25 assists, and Fears is obviously the guy, right, in terms of he's out there running the show and you've got to deal with him. And our whole goal, obviously, was to try and make them outside shooters tonight. And they still picked us apart, even though we were trying to gap up the lane and make it difficult in there. I was very impressed with their passing and finishing, of course. That's a typical Izzo thing, right? I mean, those guys, his team's always sharing. They're always unselfish. They're always about the team, about the winning. And that's what we're trying to create at San Jose State, too, is to get nine new players one year, eight new players, five new this year, five new last year, for starters. So you're always trying to teach this stuff. I think he's got a good core with those, Kohler, Carr, and those returning guys. That's a really good core that understands the way Michigan State's going to play. And there's a certain expectation when you deal with them, right? And I think that's what sets Tom apart and sets Michigan State apart.

What did you think of their two bigs, Kohler and Cooper?
A lot to deal with, right? A lot to, you know, kind of two center-ish types of players, right? And Kohler can make a three without question. And they're just a lot to deal with. I remember thinking, they're taller than, or not Kohler, but the other kid, Cooper, was taller than I thought. I was like, oh, he's tall. And I was not happy about that. And they're tough on the glass. And we had some stuff earlier, too, when things weren't going well. We made some cuts, and they blocked a few shots. They kind of get the guys finicky about going in there, too. Happened early in the second half, too. So they're a lot to deal with. And, you know, that's Michigan State. They've always had that physicality.

Junior Forward Coen Carr

On his leadership role with the team regarding taking blame during huddles...
I mess up. He's going to let me know when I mess up. I just try to move on to the next play. You can't let what happened within the last play affect you too much. I let people know I messed up and just try to move on. That's what I try to do as a leader.

On feeling a different edge in coach as a vet on the team...
Yeah, for sure. I think we've got a lot of guys coming into new roles. He's just trying to make sure we're doing what we need to. Just letting us know how important this is, and make sure we never forget that and never take anything for granted.

On consistency in his performances...
I feel like I took plays off today, so that's one thing I can't do as a captain, as a leader of the team. I've just got to fix that, make sure I'm bringing it at all times on the court so my teammates can see that and can do the same thing.

Freshman Forward Jordan Scott

On whether there's a preference between playing the 2-3 role...
I'll probably say more natural for me is the three. I think being able to switch into the two role whenever I'm needed is definitely going to be better as the year goes on. Wherever he needs me, I'll play point guard, I'll play center if he tells me to.

On areas he can improve on while playing the 2 role...
I think definitely focusing on what line we have in with different guys at different spots. Especially with Coen being able to play the three and four. The coverages are different. Just being able to be as versatile as possible.

On how the four captains are as leaders and his experience...
I think all four of them have really stepped up as captains this year. Especially the two seniors, Coop and Jax. It's their last year, no matter what. We're all trying to play for them and help them be the best they can be.

Senior Forward Jaxon Kohler

On locker room and sideline talk during the second half…
Going into the second half, there is a lot more we did a good job on this, we did a good job on that. Coach always finds the little things to get on in the first half, but I feel like most of us kind of let our guard down going into the second half, thinking that we got this, we played a good first half. And I think us as captains need to do a better job of keeping our guys focused and locked in, because they came out with a spark, they tried to get some energy and build on it and we didn't do a good enough job on shutting it down. Give them credit because they kept fighting and that's what led to them kinda coming back into the game and we need to do a better job of playing a full game not one half another half.

On having 17 points and 18 rebounds…
I said this before and I wanted to get those numbers the right way. I don't want those numbers knowing that if you look at the whole game, that this happened, that happened. I want to play both sides of the ball good. I want to have efficient numbers and that didn't happen. I missed some easy layups in the game and I'm trying to not let that affect me.

When asked about if Izzo is demanding too much after coming off Arkansas…
I mean I think that here and there you can see potential of what we can do and what we can be, but we have to make sure that we learn the small things like coming off a big game, and then no matter who we play next, we have to get better then the big game. That's something that was a huge emphasis throughout the week was don't let up, just because we beat this good team doesn't mean we're automatically going to play great against this team. Everyone was talking about a trap game, and I feel like in the first half we came out and did it, but we have to learn the consistency of going a full game. This is a learning experience for all of us and obviously as captains we should know better but at the end of the day you don't all want to be negative, you want to see the bright side and hey this is a learning experience and it won't happen again.

Redshirt-Sophomore Guard Jeremy Fears Jr.

When asked about Coach Izzo and what he said to the team…
Just understanding that coach kind of has the answers, and my job is to listen and understand him and trust him 100% whatever he says, he's right. So just understand that and you know being able to relay the message to the team and get a win.

On the few threes go down and what it felt like…
Good obviously you know the way teams guarded me last year. I took a big emphasis on this year shooting in summer, just working on my game. Just being confident obviously I miss one or two early, and then I hit the one, and then I hit the three in a row. Overall understanding I put the work in.

Senior Center Carson Cooper

On own performance and Izzo's disappointed thoughts...
I appreciate it. I knew what I was getting myself into when I came here. I appreciate the high standards that he holds us to. Just because the stats say you had this or that, doesn't mean you played good. He holds us to high standards, and in the long run, that's going to be beneficial to our success. I'm just going to watch the film, take everything with a grain of salt, and continue to try to get better at what I do. This is a good stepping stone for sure.

On what allowed San Jose State to close the deficit...
It's just a lack of discipline. We came in from the locker room on a big high. At some point, you can only be so hyped up or so excited to play. Just not coming ready and expecting them to kind of fold. In hindsight, we can't do that, especially when we have a lead.

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Players Mentioned

Coen Carr

Carson Cooper

Jeremy Fears Jr.

Jaxon Kohler

Jordan Scott

Cam Ward

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