Postgame Quotes: vs. Purdue
1/20/2022 9:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Purdue
Jan. 20, 2022
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. Talk about Rob Phinisee tonight…
WOODSON: I don't normally give inside scoop away, but Rob and I had a beautiful conversation hours before the ball game, and just nice to see how he stepped out and performed. It was beautiful to watch.
Q. Can you reflect back on a game maybe that you played in that ended like this or an Indiana-Purdue game that ended like this…
WOODSON: There were a lot of games back in the day that I played. Ohio State probably stands out as one of the big moments in winning the Big Ten Title, winner takes all. It was an overtime game. Our fans tonight were just unbelievable. Dog gone, they were great. It's a big win for our team. It's been a while since we beat Purdue, and they have a hell of a team. They're well-coached. We battled from the beginning to the end until we got it done.
Q. What did it mean to you to see those kids come on the floor, to get a win against Purdue…
WOODSON: It's all about these guys, these 17 guys that wear the uniform. It's not about me, but any time you can beat Purdue -- and they feel the same about us, and it's been a while since we've beaten them -- it's special. Hell, I didn't dribble one ball or make one shot, man. It was those guys in that locker room that got it done. I couldn't be more proud of a team, boy. They played their hearts out tonight.
Q. What exactly did you think about Phinisee's performance, and why do you think he was that good in this setting against the number four team in the country…
WOODSON: Well, again, I don't know. Basketball Gods were looking down upon us because I thought after our conversation, he responded, man. It's nice to see. When you got a coach/player relationship with these guys, sometimes you've got to have a man-to-man talk, and that's what happened hours before the game, and he responded. It's kind of nice to see.
Q. If I would have told you that Trayce Jackson-Davis would play 11 minutes, score 11 points in this game, what would you have thought your chances would actually be…
WOODSON: It's the first time he has been in foul trouble with me as the coach, and that's kind of a scary thought, but my mentality is, and I think the players feel the same way, it's next man up. I thought Mike stepped up, and it's the most minutes he has played this year, and he gave us some positive minutes. We're going to need that the rest of the way. There are other teams in the Big Ten that are just as big. Maybe not as big, but got big bodies, and that's why we brought Mike on board, and I thought he answered the challenge tonight.
Q. That stretch after Trayce went out in the first half, I thought your defense was about as good as it had been all year. What made it so good? I think you forced ten Purdue turnovers in the first half…
WOODSON: Again, our ability to stay aggressive when we have to. If we can make teams go through our half court defense, that's when we're really at our best where we're not giving a lot of things over the top or giving layups up or quick strikes, as we call them, for threes. If you go through our half court, then we've got a chance of defending a possession, and I thought the first half, man, was as good as we defended. Ohio State was pretty damn good too, but tonight the first half was really, really good.
Q. How proud are you of your bench, and what does it say about your depth moving forward…
WOODSON: I made this statement. Hell, if the bench is rolling, I'm going to ride them until their tongues fall out, and I thought tonight they was doing it in the first half, so I stuck with them as long as I could. Yeah.
Q. Going into the second half, did you consider putting Phinisee into the starting five…
WOODSON: No, I never -- that never entered my mind. Our starters have been pretty good together, and granted, Parker and Miller didn't really sniff that much of it tonight. Their defense was pretty good. I thought Miller played a hell of a defensive game, but the guys that got it going off the bench, you've got to see if they still have it, and I didn't go back with Tamar. I played Geronimo a little bit. I kind of shortened the rotation the second half, and sometimes you've got to do that.
Q. Was that the play call for Phinisee to shoot the ball there in the quarter?
WOODSON: I came out of the one time-out, and he said, hey, give me the ball. Run a play for me, and we ran the play out of the first time-out, and he was wide open on the three that he missed, and I told him if he came around, if you are open, shoot it. The next play we just put in a new underneath out of bounds play today, and it worked. He came off. Trayce was wide open as well, but Gallo decided to throw it to Rob, and Rob let it go and he made it. That was probably the biggest shot of the night.
Q. Purdue had ten turnovers in the first half. Is that something you preached from this whole week, preparing for Purdue…
WOODSON: Again, they're a well-oiled machine. They cut hard. They pass the ball. They've got two big guys that are a major presence inside, and then they've got perimeter guys that can play. Ivey, he is a handful for any team. He got going the second half, but I just thought our defense -- we had a lot of deflections the first half that put us in position to get the ten turnovers, and that's who we are. That's what we've got to do when we're playing. We've got to defend, man, and rebound the ball.
Q. How important was Trey Galloway tonight…
WOODSON: When I took Parker out, we came back with Gallo, and then Gallo slowed him down a little bit, but he still made some tough shots. That guy is pretty damn good, boy.
Q. Talk about the three turnovers…
WOODSON: It's great. I don't have to run. (Laughter). A lot. I've got to run a little bit. I've got some sprints. I think we got nine that I've got to do and added on to the six that we haven't gotten in yet, so I've got 15 of them, man. That's a load, but I'll take them when they don't turn it over. I'm happy to run.
Q. When you took over the job here and first started watching film of Rob, what stood out to you…
WOODSON: The thing when I look at Rob, he is a senior that's been around. He has had his ups and downs, and when I took the job, I sat down with everybody that decided to stay, and I told Rob, hey, what happened in the past is in the past, man. I'm telling you, you can shoot it. You can do your thing, man, and it's okay to be good. It's okay to be great. I told him tonight in the locker room, regardless of what anybody says, I'm always going to be in your corner. That's all he needs right there. When the coach is by your side, you should cherish it and just play not only for Rob, but for the jersey that you wear. He has been great. He has had his ups and downs, but I thought tonight he was on a mission, boy, and it was nice to see.
Q. For all the foul trouble that Trayce had, how impressed were you that last couple of minutes he had two big huge defensive stops and then knocked down the free-throws at the end just to stay in the game…
WOODSON: I was just buying time. Mike was buying us some good positive minutes, and I was just hoping that he didn't pick up his fifth foul. They went inside, and he got a major stop. We rebounded the ball, but he made the winning plays that we needed him to make in those 11 minutes.
Q. Talk about Michael Durr's defense…
WOODSON: I thought he was solid. With Edey and Williams, you can't give those guys angles. You give them angles, then the ball is coming, and you can't catch up to stop them from scoring. You've just got to pretty much make -- and Mike is a big body. I thought he did a good job in battling, trying to keep them in front and making them make plays over the top.
ROB PHINISEE | INDIANA GUARD & XAVIER JOHNSON | INDIANA GUARD
Q. How much of that was just veteran leadership and knowing that that's the way it's got to be, and that was the way that you guys were going to get that done, you two…
JOHNSON: We're a great team overall. We have great talent. Coach recruited great talent to come in, and we had talent that actually stayed too as well. We all just came out and competed, and we got the job done, and I'm at a loss of words right now how happy I am.
Q. Rob, the last couple of games I think you had only had two points in the last two games combined, and you came out and had 17 and really got the offense going in the first half. What changed? It seemed like you were more aggressive and more confident…
PHINISEE: I would say just having faith, faith in myself no matter what happens. I actually had a talk with Coach Woodson before shoot-around today, and he told me just if no one else in your corner that he is in my corner. We had a really good talk before shoot-around, and that just really boosted my spirits. Finally. We finally beat Purdue. That was, what, 0-6? We just needed this win. We needed this win bad.
Q. It's one thing to beat a top five team, but how sweet was it for you to beat a team in your own backyard where you are from…
PHINISEE: Great. Every time I go home, people always talk trash to me. I just finally needed to get one. Yeah, that was huge for us. X had a really big game the second half. Michael Durr, he came in when Trayce went down, and everybody really stepped up, and it was a team effort out there.
Q. Rob, what was that like after the game, the students coming on the court and all that? Just what was that like…
PHINISEE: It was hot. It was hot out there, I'll tell you that. No, just something I won't ever forget. Just these fans, they've supported me through everything, so I just want to say thank you. The crowd tonight was huge. They really boosted us. That moment is a moment I will never forget.
Q. Rob, have you ever felt that way on the basketball court since you've been at I.U., and could you also talk a little bit about what Mike Woodson has done for you in terms of your confidence…
PHINISEE: Honestly, no, not really. In the first half I felt like every time I shot the ball it was going to go in. Coach Woodson, from the jump he knew I struggled last year. He has been saying all the time that he's going to keep believing in me and keep instilling confidence in me. I played my heart out today, played with the heart on my sleeve tonight.
Q. How its feel to have that game and shush the doubters…
JOHNSON: It feels good. Obviously, we see it a lot, but as I said before, only word that matters right now is coaches. It's only one win as well, so we've got plenty more to go.
Q. Rob, talk about what this can do for the rest of the season for you…
PHINISEE: It's huge. It's really huge. They're the fourth ranked team in the country, so it's really a schedule booster at the end of the season. Really we just have to celebrate tonight and then tomorrow we're back at it at practice and got to get ready for Michigan. We've just got to take it one game at a time.
Q. Did you go to I.U.-Purdue games growing up, and are there any memories that stick out to you from there…
PHINISEE: I think I went to one or two back when Purdue -- they were really good. JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel and all them. A lot of my family went to Purdue. My mom never really pushed me to be a Purdue fan or an I.U. fan. I was just a basketball fan when I was a kid. I know the rivalries are super intense, and once I got here, I really actually felt it from just everybody. I know they had a little streak on us, so, yeah.
Q. I just wanted to get your guys' thoughts on Michael Durr and the minutes he gave you tonight, especially against the frontline…
JOHNSON: Before the game I told Mike, actually, it's going to be your day, and you know how Trayce was actually feeling, so Mike was actually going to be ready to play. Coach told him that he was going to go to him and be ready. For a player not to play as much as he has been in the past and to come out here and compete with those guys in the top five team in the nation, it shows a lot.
Q. Rob talk about Michael Durr…
PHINISEE: I'll answer. Big Mike, just his spirit in practice really. He came from a program where he played 20, 30 minutes a game and then he hasn't really been playing that much. We have Trayce Jackson-Davis. Him just staying ready, coming in and guarding and just his spark. The little mid-range he hit was huge, and just his energy and leadership he brings to the table is really big for us.
Q. What was it like at the conclusion of the game…
PHINISEE: I was trying to make my way through the crowd to my teammates, and then once we got all in a circle, I think it was X actually who started it. X tried to pick me up and Trayce picked me up, and all the teammates picked me up. Just a surreal experience I won't forget. I just love my teammates, and I love Indiana University.
MATT PAINTER | PURDUE HEAD COACH
Q: How did the first half turnovers hurt you guys tonight…
PAINTER: We have an Achilles heel for our team this year, we get into stretches where we get up 8-10 points. Then we go away from what we did to get there. They had a lot to do with that, the environment had a lot to do with that. We started to foul Unnecessary. Just being able to handle their pressure, give them credit they did a good job. They are a good defensive team, they took us out of being able to run our stuff. Then we started getting good shots and missed them. We were still in the game, I thought we played well in the second half, but we have to make our free-throws. If you go 7-17 from the line you are definitely going to look back on that.
Q: Talk about the productivity of their point guards…
PAINTER: It is really Rob Phinisee: he made shots, didn't turn the ball, got steals. He had 17 in the first half. Without Trayce Jackson-Davis he was the spark for them. They were also getting in transition and right to the rim. Our backline defense was non-existent, so we are challenging at the rim when we should be stopping the basketball. But Phinisee got hot and give those guys credit, they played well.
Q: What did you think of the shot at the end of the game…
PAINTER: Yeah, they just ran a simple play, and probably had a better shot on the one he missed. They run a single-single and lose one of our guys but were actually there, but he rises up and takes that shot. Big time shot, give him credit
Indiana vs. Purdue
Jan. 20, 2022
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. Talk about Rob Phinisee tonight…
WOODSON: I don't normally give inside scoop away, but Rob and I had a beautiful conversation hours before the ball game, and just nice to see how he stepped out and performed. It was beautiful to watch.
Q. Can you reflect back on a game maybe that you played in that ended like this or an Indiana-Purdue game that ended like this…
WOODSON: There were a lot of games back in the day that I played. Ohio State probably stands out as one of the big moments in winning the Big Ten Title, winner takes all. It was an overtime game. Our fans tonight were just unbelievable. Dog gone, they were great. It's a big win for our team. It's been a while since we beat Purdue, and they have a hell of a team. They're well-coached. We battled from the beginning to the end until we got it done.
Q. What did it mean to you to see those kids come on the floor, to get a win against Purdue…
WOODSON: It's all about these guys, these 17 guys that wear the uniform. It's not about me, but any time you can beat Purdue -- and they feel the same about us, and it's been a while since we've beaten them -- it's special. Hell, I didn't dribble one ball or make one shot, man. It was those guys in that locker room that got it done. I couldn't be more proud of a team, boy. They played their hearts out tonight.
Q. What exactly did you think about Phinisee's performance, and why do you think he was that good in this setting against the number four team in the country…
WOODSON: Well, again, I don't know. Basketball Gods were looking down upon us because I thought after our conversation, he responded, man. It's nice to see. When you got a coach/player relationship with these guys, sometimes you've got to have a man-to-man talk, and that's what happened hours before the game, and he responded. It's kind of nice to see.
Q. If I would have told you that Trayce Jackson-Davis would play 11 minutes, score 11 points in this game, what would you have thought your chances would actually be…
WOODSON: It's the first time he has been in foul trouble with me as the coach, and that's kind of a scary thought, but my mentality is, and I think the players feel the same way, it's next man up. I thought Mike stepped up, and it's the most minutes he has played this year, and he gave us some positive minutes. We're going to need that the rest of the way. There are other teams in the Big Ten that are just as big. Maybe not as big, but got big bodies, and that's why we brought Mike on board, and I thought he answered the challenge tonight.
Q. That stretch after Trayce went out in the first half, I thought your defense was about as good as it had been all year. What made it so good? I think you forced ten Purdue turnovers in the first half…
WOODSON: Again, our ability to stay aggressive when we have to. If we can make teams go through our half court defense, that's when we're really at our best where we're not giving a lot of things over the top or giving layups up or quick strikes, as we call them, for threes. If you go through our half court, then we've got a chance of defending a possession, and I thought the first half, man, was as good as we defended. Ohio State was pretty damn good too, but tonight the first half was really, really good.
Q. How proud are you of your bench, and what does it say about your depth moving forward…
WOODSON: I made this statement. Hell, if the bench is rolling, I'm going to ride them until their tongues fall out, and I thought tonight they was doing it in the first half, so I stuck with them as long as I could. Yeah.
Q. Going into the second half, did you consider putting Phinisee into the starting five…
WOODSON: No, I never -- that never entered my mind. Our starters have been pretty good together, and granted, Parker and Miller didn't really sniff that much of it tonight. Their defense was pretty good. I thought Miller played a hell of a defensive game, but the guys that got it going off the bench, you've got to see if they still have it, and I didn't go back with Tamar. I played Geronimo a little bit. I kind of shortened the rotation the second half, and sometimes you've got to do that.
Q. Was that the play call for Phinisee to shoot the ball there in the quarter?
WOODSON: I came out of the one time-out, and he said, hey, give me the ball. Run a play for me, and we ran the play out of the first time-out, and he was wide open on the three that he missed, and I told him if he came around, if you are open, shoot it. The next play we just put in a new underneath out of bounds play today, and it worked. He came off. Trayce was wide open as well, but Gallo decided to throw it to Rob, and Rob let it go and he made it. That was probably the biggest shot of the night.
Q. Purdue had ten turnovers in the first half. Is that something you preached from this whole week, preparing for Purdue…
WOODSON: Again, they're a well-oiled machine. They cut hard. They pass the ball. They've got two big guys that are a major presence inside, and then they've got perimeter guys that can play. Ivey, he is a handful for any team. He got going the second half, but I just thought our defense -- we had a lot of deflections the first half that put us in position to get the ten turnovers, and that's who we are. That's what we've got to do when we're playing. We've got to defend, man, and rebound the ball.
Q. How important was Trey Galloway tonight…
WOODSON: When I took Parker out, we came back with Gallo, and then Gallo slowed him down a little bit, but he still made some tough shots. That guy is pretty damn good, boy.
Q. Talk about the three turnovers…
WOODSON: It's great. I don't have to run. (Laughter). A lot. I've got to run a little bit. I've got some sprints. I think we got nine that I've got to do and added on to the six that we haven't gotten in yet, so I've got 15 of them, man. That's a load, but I'll take them when they don't turn it over. I'm happy to run.
Q. When you took over the job here and first started watching film of Rob, what stood out to you…
WOODSON: The thing when I look at Rob, he is a senior that's been around. He has had his ups and downs, and when I took the job, I sat down with everybody that decided to stay, and I told Rob, hey, what happened in the past is in the past, man. I'm telling you, you can shoot it. You can do your thing, man, and it's okay to be good. It's okay to be great. I told him tonight in the locker room, regardless of what anybody says, I'm always going to be in your corner. That's all he needs right there. When the coach is by your side, you should cherish it and just play not only for Rob, but for the jersey that you wear. He has been great. He has had his ups and downs, but I thought tonight he was on a mission, boy, and it was nice to see.
Q. For all the foul trouble that Trayce had, how impressed were you that last couple of minutes he had two big huge defensive stops and then knocked down the free-throws at the end just to stay in the game…
WOODSON: I was just buying time. Mike was buying us some good positive minutes, and I was just hoping that he didn't pick up his fifth foul. They went inside, and he got a major stop. We rebounded the ball, but he made the winning plays that we needed him to make in those 11 minutes.
Q. Talk about Michael Durr's defense…
WOODSON: I thought he was solid. With Edey and Williams, you can't give those guys angles. You give them angles, then the ball is coming, and you can't catch up to stop them from scoring. You've just got to pretty much make -- and Mike is a big body. I thought he did a good job in battling, trying to keep them in front and making them make plays over the top.
ROB PHINISEE | INDIANA GUARD & XAVIER JOHNSON | INDIANA GUARD
Q. How much of that was just veteran leadership and knowing that that's the way it's got to be, and that was the way that you guys were going to get that done, you two…
JOHNSON: We're a great team overall. We have great talent. Coach recruited great talent to come in, and we had talent that actually stayed too as well. We all just came out and competed, and we got the job done, and I'm at a loss of words right now how happy I am.
Q. Rob, the last couple of games I think you had only had two points in the last two games combined, and you came out and had 17 and really got the offense going in the first half. What changed? It seemed like you were more aggressive and more confident…
PHINISEE: I would say just having faith, faith in myself no matter what happens. I actually had a talk with Coach Woodson before shoot-around today, and he told me just if no one else in your corner that he is in my corner. We had a really good talk before shoot-around, and that just really boosted my spirits. Finally. We finally beat Purdue. That was, what, 0-6? We just needed this win. We needed this win bad.
Q. It's one thing to beat a top five team, but how sweet was it for you to beat a team in your own backyard where you are from…
PHINISEE: Great. Every time I go home, people always talk trash to me. I just finally needed to get one. Yeah, that was huge for us. X had a really big game the second half. Michael Durr, he came in when Trayce went down, and everybody really stepped up, and it was a team effort out there.
Q. Rob, what was that like after the game, the students coming on the court and all that? Just what was that like…
PHINISEE: It was hot. It was hot out there, I'll tell you that. No, just something I won't ever forget. Just these fans, they've supported me through everything, so I just want to say thank you. The crowd tonight was huge. They really boosted us. That moment is a moment I will never forget.
Q. Rob, have you ever felt that way on the basketball court since you've been at I.U., and could you also talk a little bit about what Mike Woodson has done for you in terms of your confidence…
PHINISEE: Honestly, no, not really. In the first half I felt like every time I shot the ball it was going to go in. Coach Woodson, from the jump he knew I struggled last year. He has been saying all the time that he's going to keep believing in me and keep instilling confidence in me. I played my heart out today, played with the heart on my sleeve tonight.
Q. How its feel to have that game and shush the doubters…
JOHNSON: It feels good. Obviously, we see it a lot, but as I said before, only word that matters right now is coaches. It's only one win as well, so we've got plenty more to go.
Q. Rob, talk about what this can do for the rest of the season for you…
PHINISEE: It's huge. It's really huge. They're the fourth ranked team in the country, so it's really a schedule booster at the end of the season. Really we just have to celebrate tonight and then tomorrow we're back at it at practice and got to get ready for Michigan. We've just got to take it one game at a time.
Q. Did you go to I.U.-Purdue games growing up, and are there any memories that stick out to you from there…
PHINISEE: I think I went to one or two back when Purdue -- they were really good. JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel and all them. A lot of my family went to Purdue. My mom never really pushed me to be a Purdue fan or an I.U. fan. I was just a basketball fan when I was a kid. I know the rivalries are super intense, and once I got here, I really actually felt it from just everybody. I know they had a little streak on us, so, yeah.
Q. I just wanted to get your guys' thoughts on Michael Durr and the minutes he gave you tonight, especially against the frontline…
JOHNSON: Before the game I told Mike, actually, it's going to be your day, and you know how Trayce was actually feeling, so Mike was actually going to be ready to play. Coach told him that he was going to go to him and be ready. For a player not to play as much as he has been in the past and to come out here and compete with those guys in the top five team in the nation, it shows a lot.
Q. Rob talk about Michael Durr…
PHINISEE: I'll answer. Big Mike, just his spirit in practice really. He came from a program where he played 20, 30 minutes a game and then he hasn't really been playing that much. We have Trayce Jackson-Davis. Him just staying ready, coming in and guarding and just his spark. The little mid-range he hit was huge, and just his energy and leadership he brings to the table is really big for us.
Q. What was it like at the conclusion of the game…
PHINISEE: I was trying to make my way through the crowd to my teammates, and then once we got all in a circle, I think it was X actually who started it. X tried to pick me up and Trayce picked me up, and all the teammates picked me up. Just a surreal experience I won't forget. I just love my teammates, and I love Indiana University.
MATT PAINTER | PURDUE HEAD COACH
Q: How did the first half turnovers hurt you guys tonight…
PAINTER: We have an Achilles heel for our team this year, we get into stretches where we get up 8-10 points. Then we go away from what we did to get there. They had a lot to do with that, the environment had a lot to do with that. We started to foul Unnecessary. Just being able to handle their pressure, give them credit they did a good job. They are a good defensive team, they took us out of being able to run our stuff. Then we started getting good shots and missed them. We were still in the game, I thought we played well in the second half, but we have to make our free-throws. If you go 7-17 from the line you are definitely going to look back on that.
Q: Talk about the productivity of their point guards…
PAINTER: It is really Rob Phinisee: he made shots, didn't turn the ball, got steals. He had 17 in the first half. Without Trayce Jackson-Davis he was the spark for them. They were also getting in transition and right to the rim. Our backline defense was non-existent, so we are challenging at the rim when we should be stopping the basketball. But Phinisee got hot and give those guys credit, they played well.
Q: What did you think of the shot at the end of the game…
PAINTER: Yeah, they just ran a simple play, and probably had a better shot on the one he missed. They run a single-single and lose one of our guys but were actually there, but he rises up and takes that shot. Big time shot, give him credit
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