Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: vs. Merrimack
12/12/2021 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Merrimack
Dec. 12, 2021
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Mike Woodson Opening Statement
WOODSON: Again, we're learning how to win. When you start trying to build a team and you put different pieces in place, you don't know how long it's going to take. And even though we've lost two games, those two games were winnable games.
But we still -- we're still a work in progress. We're still learning each other as players, me being the coach and the staff that I have around me. We just got to continue to work. That's all I can tell you.
I think I've seen some good play from our ball club, I've seen some bad play. Again, that's a part of it. And each practice we just got to keep improving. I mean, that's the name of the game when you're talking about building a team.
Q. On the play of Jordan Geronimo…
WOODSON: Well, he played extremely well for us tonight, and he has improved from his play a year ago. I can't help but think if he continues to work, he's going to continue to improve. That's how you get better as a young player. And it's my job to push him and try to steer him in the right direction.
Q. On the play of Xavier Johnson…
WOODSON: I thought he played well today. I thought everybody pretty much played well. We had 17 turnovers tonight against zone play. And we had 25 to 26 turnovers against zone play in Syracuse. Those are things that we've got to clean up and figure out because those are opportunities to score the basketball that we don't give ourselves a chance.
So that's something that I got to stay on them and try to fix because you play offense, the thing about offense, you got to get shots and have fun about getting shots, so not give it back to your opponent.
Q. On what sparks a performance like Geronimo's today...
WOODSON: I look at Jordan, he's very athletic, and we think he's a decent defender, and we know he can rebound and traffic and block shots and things of that nature.
But we're just trying to get him to do other things as well. Be patient in terms of how to score the basketball. And when you do have it, feel good about shooting the ball when it's time to shoot it. I thought he took one shot that was just not Jordan. And I let him know that. I want him taking shots -- I'm not telling him not to shoot the ball, but I want him taking good shots. That's how you learn as a player.
Q. On the schedule…
WOODSON: The schedule is what it is. I came in here blindly as a head coach, thanks to my AD, and the schedule was pretty much set. So, hey, the schedule is what it is. You can think it's an easy schedule, hard schedule, whatever, but the schedule is what it is. We've got to play it. I can't run from it.
So, hey, tonight, the team tonight was I think a good team. I go into every game thinking that, hey, we've got to play hard for 40 minutes to win the game. There's no gimmes. I don't look at it like that. Hey, Notre Dame's next.
Q. On taking advantage of the mismatch in rebounding…
WOODSON: Well, we were a bigger team versus this team. So I like to think that we should outrebound this team. I mean, we played all our bigs, and we were pounding the ball inside, trying to get it inside to take advantage of our length and height. And it worked out in their favor, and some of the shots we did miss, we were able to go back and get them and put them back in.
I expected that out of our team tonight because were a much bigger team than our opponent tonight.
Q. On how they were able to get Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson the ball…
WOODSON: With their zone, the holes were there tonight in the zone. So if we got the ball in to them, they were basically one-on-one with their defenders. So I just kept telling them, hey, why kick it out, just go try to score the basketball. And they did that. They made plays at the rim.
And we got to continue that. If a team is going to play us zone and give us an opportunity to catch it within the zone, then we've got to take advantage of it.
Q. On how Khristian Lander fits in the rotation…
WOODSON: He played seven minutes tonight. I thought he fit in just fine. I mean, we won the ball game. I mean, it's -- this is not about Khristian, it's not about Rob or Xavier, it's about every individual that wears that uniform.
And my thing is whatever minutes you get, you better cherish them and make them the most important minutes to help us win ball games. That's what it's all about when you're talking about building a team.
RACE THOMPSON | INDIANA FORWARD & JORDAN GERONIMO | INDIANA FORWARD
Q. On the key to today's performance…
GERONIMO: Really keep the right mindset. My teammates always just telling me keep playing strong, play with a lot of energy, because that's my game. Just keep reminding me to play strong. And with all of that, I just kept going. Just didn't stop.
Q. On working on getting offensive rebounds…
GERONIMO: Not really. It's just the mindset really. The ball is up, I'm going to try to get it, regardless of the situation.
Q. On adjusting to the zone defense…
THOMPSON: I think we've seen a lot of zone, like recently. We saw the Syracuse, the game after, and we seen it today. I think we're getting better. We work on it every single day in practice. The more we see it, the more we work on it, the better we get. And I think it's showing.
Q. On using his leaping ability and athleticism to grab rebounds…
GERONIMO: It's really important to me because rebounding is one of those things that it's necessary to win games. If we run the ball, you get extra possessions, and extra possessions means more points.
I feel like all these little things matter. So rebounding is something that I'm gifted in, and God gave me this body to get rebounds. You know what I mean? So, I'm going to use it.
Q. On how this game helped them regroup and refocus…
THOMPSON: It definitely helps to have a bounce-back game. Wednesday was a tough loss, and we had time to reflect on it and find ways to get better.
So, I mean, games like today, just a little confidence boost, make you feel a little better coming to practice for six days before we play Notre Dame. Just feeling better about ourselves. I think it helps a lot.
Q. On their ability to attack the middle of the zone…
THOMPSON: I would say about the second possession. I think I caught it one time, and I faced up, and it felt like it was one-on-one, and they were glued to Parker and Miller and X on the wings.
After that we realized that. We talked about it the first TV timeout. From then on, they just said go play. You feel a double team, the guards will holler at you, and you'll know where to throw it out.
Q. On taking advantage of rebounding…
THOMPSON: That's a really good number. I think when you play 2-3 zone, I think it's really hard to rebound out of it. So, I had a couple offensive rebounds, Jordan had some, I think Michael Durr had a couple offensive rebounds, Trayce probably had some, Logan even had one.
I mean, when you're in a 2-3 zone, it's hard to match up and rebound. We talked about it from the get-go. I told Durr, I said can offensively rebound out of the 2-3 zone, bro, and then you just push to the basket, get the rebound. I think we hit them in size a little bit too.
In a 2-3 zone, it's hard to rebound out of it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Indiana vs. Merrimack
Dec. 12, 2021
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Mike Woodson Opening Statement
WOODSON: Again, we're learning how to win. When you start trying to build a team and you put different pieces in place, you don't know how long it's going to take. And even though we've lost two games, those two games were winnable games.
But we still -- we're still a work in progress. We're still learning each other as players, me being the coach and the staff that I have around me. We just got to continue to work. That's all I can tell you.
I think I've seen some good play from our ball club, I've seen some bad play. Again, that's a part of it. And each practice we just got to keep improving. I mean, that's the name of the game when you're talking about building a team.
Q. On the play of Jordan Geronimo…
WOODSON: Well, he played extremely well for us tonight, and he has improved from his play a year ago. I can't help but think if he continues to work, he's going to continue to improve. That's how you get better as a young player. And it's my job to push him and try to steer him in the right direction.
Q. On the play of Xavier Johnson…
WOODSON: I thought he played well today. I thought everybody pretty much played well. We had 17 turnovers tonight against zone play. And we had 25 to 26 turnovers against zone play in Syracuse. Those are things that we've got to clean up and figure out because those are opportunities to score the basketball that we don't give ourselves a chance.
So that's something that I got to stay on them and try to fix because you play offense, the thing about offense, you got to get shots and have fun about getting shots, so not give it back to your opponent.
Q. On what sparks a performance like Geronimo's today...
WOODSON: I look at Jordan, he's very athletic, and we think he's a decent defender, and we know he can rebound and traffic and block shots and things of that nature.
But we're just trying to get him to do other things as well. Be patient in terms of how to score the basketball. And when you do have it, feel good about shooting the ball when it's time to shoot it. I thought he took one shot that was just not Jordan. And I let him know that. I want him taking shots -- I'm not telling him not to shoot the ball, but I want him taking good shots. That's how you learn as a player.
Q. On the schedule…
WOODSON: The schedule is what it is. I came in here blindly as a head coach, thanks to my AD, and the schedule was pretty much set. So, hey, the schedule is what it is. You can think it's an easy schedule, hard schedule, whatever, but the schedule is what it is. We've got to play it. I can't run from it.
So, hey, tonight, the team tonight was I think a good team. I go into every game thinking that, hey, we've got to play hard for 40 minutes to win the game. There's no gimmes. I don't look at it like that. Hey, Notre Dame's next.
Q. On taking advantage of the mismatch in rebounding…
WOODSON: Well, we were a bigger team versus this team. So I like to think that we should outrebound this team. I mean, we played all our bigs, and we were pounding the ball inside, trying to get it inside to take advantage of our length and height. And it worked out in their favor, and some of the shots we did miss, we were able to go back and get them and put them back in.
I expected that out of our team tonight because were a much bigger team than our opponent tonight.
Q. On how they were able to get Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson the ball…
WOODSON: With their zone, the holes were there tonight in the zone. So if we got the ball in to them, they were basically one-on-one with their defenders. So I just kept telling them, hey, why kick it out, just go try to score the basketball. And they did that. They made plays at the rim.
And we got to continue that. If a team is going to play us zone and give us an opportunity to catch it within the zone, then we've got to take advantage of it.
Q. On how Khristian Lander fits in the rotation…
WOODSON: He played seven minutes tonight. I thought he fit in just fine. I mean, we won the ball game. I mean, it's -- this is not about Khristian, it's not about Rob or Xavier, it's about every individual that wears that uniform.
And my thing is whatever minutes you get, you better cherish them and make them the most important minutes to help us win ball games. That's what it's all about when you're talking about building a team.
RACE THOMPSON | INDIANA FORWARD & JORDAN GERONIMO | INDIANA FORWARD
Q. On the key to today's performance…
GERONIMO: Really keep the right mindset. My teammates always just telling me keep playing strong, play with a lot of energy, because that's my game. Just keep reminding me to play strong. And with all of that, I just kept going. Just didn't stop.
Q. On working on getting offensive rebounds…
GERONIMO: Not really. It's just the mindset really. The ball is up, I'm going to try to get it, regardless of the situation.
Q. On adjusting to the zone defense…
THOMPSON: I think we've seen a lot of zone, like recently. We saw the Syracuse, the game after, and we seen it today. I think we're getting better. We work on it every single day in practice. The more we see it, the more we work on it, the better we get. And I think it's showing.
Q. On using his leaping ability and athleticism to grab rebounds…
GERONIMO: It's really important to me because rebounding is one of those things that it's necessary to win games. If we run the ball, you get extra possessions, and extra possessions means more points.
I feel like all these little things matter. So rebounding is something that I'm gifted in, and God gave me this body to get rebounds. You know what I mean? So, I'm going to use it.
Q. On how this game helped them regroup and refocus…
THOMPSON: It definitely helps to have a bounce-back game. Wednesday was a tough loss, and we had time to reflect on it and find ways to get better.
So, I mean, games like today, just a little confidence boost, make you feel a little better coming to practice for six days before we play Notre Dame. Just feeling better about ourselves. I think it helps a lot.
Q. On their ability to attack the middle of the zone…
THOMPSON: I would say about the second possession. I think I caught it one time, and I faced up, and it felt like it was one-on-one, and they were glued to Parker and Miller and X on the wings.
After that we realized that. We talked about it the first TV timeout. From then on, they just said go play. You feel a double team, the guards will holler at you, and you'll know where to throw it out.
Q. On taking advantage of rebounding…
THOMPSON: That's a really good number. I think when you play 2-3 zone, I think it's really hard to rebound out of it. So, I had a couple offensive rebounds, Jordan had some, I think Michael Durr had a couple offensive rebounds, Trayce probably had some, Logan even had one.
I mean, when you're in a 2-3 zone, it's hard to match up and rebound. We talked about it from the get-go. I told Durr, I said can offensively rebound out of the 2-3 zone, bro, and then you just push to the basket, get the rebound. I think we hit them in size a little bit too.
In a 2-3 zone, it's hard to rebound out of it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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