Postgame Quotes vs. Maryland
1/4/2021 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Indiana vs. Maryland
Jan. 4, 2021
Postgame Quotes
Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
Opening Statement
MILLER: Very difficult game. Maryland has been playing terrific basketball. They have been really hard to deal with here defensively for a lot of teams coming in, the last week at Wisconsin with their small ball lineup. The amount of threes they made against Michigan with their fours and fives. We were very concerned coming into the game with how to defend. I thought our guys did a great job for the most part of being able to contain their front court from getting good threes. Donta Scott coming into the game was fantastic. He didn't have a big scoring night. That was important. I thought we did a decent job on their guards, kind of keeping the in front. Tale of two halves really. Offensively in the second half we were a much different team. We were more physical around the basket. It started with Trayce. We were much more physical on the offensive glass. I know Race and Trayce really started to get after it there. We were able to break the game open with a couple of big swings, move the ball, made a couple of big opportunistic shots and drives. Right when we got to the 12-minute mark, 10-minute mark, eight-minute mark, it sort of feels the same. You are in the game. You are up two. We hadn't been able to close recently defensively. That was a big difference tonight. We just didn't get the avalanche of points up in the last in the last eight minutes of that game that we did in the past. That was a positive. Anytime you can get a win in this league, you got to take it. That was a good one for us. We will see where we go from here."
On defense in the last eight minutes of the game…
MILLER: This was a guard to ball game. You are going to have to guard the ball against Maryland. A lot of five out weave. There fours and fives can really cause problems, like I said, especially Scott taking guys off the dribble. I thought Race Thompson probably had one of his best games of the season for our team. It had a double-double, but I thought his defense in particular in this game, guarding the dribble was really important. He did a really good job there. Our perimeter guys for the most part did a really good job switching and the communication game where you have to do a lot of switching. We switched more so than we had in the past couple of games. In this one we didn't get burned as much. I thought defensively, we talked a lot about it all week, and went into this game basically saying we would get to the 12-minute media that is when the game has changed for us defensively. I thought our guys were mindful of it, played pretty good defense and were able to defensive rebound pretty well tonight. That rebounding margin tonight, we hadn't had that in a while. Only turned it over 10 times and rebounded like that, you are going to give yourself a chance to win the game when you don't shoot the threes for us first half was abysmal offensively in general. Second half was much different."
On rebounding from Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis…
MILLER: Second shots, Maryland is traditionally a very good rebounding team. I think Wiggins got one on us in the first half. They didn't get very many long ones. Maybe Scott got in one late in the second half. The rebounding is huge. When Trayce and Race rebound like that offensively and defensively we are a much better team. When our guards are having to go get every ball we are not overly big enough sometimes to be able to hang in there on the glass. Tonight, was a big guy rebounding game. Our big guys did a good job. Trayce had 11 defensive and Race had 17. Those two guys got 18 defensive rebounds between the two of them. That was really important. Trayce was big, he obviously flipped it around in the second half which is what good players do. I didn't think he could have played any weaker around the rim in the first half then in the second half he was much more himself jumping, rebounding, offensive stick backs, got fouled and really has a great second half for us.
On Armaan Franklin injury and guarding the ball…
MILLER: Armaan was out early. I believe it is a rolled ankle. He tested it out a little bit in the first half said he couldn't go so he was out. He will probably be doubtful for these next two games as well. For our team I think it is a good opportunity for our guys to get in there and play. That is what is going to be needed here moving forward as we head into the rest of the season. Guys are going to need to step up when their number is called and they are going to have to do a good job in the areas they can. The more experience they get the better they will be. Jerome played a little bit on the perimeter for the first time all season with Race and Trayce. That is a lineup we haven't done but we are going to have to go to it more. Anthony and Kristian both played minutes in the first half for us. At one point I think we had three freshmen on the floor for the first time in a long time in this game with Jordan, Anthony and maybe even Trey in the game at the same time. It is going to be what is needed. With fouls, injuries, that is going to be what is called for. Guys stepped up tonight, hung in there and we were able to pull this one out, which is a good win. Any win in this league right now regardless of how you get it is a good win.
On sticking with Jerome Hunter through two fouls…
MILLER: Those were really two tough foul calls at the end of shot clocks and when we had a stop. He has to be more disciplined in fouling. We have talked to Jerome a lot about that. It is about being smart. Offensively, he got a big one for us and thank goodness the second one went in because that was a questionable shot at that point in the game. That is who he is and I think the more he plays more confidence he has. He was great on the boards tonight. He had an unbelievable offense put back that Trayce Jackson-Davis ultimately got in but he kept that play alive. Like I said he played the three for us for the first time this year. In our defense he did a great job and during our offense he can shoot the ball for us so we needed some added fire power. I thought in general with experience out there, Jerome, Rob Phinisee, Aljami Durham, Trayce, and Race Thompson, it was the best thing we did at that stage in the game against this team. They have been out there together before so we needed to finish better and Jerome helped us do that.
On pinpointing what makes this team so resilient...
MILLER: I think they work hard together, they play to win, and they want to win. Every game we play and we go out, the other team is going to do a couple things to us which is an adjustment phase for us. When you go 0 for 9 from three in the first half it is frustrating. I think sometimes this team gets down on itself when they are not scoring or the offense is not going well. Sometimes that can hurt you defensively. They let it play a role on the defensive side. That did not happen as much tonight which was good to see and guys kept stepping up and shooting. We had a couple go in that we needed to go in which was big. Our first half, we will have to watch the film, but we worked hard coming in against the zone and I thought we were not as sharp against the zone. To be honest, we have to get Trayce moving. He has to get going earlier in the game for us to be successful in the first half. He is such an important guy. When he goes 2 for 9 and we go 0 for 9 from three in the first half we cannot do much worse but it was a 27-21 game so it was okay. I thought the second half we consistently did a lot better against the zone but we were much more forceful around the basket. When they started to double, we got some inside outs, had good passing, and were thankfully able to stick four in the second half. Jerome hit two, Rob hit one, and Al hit a big one when he hit his. Clearly tonight was not our night but we found a way to win.
On how Trayce Jackson-Davis able to flip the switch at halftime…
MILLER: If I had the answer to the question, I wish I could tip him off earlier when the game started 20 minutes ago. If I had that information, I would give it to him. He is a guy who really thinks about the game coming in. He was worried about the double a few times. He told me a few times that he felt it was coming but it did not come so he was able to finish off quickly. Half time he was fine. He looked at me and said he was ready to go. That is just who he is. He is a guy who has the ability to respond because he cares a lot. He was a much different player in the second half. He had a big impact on the game. Moving forward, hopefully we can get him going earlier, especially around the basket. I think that is what frustrated him the most. He had a lot around the rim that did not go in.
Indiana Players - Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson
Q. On both finishing with double-double's…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Really just my shots were not falling in the first half, but at halftime, Coach just put emphasis on just keep attacking the basket. Those shots are going to start falling like every day in practice. So, just never lose your confidence. Just keep shooting the ball and keep going at them, because eventually they are going to wear down and eventually, we are going to get that rhythm. And that is what we ended up doing in the second half.
THOMPSON: Coach put an emphasis on the last eight minutes of the game. He said that we have not been performing there. He said just continue to play hard throughout the whole game really boosted us to get that win.
Q. On what went well on the defensive end…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I thought the guards did a really good job of boxing out first off. And then I thought we did really well with switching up coverages with, almost played five out and then us two and the other forwards were big guarding the ball and guarding guards, and switching on to them, and being able to keep them in front. I thought we did pretty well on that.
THOMPSON: I would agree.
Q. On improved communication in the game…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah. It was almost like it switched. It was like the first half we could not do anything, we could not score, and the second half is when we really turned it up. So, just props to our guys. Coach told us it was time to lock in and I thought we did really well. Really good job guarding the ball and just keeping some of their guys in check. Waiting, taking some tough shots, but other than that I thought we did a pretty decent job with guarding.
Q. On increased determination in the second half…
JACKSON-DAVIS: You start to get start to get soaked out, especially in the first half. You are missing shots and you are not able to have easy ones fall. You start to get lackadaisical. So, I thought in the second half, after I saw a few drop, especially going into the offensive glass and being able to get a few easy ones, I thought it really heled me get into a rhythm made being able to score over top of them easier.
Q. On when he did not want out of the game…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah, I hurt my knee, and then I saw there was like six to eight minutes left. Six, quarter six, I do not know. There was just a lot of time left in the game. I just knew that at this point in the game I could not come out. I was just trying to play as hard as I can. I think getting hurt even made me more focused on my area of play. So, I was just trying to help my teammates get this win. I said I am good do not take me out.
Q. On Race's play…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Race, he was killing it on the boards. He was chasing the ball down, he was getting tips off of them. He probably had five or six more deflections off the glass. Getting us possessions, so he probably ended up with 18, 19 rebounds and like helping us get more possessions. So, props to him and it was really key for us helping us to win.
Q. On the great defense in the second half…
THOMPSON: Coach says that if you get the most rebounds in the game, you win the game. So, at the end of the day, me and Trayce have got to do our job and get as many rebounds as we can throughout the game and the outcome will be what we want if we get more than the other team.
Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon
Opening Statement
TURGEON: We were really good in the first half. We played really well for the first four, especially defensively. I thought we were terrific on defense. We were flying around, we were changing our defenses. We did a lot of really good things defensively. In the second half we were not quite as quick with our movement. Their ball movement was better, and it really just came down to rebounding. We just got our tails kicked on the boards, and 14 second chance points, and that was the difference. That and you know, us just not being able to make an open shot tonight. So, give them credit. Trayce Jackson-Davis took over the game on the offensive end, offensive rebounding. It is disappointing. We have got to compete a little bit more on the boards but, I thought he guys really tried. We have just got to play a little bit better.
Q. On not having the best defenders present as Trayce heated up…
TURGEON: Yeah, we will never know but, we had enough players. I love Daryl Morsell, you know. Daryl is our best defensive player and I love Daryl, his leadership and all of that. But we had enough players, we just have got to compete a little bit more. That is who we were. That was our team tonight. But guys competed, they really, really competed defensively and just could not get the rebounds in the second half. Could not guard the ball as well in the second half. We did not rotate as well in the second half as we did in the first half. So, we tried a lot defensively. We have to. Especially when we are this small. And then our offense let us down tonight. We did not move the ball as quickly as we need to. We missed a lot of open shots on inside-out, and then just, we are not passing the ball quick enough. We are holding it one second too long and we are missing some opportunities. It is an everyday fight with me with this team and just have got to continue to fight. A lot of basketball left.
Q. On Trayce Jackson-Davis…
TURGEON: Well, a lot of it was offensive rebounds. That really got him going, got their team going. We just were not physical enough on our box outs in that game, and he just took over that way. We were slow on some rotations, and guys just have got to compete a little bit more in rotations. We did it for the first half. We actually did it for the first five or six minutes of the second half. We just, we stopped doing it, and our rotations just were not quick enough, and that is really the only chance we had. We had to do different things defensively just to give ourselves the chance to guard them.
Jan. 4, 2021
Postgame Quotes
Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
Opening Statement
MILLER: Very difficult game. Maryland has been playing terrific basketball. They have been really hard to deal with here defensively for a lot of teams coming in, the last week at Wisconsin with their small ball lineup. The amount of threes they made against Michigan with their fours and fives. We were very concerned coming into the game with how to defend. I thought our guys did a great job for the most part of being able to contain their front court from getting good threes. Donta Scott coming into the game was fantastic. He didn't have a big scoring night. That was important. I thought we did a decent job on their guards, kind of keeping the in front. Tale of two halves really. Offensively in the second half we were a much different team. We were more physical around the basket. It started with Trayce. We were much more physical on the offensive glass. I know Race and Trayce really started to get after it there. We were able to break the game open with a couple of big swings, move the ball, made a couple of big opportunistic shots and drives. Right when we got to the 12-minute mark, 10-minute mark, eight-minute mark, it sort of feels the same. You are in the game. You are up two. We hadn't been able to close recently defensively. That was a big difference tonight. We just didn't get the avalanche of points up in the last in the last eight minutes of that game that we did in the past. That was a positive. Anytime you can get a win in this league, you got to take it. That was a good one for us. We will see where we go from here."
On defense in the last eight minutes of the game…
MILLER: This was a guard to ball game. You are going to have to guard the ball against Maryland. A lot of five out weave. There fours and fives can really cause problems, like I said, especially Scott taking guys off the dribble. I thought Race Thompson probably had one of his best games of the season for our team. It had a double-double, but I thought his defense in particular in this game, guarding the dribble was really important. He did a really good job there. Our perimeter guys for the most part did a really good job switching and the communication game where you have to do a lot of switching. We switched more so than we had in the past couple of games. In this one we didn't get burned as much. I thought defensively, we talked a lot about it all week, and went into this game basically saying we would get to the 12-minute media that is when the game has changed for us defensively. I thought our guys were mindful of it, played pretty good defense and were able to defensive rebound pretty well tonight. That rebounding margin tonight, we hadn't had that in a while. Only turned it over 10 times and rebounded like that, you are going to give yourself a chance to win the game when you don't shoot the threes for us first half was abysmal offensively in general. Second half was much different."
On rebounding from Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis…
MILLER: Second shots, Maryland is traditionally a very good rebounding team. I think Wiggins got one on us in the first half. They didn't get very many long ones. Maybe Scott got in one late in the second half. The rebounding is huge. When Trayce and Race rebound like that offensively and defensively we are a much better team. When our guards are having to go get every ball we are not overly big enough sometimes to be able to hang in there on the glass. Tonight, was a big guy rebounding game. Our big guys did a good job. Trayce had 11 defensive and Race had 17. Those two guys got 18 defensive rebounds between the two of them. That was really important. Trayce was big, he obviously flipped it around in the second half which is what good players do. I didn't think he could have played any weaker around the rim in the first half then in the second half he was much more himself jumping, rebounding, offensive stick backs, got fouled and really has a great second half for us.
On Armaan Franklin injury and guarding the ball…
MILLER: Armaan was out early. I believe it is a rolled ankle. He tested it out a little bit in the first half said he couldn't go so he was out. He will probably be doubtful for these next two games as well. For our team I think it is a good opportunity for our guys to get in there and play. That is what is going to be needed here moving forward as we head into the rest of the season. Guys are going to need to step up when their number is called and they are going to have to do a good job in the areas they can. The more experience they get the better they will be. Jerome played a little bit on the perimeter for the first time all season with Race and Trayce. That is a lineup we haven't done but we are going to have to go to it more. Anthony and Kristian both played minutes in the first half for us. At one point I think we had three freshmen on the floor for the first time in a long time in this game with Jordan, Anthony and maybe even Trey in the game at the same time. It is going to be what is needed. With fouls, injuries, that is going to be what is called for. Guys stepped up tonight, hung in there and we were able to pull this one out, which is a good win. Any win in this league right now regardless of how you get it is a good win.
On sticking with Jerome Hunter through two fouls…
MILLER: Those were really two tough foul calls at the end of shot clocks and when we had a stop. He has to be more disciplined in fouling. We have talked to Jerome a lot about that. It is about being smart. Offensively, he got a big one for us and thank goodness the second one went in because that was a questionable shot at that point in the game. That is who he is and I think the more he plays more confidence he has. He was great on the boards tonight. He had an unbelievable offense put back that Trayce Jackson-Davis ultimately got in but he kept that play alive. Like I said he played the three for us for the first time this year. In our defense he did a great job and during our offense he can shoot the ball for us so we needed some added fire power. I thought in general with experience out there, Jerome, Rob Phinisee, Aljami Durham, Trayce, and Race Thompson, it was the best thing we did at that stage in the game against this team. They have been out there together before so we needed to finish better and Jerome helped us do that.
On pinpointing what makes this team so resilient...
MILLER: I think they work hard together, they play to win, and they want to win. Every game we play and we go out, the other team is going to do a couple things to us which is an adjustment phase for us. When you go 0 for 9 from three in the first half it is frustrating. I think sometimes this team gets down on itself when they are not scoring or the offense is not going well. Sometimes that can hurt you defensively. They let it play a role on the defensive side. That did not happen as much tonight which was good to see and guys kept stepping up and shooting. We had a couple go in that we needed to go in which was big. Our first half, we will have to watch the film, but we worked hard coming in against the zone and I thought we were not as sharp against the zone. To be honest, we have to get Trayce moving. He has to get going earlier in the game for us to be successful in the first half. He is such an important guy. When he goes 2 for 9 and we go 0 for 9 from three in the first half we cannot do much worse but it was a 27-21 game so it was okay. I thought the second half we consistently did a lot better against the zone but we were much more forceful around the basket. When they started to double, we got some inside outs, had good passing, and were thankfully able to stick four in the second half. Jerome hit two, Rob hit one, and Al hit a big one when he hit his. Clearly tonight was not our night but we found a way to win.
On how Trayce Jackson-Davis able to flip the switch at halftime…
MILLER: If I had the answer to the question, I wish I could tip him off earlier when the game started 20 minutes ago. If I had that information, I would give it to him. He is a guy who really thinks about the game coming in. He was worried about the double a few times. He told me a few times that he felt it was coming but it did not come so he was able to finish off quickly. Half time he was fine. He looked at me and said he was ready to go. That is just who he is. He is a guy who has the ability to respond because he cares a lot. He was a much different player in the second half. He had a big impact on the game. Moving forward, hopefully we can get him going earlier, especially around the basket. I think that is what frustrated him the most. He had a lot around the rim that did not go in.
Indiana Players - Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson
Q. On both finishing with double-double's…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Really just my shots were not falling in the first half, but at halftime, Coach just put emphasis on just keep attacking the basket. Those shots are going to start falling like every day in practice. So, just never lose your confidence. Just keep shooting the ball and keep going at them, because eventually they are going to wear down and eventually, we are going to get that rhythm. And that is what we ended up doing in the second half.
THOMPSON: Coach put an emphasis on the last eight minutes of the game. He said that we have not been performing there. He said just continue to play hard throughout the whole game really boosted us to get that win.
Q. On what went well on the defensive end…
JACKSON-DAVIS: I thought the guards did a really good job of boxing out first off. And then I thought we did really well with switching up coverages with, almost played five out and then us two and the other forwards were big guarding the ball and guarding guards, and switching on to them, and being able to keep them in front. I thought we did pretty well on that.
THOMPSON: I would agree.
Q. On improved communication in the game…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah. It was almost like it switched. It was like the first half we could not do anything, we could not score, and the second half is when we really turned it up. So, just props to our guys. Coach told us it was time to lock in and I thought we did really well. Really good job guarding the ball and just keeping some of their guys in check. Waiting, taking some tough shots, but other than that I thought we did a pretty decent job with guarding.
Q. On increased determination in the second half…
JACKSON-DAVIS: You start to get start to get soaked out, especially in the first half. You are missing shots and you are not able to have easy ones fall. You start to get lackadaisical. So, I thought in the second half, after I saw a few drop, especially going into the offensive glass and being able to get a few easy ones, I thought it really heled me get into a rhythm made being able to score over top of them easier.
Q. On when he did not want out of the game…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah, I hurt my knee, and then I saw there was like six to eight minutes left. Six, quarter six, I do not know. There was just a lot of time left in the game. I just knew that at this point in the game I could not come out. I was just trying to play as hard as I can. I think getting hurt even made me more focused on my area of play. So, I was just trying to help my teammates get this win. I said I am good do not take me out.
Q. On Race's play…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Race, he was killing it on the boards. He was chasing the ball down, he was getting tips off of them. He probably had five or six more deflections off the glass. Getting us possessions, so he probably ended up with 18, 19 rebounds and like helping us get more possessions. So, props to him and it was really key for us helping us to win.
Q. On the great defense in the second half…
THOMPSON: Coach says that if you get the most rebounds in the game, you win the game. So, at the end of the day, me and Trayce have got to do our job and get as many rebounds as we can throughout the game and the outcome will be what we want if we get more than the other team.
Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon
Opening Statement
TURGEON: We were really good in the first half. We played really well for the first four, especially defensively. I thought we were terrific on defense. We were flying around, we were changing our defenses. We did a lot of really good things defensively. In the second half we were not quite as quick with our movement. Their ball movement was better, and it really just came down to rebounding. We just got our tails kicked on the boards, and 14 second chance points, and that was the difference. That and you know, us just not being able to make an open shot tonight. So, give them credit. Trayce Jackson-Davis took over the game on the offensive end, offensive rebounding. It is disappointing. We have got to compete a little bit more on the boards but, I thought he guys really tried. We have just got to play a little bit better.
Q. On not having the best defenders present as Trayce heated up…
TURGEON: Yeah, we will never know but, we had enough players. I love Daryl Morsell, you know. Daryl is our best defensive player and I love Daryl, his leadership and all of that. But we had enough players, we just have got to compete a little bit more. That is who we were. That was our team tonight. But guys competed, they really, really competed defensively and just could not get the rebounds in the second half. Could not guard the ball as well in the second half. We did not rotate as well in the second half as we did in the first half. So, we tried a lot defensively. We have to. Especially when we are this small. And then our offense let us down tonight. We did not move the ball as quickly as we need to. We missed a lot of open shots on inside-out, and then just, we are not passing the ball quick enough. We are holding it one second too long and we are missing some opportunities. It is an everyday fight with me with this team and just have got to continue to fight. A lot of basketball left.
Q. On Trayce Jackson-Davis…
TURGEON: Well, a lot of it was offensive rebounds. That really got him going, got their team going. We just were not physical enough on our box outs in that game, and he just took over that way. We were slow on some rotations, and guys just have got to compete a little bit more in rotations. We did it for the first half. We actually did it for the first five or six minutes of the second half. We just, we stopped doing it, and our rotations just were not quick enough, and that is really the only chance we had. We had to do different things defensively just to give ourselves the chance to guard them.
Players Mentioned
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