Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Indiana at Illinois
2/26/2016 12:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Indiana at Illinois
Postgame Quotes
February 25, 2016
Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean:
COACH CREAN: "I'm proud of the resiliency of our team, and we have tremendous respect for the opponent. The firepower of Illinois is scary because they can score so many different ways; they've taken over 24 three-pointers per game. Maverick Morgan is a real key to their team. He didn't play as much against us, but he's scary with how efficiently they can be offensively when he's in the game playing for them. Our guys were really locked in to understanding that it's more than just a one- or two-man team when you're playing Illinois. But at the same time, when you've got a guy like Malcolm Hill that's capable of what he's capable of, what Kendrick Nunn is capable of, you've got to be locked in to those guys, and I thought that we were. Jalen [Coleman-Lands] had a very strong game offensively, but I think the fact that we were able to defend them without fouling, keep them off the foul line—Malcolm averages 15 free throw attempts per game when they win. And for us to come out of the game without him having a free throw and to have him earn his baskets and the fact that we rebounded the ball at a high rate, those were the key things.
For us, we played much sharper in the second half, in the sense of making sure the ball was going through the paint. In the first half, we were 14-of-20 when we went through the paint but we were three-of-17 when we didn't, and that's not a good recipe for us. Our recipe has to be going through the paint. That doesn't mean we have to score in the paint, but the ball has to go through there. In the second half we did a much better job of that, and I give them credit in the first half, they did an excellent job defending us in the post and making it hard for us to get inside. But we got better movement in the second half and we were really sound on defense. I'm proud of the way they defended. It's our first time playing without Robert Johnson, and that's always going to cause a lot of fear for the coach but also for the players when he's not out there. For us to play without him tonight and have the guys step up the way that they did says a lot about the way they're improving, their desire to get better, and the resiliency and camaraderie that they carry amongst each other as a group. It's a very important win, a very valuable win against a team that's got some real firepower. We take this win very, very seriously based on the fact that Illinois is very close. Our guys were really locked in to what we had to do tonight to get the win.
Yogi's been a big piece for you guys for pretty much his whole career. You and others have talked about taking guys with him this year. How important was he in that second half, and does he have another gear this year as you go down the stretch?
COACH CREAN: I can't go into the next day, that's a hypothetical. But as far as what he's doing, and as far as the way he plays, that's very important. He works very hard, and we don't get caught up in slumps or percentages. We just get caught up in improvement. From the day he walked in, he's been one of the guys that spends a ton of extra time in the gym, and what he's gained now is the ability to study film. He's playing with a lot of confidence, and he brings a lot of confidence to his teammates. I'm very proud of the way he played, and he continues to figure out the game. There's very few nights that he doesn't draw the toughest assignment from the other team. I hope people see how valuable he is, not only in this league but nationally, because he deserves it. You can't argue with the numbers, and you can't argue with the record that he's put forth as a senior. You can't argue with the performances that he's put together, and certainly tonight's takes a backseat to none. I'm very proud of the way he continues to improve, continues to lead, and continues to perform.
You mentioned the ball going through the paint more in the second half. What else was different offensively in the second half.
COACH CREAN: We had a few more screens, a few more cross-screens. We just defended better, and it got us loose a little bit. Our focus had to be defense and rebounding. Everybody that played eight minutes or more got a rebound in this game. When you out-rebound a team by 20, that's huge, and that's got to come from a lot of people. The challenge to our team was really the ability to step up tonight. We miss Rob's offense because he can score, he makes threes, and he's basically our second ball-handler. But he's been playing defense at an extremely high level, really all year but especially as of late. The challenge for us was would we be able to respond to that, and I thought these guys did. Malcolm Hill is a big-time player, he flat-out is. He can score from three and at the rim, he's got moves, he can play off both feet, he's got the step-back, he's bona-fide. Kendrick Nunn is a blur. He can score at the rim, he can score from three, and certainly Jalen can score the ball. 70 percent of his points are coming from the three-point line. We did not do a great job on him. But the bottom line is that everybody picked their game up defensively. I think it was good in the first half and it got a lot better in the second half, and our break was a result of it.
I saw you commended Thomas after the game for stepping up. Those first seven points of the second half all came from him. Was that an example of him being more assertive?
COACH CREAN: I think so. When you're taking somebody out of the lineup, the key is that everybody has to do more defensively and rebound. I think we learned in the Big Ten season, when James [Blackmon] went out, nobody's going to make up 16 points. It's not like one or two guys are going to make up those points. You have to make up ground in other ways. Tonight, we have to have some guys step up and do even more offensively, and that's exactly what he did. He works extremely hard, and he's getting better every day. He made a three tonight on the road, he's getting more and more comfortable with the ball, he's a product of his development, and the key is that he responded defensively and on the glass and was pretty poised. He played some extended minutes, and some of that was because we could play him, he didn't have any foul issues, which was huge. He had a big task tonight too, because Maverick Morgan can post up and shoot the 17, and Michael Finke can shoot the 23. So you've got to be locked in on those guys every time, it's not like he's battling them in the low post. You've got to go where they go. I thought he did an excellent job.
On the strong second half…
Yogi Ferrell: "I feel like we turned around and got our defense set. I felt like Juwan (Morgan) and O.G... (Anunoby) brought that energy for us in stopping Malcolm Hill and that just transitioned into offense for us."
On his leadership…
Yogi Ferrell: "Going into this game, guys like me, Nick (Zeisloft), and Max (Bielfeldt), we knew we had to bring a lot of energy at a place like Illinois, we were going to have to create our own energy so all of us just talking to those guys all the time whether it was defense or offense, not letting those guys hang their heads and go on to the next play. That's all I try to do is lead those guys and for us to win."
On how establishing Thomas Bryant in the second half opened up the perimeter…
Yogi Ferrell: "The entire game we wanted to establish Thomas because he has a very high percentage, 70 something plus. We want to get him the ball, that's basically always our game plan for us."
On if this is one of the better halves he's had in the Big Ten…
Yogi Ferrell: "I'd say so. Losing to Michigan State and Penn State, I had a little flashback after going in the first half. Second half we came in and said what we needed to do and play the game plan out."
On flashbacks to the 2013 loss to Illinois…
Yogi Ferrell:" I'll never forget that. They stormed the court, broken play and easy layup. Yeah, I'll never forget that. I'm 2-and-2, fifty percent here so I'll take it."
On Yogi's second half performance…
Nick Zeisloft: "He just impacted both ends of the court and was just the senior leader that we needed to have. The first half we needed to step up and he definitely took the front of that and we were rolling behind him after that."
On transition from coming off the bench to starting…
Nick Zeisloft: "I just had to step up and we all had to step up. Harrison (Niego) played great defense tonight. O.G. (Anunoby) played great defense and rebounded, Juwan (Morgan). We all just needed to step up for Rob (Johnson) and the thing is, Rob (Johnson) helped us all a lot tonight too. He was on the bench calling out things and getting us ready to go in the first half and after the first half even in the game. It was really a team effort tonight."
On the absence of Robert Johnson…
Nick Zeisloft: "He's a tough pit bull out there, he's a great player and coach always calls him that. We all had to bring that intensity on the defensive end, fighting the offensive end because that's what he brings to the game every time he goes out there."
On controlling Big Ten destiny…
Yogi Ferrell: We always say all the time that we control our own destiny and I know these guys are everyday guys. We are going to take it one day at a time, prepare how we need to prepare, get some treatment, watch some film, put up extra shots because it's coming down to the last few games."
On the difference of his play in the second half…
Thomas Bryant: "We just came in with a mindset to be assertive down in the post. I saw that I could get some things down there that they gave me and I tried to take full advantage of it and my teammates set me up perfectly for it."
On the difference of the teams play in the second half…
Thomas Bryant: "Our defensive intensity was different, way better than the first half. We executed at the offensive end too so that really picked it up with us. When our defense is good like that our offense flows."
On Yogi's second half performance…
Thomas Bryant: "Yogi was great in the second half, he really carried this team. Coach always emphasizes for him to carry this team and that's what he did. Me as a young guy, I try to follow him and he leads by example. We all try to follow him and he's a prime leader of this team."
On importance of being able to fight back in the second half as they near tournament time…
Thomas Bryant: "It's very important. We never want to come out sluggish against a team, against a great Illinois team. They came out with a great passion in the first half, they are a great team, well coached and we just wanted to stay with their intensity. We knew we were going to be fine once the second half came around, we just had to change a little bit this and that, and that's what we did."
On the keys to closing out the Big Ten championship…
Thomas Bryant: "Defensive execution out there. When we play defense, they go through the paint and either I'm in the post or the guards are in there and kick it out for a three. We are a pretty good team. On the defensive end when we are getting stops like we did today and getting down there to get a bucket, we are a hard team to play against."
On what makes Yogi a good leader…
Thomas Bryant: "He's been here before, he's played with Victor Oladipo and all the other guys like Derek (Elston), Christian (Watford), Cody (Zeller). Those are prime guys that were leaders for him, that he looked up to and now he brings it to us. He sees that we have the talent and he tries to bring it out of us each and every day."
On if he sees a guy like Yogi who's been through a Big Ten title chase before by the way he carries himself on and off the floor…
Thomas Bryant: "Oh yeah, he carries himself a different way, he carries himself to a professional way and I look up to that too, we all do."
On what it's like to go into the final two games knowing a Big Ten championship is up for grabs…
Thomas Bryant: "It feels good, we take it one day at a time and enjoy this one at Illinois and when we get back we will prepare for the next team, Iowa, and take it day by day."
Illinois Head Coach John Groce
Opening Statement:
COACH GROCE: Obviously, a tale of two halves there. I do think there's no question we played them better than game one. You always have that fear of their explosiveness with what you saw against us in game one, what you saw when they had three opponents in a four-game stretch down by 30-plus, what you saw in their 28-to-nothing run in Ann Arbor—you always have a fear of that with them. They're so explosive offensively. I thought we did a good job playing and doing what we needed to do in the first half, I thought our defense was good, I thought we got great shots, we played really connected. I thought we did some good things in that half, kind of piggybacking the last three games. And then in the second half, I just thought Yogi Ferrell took the game over, and not just from a scoring perspective. You're standing courtside, and you just hear his voice constantly. His leadership capability, his enthusiasm, his passion—he's clapping his hands, he's talking to his teammates, he's communicating with the bench. He's into the game, and he's into the game whether he makes a shot or not, that's just who he's become over four years. I've got great admiration for him because, for one, he plays two ends of the floor. He's a guy who really competes and can be really disruptive on the defensive end. Number two; I've watched his evolution coaching against him for four years, of how he makes his teammates better with how he talks and connects to those guys. That's what leadership looks like to me. I'm very respectful of what he brings to the table. They've got other really good players, don't get me wrong, but I think he gives them their edge and I thought he was a total difference in the game at both ends. He was disruptive, we had to deal with him on our offensive end, and obviously he was terrific and made big shots on that end of the floor.
I thought we had some guys, like [Jalen Coleman-Lands], who played well on both ends of the floor. We might make a mistake here or there, but watching him and coaching him tonight, it wasn't due to a lack of effort. I thought he really competed. We had a couple of other guys who did as well for the 40 minutes. I thought we had a lot of guys who did it for 20, and then when things got really tough, I think we need more out of our upperclassmen. I've challenged them with that, I think they can get more. I'm confident that they care enough that they will get more, but it's February. When you're in February, your upperclassmen have got to step up and inspire, connect, and unite your team. Today I just didn't feel that way in the second half. I thought that their guy was able to do that for their team, and we just needed more of that from our older guys. So We've got a lot to work on in the next few days before we play our senior day game on Sunday. Again, I thought the first half was good, and in the second half I didn't like our response. The start of the second half was a big deal in the game. We had some good looks offensively, and I didn't have much of a problem with our offense other than the times that we got a little sloppy with it. We had seven turnovers in the first half, five in the second, and that's about four too many. But it was really the defensive end. It's hard in this league if you give up 58 percent. Obviously, they earned some of them, and I know once they got going they were really difficult to defend. But giving up 58 percent in a half against a really good team like them who's playing really well right now is a recipe for disaster. Give them credit for executing. Obviously, we have to play two halves better than we did today. But my gut tells me the bulk of that credit goes to Ferrell, who was really dominant at both ends of the court.
That's a couple of games in a row where it just didn't happen in the second half. Is there something from your players that you're seeing mentally or emotionally?
COACH GROCE: Each game is different. I thought offensively, we had five turnovers, and one or two were a little sloppy. I thought the bulk of the issues at that end were missing shots we made in the first half in today's game. At the other end, allowing 58 percent is tough. If you could point to one common denominator between the two games, it would be the second half affecting field goal defense. Those looked eerily similar to me. We have to be able to impact the game defensively. It's that simple. Now, what goes into that? Obviously, leadership, youth, execution, the execution of the other team being good, experience—there are a lot of factors. But each game is different.
The guys were ready to play, I thought we had a good first half, we came out swinging and our execution was good. We played with a lot of purpose. I thought we did that offensively at the start of the second half, the shots just didn't go in. We have to be a little more mature. When shots don't go in, we have to find a way to get stops to minimize those runs. You're not always going to make every shot. In my time in this league, in two different stints, I know that your ability to defend and rebound allows you to play consistently. If you're not affecting the game by defending and rebounding, you're in a league where you have to make a really, really high percentage of your shots night-in and night-out. And that's hard to do. Very few teams do that consistently, but I think the best ones have a way to impact the game by defending and rebounding. We're going to continue to wear that out.
We'll get it—some of the younger guys have to get physically stronger. I watch a couple of block-outs on their guys down low by our rooks and it's like, holy cow, they look like paperweights. We have to get stronger, and we will. This has been great for those guys in terms of learning, and we're going to be better because of it, especially when we start to get healthy and these guys are getting more experience. I'll certainly keep the big picture in mind.
But at the end of the day, for us, I thought in the second half, the difference was Ferrell. I was standing there courtside, and you could just feel him. I don't know if all year now—after coaching 28 games against a lot of really good players, talented players, All-Americans—I don't know if I've coached against a guy that impacted two ends of the floor, and you can hear him as much as you hear him. It's amazing, freshman to now, where he's at with that.
Postgame Quotes
February 25, 2016
Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean:
COACH CREAN: "I'm proud of the resiliency of our team, and we have tremendous respect for the opponent. The firepower of Illinois is scary because they can score so many different ways; they've taken over 24 three-pointers per game. Maverick Morgan is a real key to their team. He didn't play as much against us, but he's scary with how efficiently they can be offensively when he's in the game playing for them. Our guys were really locked in to understanding that it's more than just a one- or two-man team when you're playing Illinois. But at the same time, when you've got a guy like Malcolm Hill that's capable of what he's capable of, what Kendrick Nunn is capable of, you've got to be locked in to those guys, and I thought that we were. Jalen [Coleman-Lands] had a very strong game offensively, but I think the fact that we were able to defend them without fouling, keep them off the foul line—Malcolm averages 15 free throw attempts per game when they win. And for us to come out of the game without him having a free throw and to have him earn his baskets and the fact that we rebounded the ball at a high rate, those were the key things.
For us, we played much sharper in the second half, in the sense of making sure the ball was going through the paint. In the first half, we were 14-of-20 when we went through the paint but we were three-of-17 when we didn't, and that's not a good recipe for us. Our recipe has to be going through the paint. That doesn't mean we have to score in the paint, but the ball has to go through there. In the second half we did a much better job of that, and I give them credit in the first half, they did an excellent job defending us in the post and making it hard for us to get inside. But we got better movement in the second half and we were really sound on defense. I'm proud of the way they defended. It's our first time playing without Robert Johnson, and that's always going to cause a lot of fear for the coach but also for the players when he's not out there. For us to play without him tonight and have the guys step up the way that they did says a lot about the way they're improving, their desire to get better, and the resiliency and camaraderie that they carry amongst each other as a group. It's a very important win, a very valuable win against a team that's got some real firepower. We take this win very, very seriously based on the fact that Illinois is very close. Our guys were really locked in to what we had to do tonight to get the win.
Yogi's been a big piece for you guys for pretty much his whole career. You and others have talked about taking guys with him this year. How important was he in that second half, and does he have another gear this year as you go down the stretch?
COACH CREAN: I can't go into the next day, that's a hypothetical. But as far as what he's doing, and as far as the way he plays, that's very important. He works very hard, and we don't get caught up in slumps or percentages. We just get caught up in improvement. From the day he walked in, he's been one of the guys that spends a ton of extra time in the gym, and what he's gained now is the ability to study film. He's playing with a lot of confidence, and he brings a lot of confidence to his teammates. I'm very proud of the way he played, and he continues to figure out the game. There's very few nights that he doesn't draw the toughest assignment from the other team. I hope people see how valuable he is, not only in this league but nationally, because he deserves it. You can't argue with the numbers, and you can't argue with the record that he's put forth as a senior. You can't argue with the performances that he's put together, and certainly tonight's takes a backseat to none. I'm very proud of the way he continues to improve, continues to lead, and continues to perform.
You mentioned the ball going through the paint more in the second half. What else was different offensively in the second half.
COACH CREAN: We had a few more screens, a few more cross-screens. We just defended better, and it got us loose a little bit. Our focus had to be defense and rebounding. Everybody that played eight minutes or more got a rebound in this game. When you out-rebound a team by 20, that's huge, and that's got to come from a lot of people. The challenge to our team was really the ability to step up tonight. We miss Rob's offense because he can score, he makes threes, and he's basically our second ball-handler. But he's been playing defense at an extremely high level, really all year but especially as of late. The challenge for us was would we be able to respond to that, and I thought these guys did. Malcolm Hill is a big-time player, he flat-out is. He can score from three and at the rim, he's got moves, he can play off both feet, he's got the step-back, he's bona-fide. Kendrick Nunn is a blur. He can score at the rim, he can score from three, and certainly Jalen can score the ball. 70 percent of his points are coming from the three-point line. We did not do a great job on him. But the bottom line is that everybody picked their game up defensively. I think it was good in the first half and it got a lot better in the second half, and our break was a result of it.
I saw you commended Thomas after the game for stepping up. Those first seven points of the second half all came from him. Was that an example of him being more assertive?
COACH CREAN: I think so. When you're taking somebody out of the lineup, the key is that everybody has to do more defensively and rebound. I think we learned in the Big Ten season, when James [Blackmon] went out, nobody's going to make up 16 points. It's not like one or two guys are going to make up those points. You have to make up ground in other ways. Tonight, we have to have some guys step up and do even more offensively, and that's exactly what he did. He works extremely hard, and he's getting better every day. He made a three tonight on the road, he's getting more and more comfortable with the ball, he's a product of his development, and the key is that he responded defensively and on the glass and was pretty poised. He played some extended minutes, and some of that was because we could play him, he didn't have any foul issues, which was huge. He had a big task tonight too, because Maverick Morgan can post up and shoot the 17, and Michael Finke can shoot the 23. So you've got to be locked in on those guys every time, it's not like he's battling them in the low post. You've got to go where they go. I thought he did an excellent job.
On the strong second half…
Yogi Ferrell: "I feel like we turned around and got our defense set. I felt like Juwan (Morgan) and O.G... (Anunoby) brought that energy for us in stopping Malcolm Hill and that just transitioned into offense for us."
On his leadership…
Yogi Ferrell: "Going into this game, guys like me, Nick (Zeisloft), and Max (Bielfeldt), we knew we had to bring a lot of energy at a place like Illinois, we were going to have to create our own energy so all of us just talking to those guys all the time whether it was defense or offense, not letting those guys hang their heads and go on to the next play. That's all I try to do is lead those guys and for us to win."
On how establishing Thomas Bryant in the second half opened up the perimeter…
Yogi Ferrell: "The entire game we wanted to establish Thomas because he has a very high percentage, 70 something plus. We want to get him the ball, that's basically always our game plan for us."
On if this is one of the better halves he's had in the Big Ten…
Yogi Ferrell: "I'd say so. Losing to Michigan State and Penn State, I had a little flashback after going in the first half. Second half we came in and said what we needed to do and play the game plan out."
On flashbacks to the 2013 loss to Illinois…
Yogi Ferrell:" I'll never forget that. They stormed the court, broken play and easy layup. Yeah, I'll never forget that. I'm 2-and-2, fifty percent here so I'll take it."
On Yogi's second half performance…
Nick Zeisloft: "He just impacted both ends of the court and was just the senior leader that we needed to have. The first half we needed to step up and he definitely took the front of that and we were rolling behind him after that."
On transition from coming off the bench to starting…
Nick Zeisloft: "I just had to step up and we all had to step up. Harrison (Niego) played great defense tonight. O.G. (Anunoby) played great defense and rebounded, Juwan (Morgan). We all just needed to step up for Rob (Johnson) and the thing is, Rob (Johnson) helped us all a lot tonight too. He was on the bench calling out things and getting us ready to go in the first half and after the first half even in the game. It was really a team effort tonight."
On the absence of Robert Johnson…
Nick Zeisloft: "He's a tough pit bull out there, he's a great player and coach always calls him that. We all had to bring that intensity on the defensive end, fighting the offensive end because that's what he brings to the game every time he goes out there."
On controlling Big Ten destiny…
Yogi Ferrell: We always say all the time that we control our own destiny and I know these guys are everyday guys. We are going to take it one day at a time, prepare how we need to prepare, get some treatment, watch some film, put up extra shots because it's coming down to the last few games."
On the difference of his play in the second half…
Thomas Bryant: "We just came in with a mindset to be assertive down in the post. I saw that I could get some things down there that they gave me and I tried to take full advantage of it and my teammates set me up perfectly for it."
On the difference of the teams play in the second half…
Thomas Bryant: "Our defensive intensity was different, way better than the first half. We executed at the offensive end too so that really picked it up with us. When our defense is good like that our offense flows."
On Yogi's second half performance…
Thomas Bryant: "Yogi was great in the second half, he really carried this team. Coach always emphasizes for him to carry this team and that's what he did. Me as a young guy, I try to follow him and he leads by example. We all try to follow him and he's a prime leader of this team."
On importance of being able to fight back in the second half as they near tournament time…
Thomas Bryant: "It's very important. We never want to come out sluggish against a team, against a great Illinois team. They came out with a great passion in the first half, they are a great team, well coached and we just wanted to stay with their intensity. We knew we were going to be fine once the second half came around, we just had to change a little bit this and that, and that's what we did."
On the keys to closing out the Big Ten championship…
Thomas Bryant: "Defensive execution out there. When we play defense, they go through the paint and either I'm in the post or the guards are in there and kick it out for a three. We are a pretty good team. On the defensive end when we are getting stops like we did today and getting down there to get a bucket, we are a hard team to play against."
On what makes Yogi a good leader…
Thomas Bryant: "He's been here before, he's played with Victor Oladipo and all the other guys like Derek (Elston), Christian (Watford), Cody (Zeller). Those are prime guys that were leaders for him, that he looked up to and now he brings it to us. He sees that we have the talent and he tries to bring it out of us each and every day."
On if he sees a guy like Yogi who's been through a Big Ten title chase before by the way he carries himself on and off the floor…
Thomas Bryant: "Oh yeah, he carries himself a different way, he carries himself to a professional way and I look up to that too, we all do."
On what it's like to go into the final two games knowing a Big Ten championship is up for grabs…
Thomas Bryant: "It feels good, we take it one day at a time and enjoy this one at Illinois and when we get back we will prepare for the next team, Iowa, and take it day by day."
Illinois Head Coach John Groce
Opening Statement:
COACH GROCE: Obviously, a tale of two halves there. I do think there's no question we played them better than game one. You always have that fear of their explosiveness with what you saw against us in game one, what you saw when they had three opponents in a four-game stretch down by 30-plus, what you saw in their 28-to-nothing run in Ann Arbor—you always have a fear of that with them. They're so explosive offensively. I thought we did a good job playing and doing what we needed to do in the first half, I thought our defense was good, I thought we got great shots, we played really connected. I thought we did some good things in that half, kind of piggybacking the last three games. And then in the second half, I just thought Yogi Ferrell took the game over, and not just from a scoring perspective. You're standing courtside, and you just hear his voice constantly. His leadership capability, his enthusiasm, his passion—he's clapping his hands, he's talking to his teammates, he's communicating with the bench. He's into the game, and he's into the game whether he makes a shot or not, that's just who he's become over four years. I've got great admiration for him because, for one, he plays two ends of the floor. He's a guy who really competes and can be really disruptive on the defensive end. Number two; I've watched his evolution coaching against him for four years, of how he makes his teammates better with how he talks and connects to those guys. That's what leadership looks like to me. I'm very respectful of what he brings to the table. They've got other really good players, don't get me wrong, but I think he gives them their edge and I thought he was a total difference in the game at both ends. He was disruptive, we had to deal with him on our offensive end, and obviously he was terrific and made big shots on that end of the floor.
I thought we had some guys, like [Jalen Coleman-Lands], who played well on both ends of the floor. We might make a mistake here or there, but watching him and coaching him tonight, it wasn't due to a lack of effort. I thought he really competed. We had a couple of other guys who did as well for the 40 minutes. I thought we had a lot of guys who did it for 20, and then when things got really tough, I think we need more out of our upperclassmen. I've challenged them with that, I think they can get more. I'm confident that they care enough that they will get more, but it's February. When you're in February, your upperclassmen have got to step up and inspire, connect, and unite your team. Today I just didn't feel that way in the second half. I thought that their guy was able to do that for their team, and we just needed more of that from our older guys. So We've got a lot to work on in the next few days before we play our senior day game on Sunday. Again, I thought the first half was good, and in the second half I didn't like our response. The start of the second half was a big deal in the game. We had some good looks offensively, and I didn't have much of a problem with our offense other than the times that we got a little sloppy with it. We had seven turnovers in the first half, five in the second, and that's about four too many. But it was really the defensive end. It's hard in this league if you give up 58 percent. Obviously, they earned some of them, and I know once they got going they were really difficult to defend. But giving up 58 percent in a half against a really good team like them who's playing really well right now is a recipe for disaster. Give them credit for executing. Obviously, we have to play two halves better than we did today. But my gut tells me the bulk of that credit goes to Ferrell, who was really dominant at both ends of the court.
That's a couple of games in a row where it just didn't happen in the second half. Is there something from your players that you're seeing mentally or emotionally?
COACH GROCE: Each game is different. I thought offensively, we had five turnovers, and one or two were a little sloppy. I thought the bulk of the issues at that end were missing shots we made in the first half in today's game. At the other end, allowing 58 percent is tough. If you could point to one common denominator between the two games, it would be the second half affecting field goal defense. Those looked eerily similar to me. We have to be able to impact the game defensively. It's that simple. Now, what goes into that? Obviously, leadership, youth, execution, the execution of the other team being good, experience—there are a lot of factors. But each game is different.
The guys were ready to play, I thought we had a good first half, we came out swinging and our execution was good. We played with a lot of purpose. I thought we did that offensively at the start of the second half, the shots just didn't go in. We have to be a little more mature. When shots don't go in, we have to find a way to get stops to minimize those runs. You're not always going to make every shot. In my time in this league, in two different stints, I know that your ability to defend and rebound allows you to play consistently. If you're not affecting the game by defending and rebounding, you're in a league where you have to make a really, really high percentage of your shots night-in and night-out. And that's hard to do. Very few teams do that consistently, but I think the best ones have a way to impact the game by defending and rebounding. We're going to continue to wear that out.
We'll get it—some of the younger guys have to get physically stronger. I watch a couple of block-outs on their guys down low by our rooks and it's like, holy cow, they look like paperweights. We have to get stronger, and we will. This has been great for those guys in terms of learning, and we're going to be better because of it, especially when we start to get healthy and these guys are getting more experience. I'll certainly keep the big picture in mind.
But at the end of the day, for us, I thought in the second half, the difference was Ferrell. I was standing there courtside, and you could just feel him. I don't know if all year now—after coaching 28 games against a lot of really good players, talented players, All-Americans—I don't know if I've coached against a guy that impacted two ends of the floor, and you can hear him as much as you hear him. It's amazing, freshman to now, where he's at with that.
Players Mentioned
Center
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