Postgame Quotes: vs. Elon
12/20/2022 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Elon
Dec. 20, 2022
Indiana vs. Elon
Dec. 20, 2022
MIKE WOODSON | HEAD COACH
Q. On the intensity…
WOODSON: Well, again, tonight everybody had a chance to play. Geronimo came to me before the game and said he couldn't go, and I knew Trayce wasn't going to play, and with X being out, guys have got to step up and play and make plays, and I thought for the most part everybody did that. I don't like the fact that we gave up 72 points; that's something I always seem to watch. We've got to be better in that area.
Q. On CJ Gunn's performance….
WOODSON: No, he was solid tonight. I think moving forward, CJ and Gallo and Tamar Bates, Anthony when he gets in there, we've got to do a better job on the ball and guarding the ball. We had quite a few fouls called tonight in guarding the ball in a one-on-one position, and then we've got to do a better job in our pick-and-roll defense in terms of getting over the screen and getting into the ball. We were terrible tonight in that area.
Q. On Jalen Hood-Schifino's responsibilities…
WOODSON: Well, I mean, it doesn't change anything. They both ran the offense. When X is there, it gives you two guys that can make plays with the basketball, not only for themselves but for guys around them. Now we don't have X. I've got to keep an eye on Jalen, as well. He's just getting back from his flare-up, and you want to make sure that you don't bury him with a lot of minutes to the point where he goes back down. Then you're really stuck.
Tonight, we came in, I came in with the thought process of playing him 30 minutes, and that's what we played him. I thought he responded pretty well. He had a few too many turnovers for me, but he's young and he's still learning.
Q. On the injured players…
WOODSON: I don't know. I wish I could tell you that. I really don't know. My job is to make sure that the guys that are in uniform, that's ready to play, to get them ready to go, and then we'll welcome them back when that time comes.
Q. On getting confidence back…
WOODSON: Well, again, we've played well here at home. Our fan base has put us in a position to play well. I expect us to win every game at home. That's my goal.
Yes, to bounce back from the two games that we've lost is a confidence builder for our team. We're still a young team. Hell, I started two freshmen tonight.
Q. On Logan Duncomb's progression…
WOODSON: Well, he's not in great shape. Logan has had his ups and downs, but I thought he responded. Logan, seemed like every time I throw him in there, he does something positive, but you can't play him in long stretches. He's had his problems in terms of illness and things of that nature that's really put him behind from a physical standpoint.
I mean, tonight he played well, and I did play him in some stretches, but I've got to get him in better shape.
Q. On the offense with Jalen Hood-Schifino…
WOODSON: No, his role -- again, he's going to have to continue to do the same thing. It's not like the NBA where I can go to the D-League and find me another point guard. He's the only true one that we have, and again, I just can't bury him with 40 minutes a game. I can't do that or there's a chance he could drop off.
I've got to really watch that closely and monitor him as we continue this journey, but the guys like Gallo and Scoop and CJ and Anthony, guys that have to handle the ball for us, they've got to be stronger with it and be able to make basketball plays to help us.
Q. On the injuries…
WOODSON: Well, Jordan's injury is a dislocated finger, and he tried to go a little yesterday.
Trayce went a little yesterday, but then he had to -- he backed off, and we decided to just hold him out. I don't know if he'll play on Friday or not, as well.
We'll see.
With Geronimo it's basically how much pain he can tolerate with his dislocated finger bandaged. Time will tell. Tomorrow will be another day and we'll go start practice and see where everybody is.
Q. On development with different rotations…
WOODSON: How hard they play. You know, that's a big part of it. Some of our guys are not playing hard enough. That's my job to get them to play hard. Everything else will come in play and fall in place if they learn to just play hard. That's what you deal with when you have young players. They think they play hard, but there's always another level that they've got to reach. That's what I'm trying to get them to.
CJ GUNN | GUARD
Q. On getting into a rhythm…
GUNN: It felt good. Coach just always tells me and the other guys to just stay ready and be ready to hoop, and I feel like that's what I did today.
Obviously, I wanted to get in the game, so when I get the opportunity I'm going to play the best ball I can and do the things Coach asks me to do.
Q. On approaching a game with more playing time…
GUNN: I'm just playing the game the right way. Last year I was used to playing against tiddlywinks, so now it's a different level. It's a different level of ball. I've just got to adjust to the game, and it comes with practicing hard and meshing with the guys, and that's how I look at it.
MILLER KOPP | FORWARD
Q. On getting people acclimated to the game…
KOPP: Well, I mean, in the season, it's a long season. If you think about it, we've got so many Big Ten games left, too. We're not looking ahead to that, but at the same time, that's a big part of the season is ahead.
Honestly, it's about making guys come together. I always say, when the spider webs unite, you can tie up a line.
At the end of the day, it's just about getting guys to understand that we need everybody, and we're only as strong as our weakest link. Everybody is coming along for sure.
Q. On getting back to Assembly Hall…
KOPP: It was good. We love playing at home. We practice here every day pretty much, and this is a home gym for us. We feel most comfortable here.
It's definitely good to be back.
Q. On Jalen Hood Schifino's development…
KOPP: Well, things definitely change with X out, a guy who's one of our leading scorers and one of our leaders, too, on the floor with the ball as well as with his voice.
He's a big loss, but at the same time, 'Fino is definitely making strides. He makes strides every day. The kid is a relentless worker.
At the end of the day, we're super comfortable with where he's at and where he's going.
Q. On CJ Gunn…
KOPP: Well, one of the hardest things to do when you're coming in as a freshman is you want to please, you want to do well. At the same time, you have to learn what the coaches are asking of you and what the guys need from you. His role, just like when I was a freshman, might be different now than it is in two years. But right now, one of his goals, and he'll tell you, is just to get on the floor and get in the rotation. Really every day in practice he plays hard as ever. He talks, he's trying to do the right things. Yes, there are mess-ups, but at the same time, it all comes from a good place, and he's doing things at a thousand miles an hour.
At the end of the day, as a guy who's been here for a while in college, it makes me happy to see a guy like CJ work so hard and continue to do things the right way because eventually it's going to build up, and he'll see the benefits for sure.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
BILLY TAYLOR | ELON HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
TAYLOR: Playing with only eight scholarship players was a challenge for us today… I'm really proud of the way we fought, eight-point game there, 10-0 run going into halftime. We had some moments where we looked really good, proud of our guys for the way they fought in the second half, think we lost the second half by five points, so a lot of good things, short-handed, fought, undersized, proud of our effort.
On the run going into half…
TAYLOR: We made some jump shots early; think we were six of our first ten from three. We got some clean looks that we didn't knock down at that point. Wanted to make those shots, but that run didn't extend, the second half was pretty much even… That one significant run hurt us, but again, short-handed, Sam Sherry had three fouls in the first half, and that was a big impact on the game. He is a double figure scorer for us, getting three fouls in the first half, makes it tough
On missing Sam Sherry's impact…
TAYLOR: That was huge, he gives us a post-presence, a paint-presence, someone to throw the ball inside to. Max Mackinnon had it going offensively, Sean had it going offensively, a couple guys that were on a nice groove, we just needed somebody else along with them. Zac Ervin made some shots… we needed Sam's post-presence tonight, and we really missed that
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