Postgame Quotes vs. Jackson State
11/25/2022 3:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Jackson State
Nov. 25, 2022
MIKE WOODSON | HEAD COACH
Q. On Tamar Bates career-high…
WOODSON: Well, he finally had a break-out game. I'm not surprised or shocked. You know, I mean, when we started this journey with this team five months ago, he was probably one of our best players playing.
You know, tonight he kind of put it all together. Boy, made shots. I thought he defended well, and he just did a lot of good things in the short minutes that he played, the 22, 23 minutes that he played.
Q. On the togetherness from the bench…
WOODSON: Well, they've shown that they can play well together. In the game against Xavier, we didn't play the bench a whole lot of minutes based on, you know, the team and how the game was going.
We kind of shorted -- I shorted the rotation a little bit. Games like this you can open it up and play a lot of guys, and it gives you an opportunity to read players and see what they can do on both ends of the floor.
When we've had games like this, our bench has been phenomenal in terms of being able to do the things that we've taught them and follow the game plan. So for me from a coaching standpoint I'm not afraid to play anybody off our bench. I mean, I've felt good about that all season. I felt good about it this summer.
You know, we have a better team than we had last year, but we still have got to prove it on the basketball floor and during the games.
Q. On Tamar Bates summer and comfort level…
WOODSON: That has a lot to do with it. He went through some -- I wouldn't call it truly personal issues. He had a baby last year, and that's a big responsibility for a young kid at his age. I thought this summer, you know, he accepted what he was going through, which he had no choice, and he started to grow up.
And these five months that we've been together after coming back, you know, he has shown some signs of maturity. We're going to need that from him because he can make shots, and he can do things from an offensive standpoint that I want him to do.
Q. On the team's defense moving forward…
WOODSON: Only time will tell, man. Xavier was the only really big team that we've faced so far. So North Carolina is a big team, and they've got wonderful perimeter players. They're well-coached. So only time will tell, man. Come Wednesday we'll see where we are.
Q. On the upcoming game against North Carolina…
WOODSON: Who said they underperformed? What's their record? They haven't lost a game, so I don't call that underperforming. They're doing what they're supposed to do.
You've got two teams that will probably be undefeated come Wednesday. Something's got to give. Only time will tell.
Q. On Trayce Jackson-Davis…
WOODSON: Well, he didn't play a lot of minutes today. We'll go back and assess where he is. You know, he has these next few days to get ready for Wednesday's game.
So like I told him when I broke huddle, you guys that are a little beat up, you've got to get in and get treatment and get yourselves ready for Wednesday because that's our next game.
Q. On the team's conversation at halftime…
WOODSON: I didn't think we finished the first half really well. The last two, three minutes I thought they had their way. And, again, you're not going to just shut teams out. They made some tough shots, but it was a lot of miscues in that last two to three minutes when I went back to the bench and brought Race and Trayce back in and Miller. We just didn't close it like I would have liked to have seen it.
But I thought coming out to start the second half hour, which we had been flat. I thought Little Rock we came out very flat in the second half, and they scored the first couple buckets against us. But tonight we came out clicking in the second half and did all the things we needed to do to stretch our lead and secure the win.
Q. On Xavier Johnson's offensive contribution…
WOODSON: Well, again, the first couple games I didn't know where X was. I thought the Xavier game he was become to old X again. He's been playing well now since the Xavier game.
I mean, I thought he had a wonderful floor game against Little Rock and then tonight he made shots and he ran our offense and got the ball where it needed to go and defended.
So I can't ask for much more than that than what he has done. So he just has to keep it going. We need him as a senior to run our team and get us where we need to go.
TAMAR BATES | GUARD
Q. On what it means to you having new career-highs with your daughter here today…
BATES: I mean, it's all the glory to God. I'm just grateful that my family can be here. This was her first two games, so I was just glad that they could be in the building and actually make the trip. I see she's excited too. She's trying to play with the microphone.
But, no, it means a lot just in my family who was here with me because last year was the first time I ever missed Thanksgiving, so the fact we were able to spend it together was special.
Q. On adding new layers to the offensive during the offseason…
BATES: I would more so just say we kind of understand the offense more now because when we first put it in last year, it was kind of just us trying to figure it out like during the season.
But the fact that we went through last season and we had a whole offseason of just executing Coach's offense and what he likes for us to do, we kind of just were able to flow in everything and just execute at a higher level.
Q. On the balance of Division I basketball and being a dad…
BATES: I mean, I've got an army behind me. My family does a great job when she's back home with them. So it really just takes a lot of stress off of me.
But it's really just like for us it was a situation that was unexpected, so we really just tried to find our sound. Kind of like a trombone player when they take it out the case and they're trying to slide it and they find that right sound. We just found that right sound, and we're just playing music now.
Q. On the second unit off the bench…
BATES: We kind of just understand that we're just as important as the first five or whoever is on the floor, but we just come in with the mentality of executing whatever the game calls for. We weren't getting too many stops, so we knew we needed to heat up the defensive end so we could turn that into offense.
We really just understand that the whole team is as strong as the bench, so us being on the scout and guys having to really worry about who comes in down to the ninth man, we just know that that just makes us even scarier.
XAVIER JOHNSON | GUARD
Q. On Tamar Bates…
JOHNSON: When he first came in, he would talk, but he would talk trash, but now this summer he had a different attitude. He grew up a lot. He matured.
He came in, told guys, like -- there was a video that came out -- we're going to be the hunted, so we've got to come out and still be the hunter still and be ready to play, be humble to play.
Q. On the difference in your performance the last couple of games…
JOHNSON: I would say I was still here if I told him (laughing). But I was just trying to feel out my teammates.
First couple of games we didn't have Trayce. I think the second game he came back. I was playing with Fino a lot, and it's different playing with two point guards on the floor. I had to figure out myself and figure out my role.
That is the type of player I am. I'm a pretty good teammate when it comes to team chemistry. So I just had to feel out my teammates. And other than that, I'm going out there and just keep it going and stay locked in with my teammates and keep my teammates rolling too.
Q. On adjustments from the team before North Carolina…
JOHNSON: I mean, we've got two -- they have a big dinosaur coming down in Armando. We have two or three big dinosaurs as well that are ready to compete at a high level, and I think they're ready to play.
You know, you have a couple of guys banged up, but as Coach says, we have to be ready to play. We have to get our treatment for the next couple of days that we have off. We have to take care of our bodies and be mentally sharp, and I think that we're ready to play, honestly.
MO WILLIAMS | JACKSON STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
WILLIAMS: It was a good game. We were playing against a good team. Obviously, the outcome is not what we wanted, but we knew they were pretty good. They are not 40 points better than us in our eyes, but this afternoon showed different. You've got to give your hats to them. They are well coached. They have got a lot of talent, and they're long and athletic. On tape, it seems like everyone has bought into a role and that's the definition of a top-ten-team. I know the signs of a top-ten-team, and I just played against one.
Q. On playing zone defense against Indiana…
WILLIAMS: Just watching them on tape, they really execute their offense and the give teams problems. They are hard to guard. I just wanted to keep them off balance early to give ourselves a shot.
Q. On the difficulties to play in transition…
WILLIAMS: When they took the lead and went up 15, 16 that was because of our turnovers or quick shots, playing fast. Against a team on the road like that we like to run, but we really wanted to make sure we got good shots and kept them out of transition. When we did try to run, and we didn't convert, and/or turn the ball over. It just turned into fast break points for them. They had 15 fast break points in the first 10 minutes of the game. You look up and it's 33-15 and it was 15-18 before that run happened. That's just them getting out in transition, letting their defense turn into their offense. We wanted to keep them out of that. We wanted to keep them out of running their man-to-man offense. We did a good job of it early on, and they just got going. That's what good teams do. They adjusted and turned up the defense and turned us over, which we don't turn the ball over a lot. But we had 12 turnovers in the first half which hurt us.
Indiana vs. Jackson State
Nov. 25, 2022
MIKE WOODSON | HEAD COACH
Q. On Tamar Bates career-high…
WOODSON: Well, he finally had a break-out game. I'm not surprised or shocked. You know, I mean, when we started this journey with this team five months ago, he was probably one of our best players playing.
You know, tonight he kind of put it all together. Boy, made shots. I thought he defended well, and he just did a lot of good things in the short minutes that he played, the 22, 23 minutes that he played.
Q. On the togetherness from the bench…
WOODSON: Well, they've shown that they can play well together. In the game against Xavier, we didn't play the bench a whole lot of minutes based on, you know, the team and how the game was going.
We kind of shorted -- I shorted the rotation a little bit. Games like this you can open it up and play a lot of guys, and it gives you an opportunity to read players and see what they can do on both ends of the floor.
When we've had games like this, our bench has been phenomenal in terms of being able to do the things that we've taught them and follow the game plan. So for me from a coaching standpoint I'm not afraid to play anybody off our bench. I mean, I've felt good about that all season. I felt good about it this summer.
You know, we have a better team than we had last year, but we still have got to prove it on the basketball floor and during the games.
Q. On Tamar Bates summer and comfort level…
WOODSON: That has a lot to do with it. He went through some -- I wouldn't call it truly personal issues. He had a baby last year, and that's a big responsibility for a young kid at his age. I thought this summer, you know, he accepted what he was going through, which he had no choice, and he started to grow up.
And these five months that we've been together after coming back, you know, he has shown some signs of maturity. We're going to need that from him because he can make shots, and he can do things from an offensive standpoint that I want him to do.
Q. On the team's defense moving forward…
WOODSON: Only time will tell, man. Xavier was the only really big team that we've faced so far. So North Carolina is a big team, and they've got wonderful perimeter players. They're well-coached. So only time will tell, man. Come Wednesday we'll see where we are.
Q. On the upcoming game against North Carolina…
WOODSON: Who said they underperformed? What's their record? They haven't lost a game, so I don't call that underperforming. They're doing what they're supposed to do.
You've got two teams that will probably be undefeated come Wednesday. Something's got to give. Only time will tell.
Q. On Trayce Jackson-Davis…
WOODSON: Well, he didn't play a lot of minutes today. We'll go back and assess where he is. You know, he has these next few days to get ready for Wednesday's game.
So like I told him when I broke huddle, you guys that are a little beat up, you've got to get in and get treatment and get yourselves ready for Wednesday because that's our next game.
Q. On the team's conversation at halftime…
WOODSON: I didn't think we finished the first half really well. The last two, three minutes I thought they had their way. And, again, you're not going to just shut teams out. They made some tough shots, but it was a lot of miscues in that last two to three minutes when I went back to the bench and brought Race and Trayce back in and Miller. We just didn't close it like I would have liked to have seen it.
But I thought coming out to start the second half hour, which we had been flat. I thought Little Rock we came out very flat in the second half, and they scored the first couple buckets against us. But tonight we came out clicking in the second half and did all the things we needed to do to stretch our lead and secure the win.
Q. On Xavier Johnson's offensive contribution…
WOODSON: Well, again, the first couple games I didn't know where X was. I thought the Xavier game he was become to old X again. He's been playing well now since the Xavier game.
I mean, I thought he had a wonderful floor game against Little Rock and then tonight he made shots and he ran our offense and got the ball where it needed to go and defended.
So I can't ask for much more than that than what he has done. So he just has to keep it going. We need him as a senior to run our team and get us where we need to go.
TAMAR BATES | GUARD
Q. On what it means to you having new career-highs with your daughter here today…
BATES: I mean, it's all the glory to God. I'm just grateful that my family can be here. This was her first two games, so I was just glad that they could be in the building and actually make the trip. I see she's excited too. She's trying to play with the microphone.
But, no, it means a lot just in my family who was here with me because last year was the first time I ever missed Thanksgiving, so the fact we were able to spend it together was special.
Q. On adding new layers to the offensive during the offseason…
BATES: I would more so just say we kind of understand the offense more now because when we first put it in last year, it was kind of just us trying to figure it out like during the season.
But the fact that we went through last season and we had a whole offseason of just executing Coach's offense and what he likes for us to do, we kind of just were able to flow in everything and just execute at a higher level.
Q. On the balance of Division I basketball and being a dad…
BATES: I mean, I've got an army behind me. My family does a great job when she's back home with them. So it really just takes a lot of stress off of me.
But it's really just like for us it was a situation that was unexpected, so we really just tried to find our sound. Kind of like a trombone player when they take it out the case and they're trying to slide it and they find that right sound. We just found that right sound, and we're just playing music now.
Q. On the second unit off the bench…
BATES: We kind of just understand that we're just as important as the first five or whoever is on the floor, but we just come in with the mentality of executing whatever the game calls for. We weren't getting too many stops, so we knew we needed to heat up the defensive end so we could turn that into offense.
We really just understand that the whole team is as strong as the bench, so us being on the scout and guys having to really worry about who comes in down to the ninth man, we just know that that just makes us even scarier.
XAVIER JOHNSON | GUARD
Q. On Tamar Bates…
JOHNSON: When he first came in, he would talk, but he would talk trash, but now this summer he had a different attitude. He grew up a lot. He matured.
He came in, told guys, like -- there was a video that came out -- we're going to be the hunted, so we've got to come out and still be the hunter still and be ready to play, be humble to play.
Q. On the difference in your performance the last couple of games…
JOHNSON: I would say I was still here if I told him (laughing). But I was just trying to feel out my teammates.
First couple of games we didn't have Trayce. I think the second game he came back. I was playing with Fino a lot, and it's different playing with two point guards on the floor. I had to figure out myself and figure out my role.
That is the type of player I am. I'm a pretty good teammate when it comes to team chemistry. So I just had to feel out my teammates. And other than that, I'm going out there and just keep it going and stay locked in with my teammates and keep my teammates rolling too.
Q. On adjustments from the team before North Carolina…
JOHNSON: I mean, we've got two -- they have a big dinosaur coming down in Armando. We have two or three big dinosaurs as well that are ready to compete at a high level, and I think they're ready to play.
You know, you have a couple of guys banged up, but as Coach says, we have to be ready to play. We have to get our treatment for the next couple of days that we have off. We have to take care of our bodies and be mentally sharp, and I think that we're ready to play, honestly.
MO WILLIAMS | JACKSON STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
WILLIAMS: It was a good game. We were playing against a good team. Obviously, the outcome is not what we wanted, but we knew they were pretty good. They are not 40 points better than us in our eyes, but this afternoon showed different. You've got to give your hats to them. They are well coached. They have got a lot of talent, and they're long and athletic. On tape, it seems like everyone has bought into a role and that's the definition of a top-ten-team. I know the signs of a top-ten-team, and I just played against one.
Q. On playing zone defense against Indiana…
WILLIAMS: Just watching them on tape, they really execute their offense and the give teams problems. They are hard to guard. I just wanted to keep them off balance early to give ourselves a shot.
Q. On the difficulties to play in transition…
WILLIAMS: When they took the lead and went up 15, 16 that was because of our turnovers or quick shots, playing fast. Against a team on the road like that we like to run, but we really wanted to make sure we got good shots and kept them out of transition. When we did try to run, and we didn't convert, and/or turn the ball over. It just turned into fast break points for them. They had 15 fast break points in the first 10 minutes of the game. You look up and it's 33-15 and it was 15-18 before that run happened. That's just them getting out in transition, letting their defense turn into their offense. We wanted to keep them out of that. We wanted to keep them out of running their man-to-man offense. We did a good job of it early on, and they just got going. That's what good teams do. They adjusted and turned up the defense and turned us over, which we don't turn the ball over a lot. But we had 12 turnovers in the first half which hurt us.
Players Mentioned
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