Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs. St. John's
11/18/2021 12:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. St. John's
Nov. 17, 2021
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. What went into having Jordan Geronimo guard Champagnie and what impressed you tonight…
WOODSON: Again, you know, I went to him, I think around the sixth, seven-minute mark, and he came in and he responded. He made some big plays for us. He made a couple buckets. He hit a three and he hit a little leaner in the lane. So you know, I felt good. My coaches are over screaming at me saying, hey, let's get him in the game for defensive purposes, and so we put him in.
Q. Talk about the players coming off the bench…
WOODSON: Again, man, listen, I've got to do a better job, man, and when we got big leads like this, you know, this is kind of a carbon copy of the Eastern Michigan game. But the beauty behind it all, we didn't crack, man. We made it again winning plays down the stretch. We have to get better at making free throws. We shoot them every day but guys just got to be comfortable and knocking them down because that could be the difference in winning and losing. But I'm happy with our ballclub, man, and where we are as we stands today, man, because we're competing. Our defense has been solid as hell. We're solid again tonight I thought.
Q. Thoughts on the defense…
WOODSON: Well, he's a shot maker. Hey, they got a great coach, coaching staff, great personnel, they play hard, man. I thought they hit us with everything they could possibly hit us from a man-to-man press, zone press, half-court zone-press. I mean it, was a lot to swallow. But I thought our guys were engaged and in tune, but hey, Champagnie, he's a tough competitor. The beauty about their team, they don't run pick-and-rolls with him, so it's hard to double-team him. So he's always got a live dribble in his hand and being able to make plays, which is tough.
Q. Can you talk about what you got out of Tamar Bates especially in the first half…
WOODSON: He was great. He came in, and he's been playing well. Unfortunately he's had some injuries, and we are kind of working him back. I thought tonight was a solid ballgame for him.
Q. What has impressed you most about Tamar from an intangible perspective…
WOODSON: Again, he can score the ball. He can handle it. I've got to get him better defensively where he's not jumping around as much where he can be a little more solid there. But again, he's a freshman and he's got to get his body, get a little more meat on his body. But he's been playing well, man. I like him because he sees the moment. He's not scared of the moment. You need players like that.
Q. On how the bench played tonight…
WOODSON: You look back at the game against Northern Illinois. Our bench was solid. And, you know, we can't play our starters the whole game. I played Trayce and Race a lot of minutes. Didn't go with Mike because they were in and out playing small ball, and I didn't think it would be fair to Mike. But you know, our bench has got to be ready. Our bench is just as important as the guys that start the game. I thought they did that against Northern Illinois, and tonight they came in and did a great job as well.
Q. What changed in the defense in second half…
WOODSON: Man, listen, we knew they were going to make runs. They are a team that the fact that they keep pressing and putting the heat on, you know, they can -- which I thought we handled it the first half, they can always be in a ballgame based on quick shots that an opponent might take or a turnover, missed free throws like we had, it kept them in the game. Didn't hurt that the kid was making shots, too. But at the end of the day, this is a good win for our ballclub.
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS | INDIANA FORWARD & RACE THOMPSON | GUARD
Q. Trayce, wanted to get your thoughts, Tamar and Jordan…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Most definitely, Tamar coming in, hitting big shot after big shot, his confidence is growing and he's going to continue to build on that and Jordan in the second half, coming in, hitting a three right when he comes in and hitting a baseline reverse and a jumper, those are just contributions, that's what Coach Woodson said, next guy up. And then another player you didn't mention, Khristian Lander also coming in with big minutes and playing good minutes and hitting a tough layup. Coach Woodson says when your name is called, you've got to be ready to play and those guys stepped up and we needed them for this win.
Q. Talk about the crowd tonight…
JACKSON-DAVIS: That crowd it was electric, honestly. Big thanks to them. Last year, we lost a lot of games like that and we didn't have that crowd. So having that crowd coming into Assembly Hall rocking like that, we are going to need that in the future because the games are just going to get tougher.
Q. On how this win keeps the momentum going…
THOMPSON: Yeah, gives us confidence. Last year we struggled closing out games and Coach Woodson said it's a new year, and we're not doing that no more. It's our home court and we protect our home court at all costs. We make the plays that need to be made at the end of the games to win the games.
Q. What impressed you about Tamar Bates and Jordan Geronimo…
THOMPSON: I mean, yeah, they bring it every day in practice. So like me and Trayce, we see it every single day. We are not surprised when they step up and they make those plays because they do it every single day. So like Trayce said earlier, it's Next Man Up. You come in, you're ready to play. And they come in and they were ready to play and it showed.
Q. Tell us what you saw on that late bucket…
THOMPSON: I mean, a little bit, yeah, we work on the range shots, tough shots float shots. Khristian Lander has been pushing me to shoot that shot. I do it in practice and I do it just messing around. I work on it, of course, but it's just confidence in myself, and my teammates believe in me and coaches believe in me to make that play, so I definitely have confidence to go and shoot that ball.
Q. Talk about the depth at the guard position…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Most definitely, it's crazy, we have so much depth at the guard position. Xavier Johnson got in foul trouble, so Rob was playing, and so Rob was playing. And Rob got in foul trouble, and Khristian and he stepped in and did his thing; so salute to him. It's only going to help his confidence and help him get better. We really need it and I'm glad that he succeeded in this moment.
Q. What did Tamar Bates' energy bring to the team tonight…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Tamar is a guy that and has an intensity and he's going to keep bringing it. He wants to win so badly. He's a guy that's not afraid to be vocal and we knew that coming in. Even from the first time he stepped on campus, he was super vocal and that's what we need. Because our team is going to need some talk and be -- we're a family; so we can communicate with each other like that.
Q. What was it you guys did that was key to holding St. John's off the whole game?
JACKSON-DAVIS: In the first half we took away a lot of their actions and we were contesting a lot of their shots, and they weren't getting any good looks. And then in the second half, we kind of settled in a little bit and they started getting shots. And when you let a team feel comfortable, they are going to make you pay for it. So Champagnie started getting comfortable and he knocking down some shots, and salute to him. He's a great player.
MIKE ANDERSON | ST. JOHN'S HEAD COACH
Opening Statement
ANDERSON: First off I want to congratulate Coach Woodson and his team. They came out with great energy and the crowd got into it. They kind of punched us in the mouth early on. We were fortunate to get into halftime only 12 down. They were making shots, they were rebounding, they were scoring at will and I thought we played kind of on our heels. We reversed it in the second half and I thought we came out and our intensity picked up on defense, we sped the game up and it gave us a chance. I told our guys we didn't lose that game, we just ran out of time. They made big plays down the stretch, and we weren't able to, even though we had a shot at the end. We didn't get what we wanted, but at the same time we had a chance.
Q. On playing on the road…
ANDERSON: When you are in a game like this, especially on the road, you have to hang around and give yourself a chance. I was proud of our guys. We hung around and gave ourselves a chance. We didn't shoot the ball well and that is one thing you have to do when you are on the road. We got to the line as much as they did. We were in the rebounding war. We turned it over probably as many times as they did. It just came down to a couple plays here and a couple of plays there. I thought the Race kid hit a big shot for them. He hit a big shot for them coming across the lane. We had some possessions were we let some offensive rebounds get by. I thought our guys played with their heats and it was a tale of two halves. The second half I thought was completely different.
Q. On the play of Julian Champagnie…
ANDERSON: His development continues. In his off-season he went through the process of finding out what he needed to work on. He has worked on it, and he is bringing it to the game. I thought this was one of his best games at St. John's. From offensive and defense. He was at the front of the press, the back of the press, rebounding, blocking shots, loose balls, making big shot, making free-throws, he left it on the floor and that is what you expect from your leader. He has a chance to have a tremendous year this year and I think he has the type of team that he can be that leader. He is drawing a lot of attention, but he is not just trying to do it by himself, I think that is the beauty of it.
Indiana vs. St. John's
Nov. 17, 2021
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. What went into having Jordan Geronimo guard Champagnie and what impressed you tonight…
WOODSON: Again, you know, I went to him, I think around the sixth, seven-minute mark, and he came in and he responded. He made some big plays for us. He made a couple buckets. He hit a three and he hit a little leaner in the lane. So you know, I felt good. My coaches are over screaming at me saying, hey, let's get him in the game for defensive purposes, and so we put him in.
Q. Talk about the players coming off the bench…
WOODSON: Again, man, listen, I've got to do a better job, man, and when we got big leads like this, you know, this is kind of a carbon copy of the Eastern Michigan game. But the beauty behind it all, we didn't crack, man. We made it again winning plays down the stretch. We have to get better at making free throws. We shoot them every day but guys just got to be comfortable and knocking them down because that could be the difference in winning and losing. But I'm happy with our ballclub, man, and where we are as we stands today, man, because we're competing. Our defense has been solid as hell. We're solid again tonight I thought.
Q. Thoughts on the defense…
WOODSON: Well, he's a shot maker. Hey, they got a great coach, coaching staff, great personnel, they play hard, man. I thought they hit us with everything they could possibly hit us from a man-to-man press, zone press, half-court zone-press. I mean it, was a lot to swallow. But I thought our guys were engaged and in tune, but hey, Champagnie, he's a tough competitor. The beauty about their team, they don't run pick-and-rolls with him, so it's hard to double-team him. So he's always got a live dribble in his hand and being able to make plays, which is tough.
Q. Can you talk about what you got out of Tamar Bates especially in the first half…
WOODSON: He was great. He came in, and he's been playing well. Unfortunately he's had some injuries, and we are kind of working him back. I thought tonight was a solid ballgame for him.
Q. What has impressed you most about Tamar from an intangible perspective…
WOODSON: Again, he can score the ball. He can handle it. I've got to get him better defensively where he's not jumping around as much where he can be a little more solid there. But again, he's a freshman and he's got to get his body, get a little more meat on his body. But he's been playing well, man. I like him because he sees the moment. He's not scared of the moment. You need players like that.
Q. On how the bench played tonight…
WOODSON: You look back at the game against Northern Illinois. Our bench was solid. And, you know, we can't play our starters the whole game. I played Trayce and Race a lot of minutes. Didn't go with Mike because they were in and out playing small ball, and I didn't think it would be fair to Mike. But you know, our bench has got to be ready. Our bench is just as important as the guys that start the game. I thought they did that against Northern Illinois, and tonight they came in and did a great job as well.
Q. What changed in the defense in second half…
WOODSON: Man, listen, we knew they were going to make runs. They are a team that the fact that they keep pressing and putting the heat on, you know, they can -- which I thought we handled it the first half, they can always be in a ballgame based on quick shots that an opponent might take or a turnover, missed free throws like we had, it kept them in the game. Didn't hurt that the kid was making shots, too. But at the end of the day, this is a good win for our ballclub.
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS | INDIANA FORWARD & RACE THOMPSON | GUARD
Q. Trayce, wanted to get your thoughts, Tamar and Jordan…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Most definitely, Tamar coming in, hitting big shot after big shot, his confidence is growing and he's going to continue to build on that and Jordan in the second half, coming in, hitting a three right when he comes in and hitting a baseline reverse and a jumper, those are just contributions, that's what Coach Woodson said, next guy up. And then another player you didn't mention, Khristian Lander also coming in with big minutes and playing good minutes and hitting a tough layup. Coach Woodson says when your name is called, you've got to be ready to play and those guys stepped up and we needed them for this win.
Q. Talk about the crowd tonight…
JACKSON-DAVIS: That crowd it was electric, honestly. Big thanks to them. Last year, we lost a lot of games like that and we didn't have that crowd. So having that crowd coming into Assembly Hall rocking like that, we are going to need that in the future because the games are just going to get tougher.
Q. On how this win keeps the momentum going…
THOMPSON: Yeah, gives us confidence. Last year we struggled closing out games and Coach Woodson said it's a new year, and we're not doing that no more. It's our home court and we protect our home court at all costs. We make the plays that need to be made at the end of the games to win the games.
Q. What impressed you about Tamar Bates and Jordan Geronimo…
THOMPSON: I mean, yeah, they bring it every day in practice. So like me and Trayce, we see it every single day. We are not surprised when they step up and they make those plays because they do it every single day. So like Trayce said earlier, it's Next Man Up. You come in, you're ready to play. And they come in and they were ready to play and it showed.
Q. Tell us what you saw on that late bucket…
THOMPSON: I mean, a little bit, yeah, we work on the range shots, tough shots float shots. Khristian Lander has been pushing me to shoot that shot. I do it in practice and I do it just messing around. I work on it, of course, but it's just confidence in myself, and my teammates believe in me and coaches believe in me to make that play, so I definitely have confidence to go and shoot that ball.
Q. Talk about the depth at the guard position…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Most definitely, it's crazy, we have so much depth at the guard position. Xavier Johnson got in foul trouble, so Rob was playing, and so Rob was playing. And Rob got in foul trouble, and Khristian and he stepped in and did his thing; so salute to him. It's only going to help his confidence and help him get better. We really need it and I'm glad that he succeeded in this moment.
Q. What did Tamar Bates' energy bring to the team tonight…
JACKSON-DAVIS: Tamar is a guy that and has an intensity and he's going to keep bringing it. He wants to win so badly. He's a guy that's not afraid to be vocal and we knew that coming in. Even from the first time he stepped on campus, he was super vocal and that's what we need. Because our team is going to need some talk and be -- we're a family; so we can communicate with each other like that.
Q. What was it you guys did that was key to holding St. John's off the whole game?
JACKSON-DAVIS: In the first half we took away a lot of their actions and we were contesting a lot of their shots, and they weren't getting any good looks. And then in the second half, we kind of settled in a little bit and they started getting shots. And when you let a team feel comfortable, they are going to make you pay for it. So Champagnie started getting comfortable and he knocking down some shots, and salute to him. He's a great player.
MIKE ANDERSON | ST. JOHN'S HEAD COACH
Opening Statement
ANDERSON: First off I want to congratulate Coach Woodson and his team. They came out with great energy and the crowd got into it. They kind of punched us in the mouth early on. We were fortunate to get into halftime only 12 down. They were making shots, they were rebounding, they were scoring at will and I thought we played kind of on our heels. We reversed it in the second half and I thought we came out and our intensity picked up on defense, we sped the game up and it gave us a chance. I told our guys we didn't lose that game, we just ran out of time. They made big plays down the stretch, and we weren't able to, even though we had a shot at the end. We didn't get what we wanted, but at the same time we had a chance.
Q. On playing on the road…
ANDERSON: When you are in a game like this, especially on the road, you have to hang around and give yourself a chance. I was proud of our guys. We hung around and gave ourselves a chance. We didn't shoot the ball well and that is one thing you have to do when you are on the road. We got to the line as much as they did. We were in the rebounding war. We turned it over probably as many times as they did. It just came down to a couple plays here and a couple of plays there. I thought the Race kid hit a big shot for them. He hit a big shot for them coming across the lane. We had some possessions were we let some offensive rebounds get by. I thought our guys played with their heats and it was a tale of two halves. The second half I thought was completely different.
Q. On the play of Julian Champagnie…
ANDERSON: His development continues. In his off-season he went through the process of finding out what he needed to work on. He has worked on it, and he is bringing it to the game. I thought this was one of his best games at St. John's. From offensive and defense. He was at the front of the press, the back of the press, rebounding, blocking shots, loose balls, making big shot, making free-throws, he left it on the floor and that is what you expect from your leader. He has a chance to have a tremendous year this year and I think he has the type of team that he can be that leader. He is drawing a lot of attention, but he is not just trying to do it by himself, I think that is the beauty of it.
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