Postgame Quotes: vs. Army
11/12/2023 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Army
Nov. 12, 2023
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the effectiveness of the smaller lineup…
WOODSON: I'm going to play guys that want to play and play the right way. The last two games that small line-up coming down the stretch was pretty good for us.
I don't know if we'll live with it the rest of the season, but if they keep making plays down the stretch, I think it will be okay for us.
Q. On the identity of the offense…
WOODSON: Well, more ball movement, more pick and rolls. I mean, we played well I think enough to where we got enough in the paint. We got 36 points in the paint. That's pretty good for us.
We haven't shot the three ball very well, and we're not getting very many fast break points, which we had in our first couple of exhibition games. We were out running, and that's where we've got to get to, but when you are taking the ball out of the net and happen to walk it down and not getting stops because I thought there were times we just didn't switch correctly, didn't switch up, and they were shooting three-point shots right in our face, and they made them.
It's a part of the game, but I thought for the most part we played pretty good basketball. Defensively we scored 64 points. That's kind of in the neighborhood of where we want to be per game, but we've got to get better.
Q. On what he wants to see out of Mackenzie Mgbako…
WOODSON: I want to see more from Mackenzie, more from Kaleb, more from CJ. I want to see more when they're in the game. If I don't feel like they're giving it to me, I've got to go somewhere else and get it.
Q. On getting better ball movement…
WOODSON: We have to move it. We have to trust each other. We catch the ball, and the first thing we think about is putting the ball down on the floor, making a play for myself.
This is a team game, a team sport. So we have to trust each other, and that's my job so get them to trust.
Q. On Mackenzie's production…
WOODSON: Well, he has to play harder and do the things that we want done on both ends of the floor. That might keep him in the game.
Q. On the challenge with the bigs right now…
WOODSON: I think Malik has done an adequate job in defending on the perimeter. I just don't like putting Malik and Ware in pick and roll situations where the guy knocks the ball handler off, and now they're stuck with having to guard the ball, and it's not fair to them. So a lot of that is on the guy that's on the ball.
I mean, we have to get better in pick and roll coverage and getting over the ball screen and guarding -- taking on guarding your own guy. I thought last season we were good in that neighborhood, but right now we still have a ways to go.
Q. On sparking Kel'el Ware's offense earlier on…
WOODSON: It's just not Kel'el in the first half. That whole unit has stunk the last two games in the first half.
When you put a starting five out on the floor, you expect them to get you off to a great start, and we haven't done that the last two games. I have to figure that out.
Q. On running more and quickening the offense…
WOODSON: The game is like this: If you get stops and you rebound the ball, you have an opportunity to get out and fast break and make plays. If you get in passing lanes and you get easy steals where you can generate offense that way, it's a quick way to get out and play faster.
Right now, we're not doing none of those things. We're not getting stops. We're not getting the ball out and getting up the floor and playing faster.
So those are things that we can build on. We can continue to work at, but we can't just live in the half court game this season. I mean, I want to play faster, and I got to get us to doing that because we're not doing it yet.
XAVIER JOHNSON | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On the tough first half…
JOHNSON: I'm going to be honest. In practice we have our young guys, including myself. I'm not young, but including me, Galloway, and just the whole team. We're not going as hard. I think our preparation led to that, and that's what I believe.
Q. On getting the young guys to bring more intensity…
JOHNSON: I try to tell them to do the right things. You do the right things, play hard, and Coach will reward you.
I think a lot of guys go away from not playing as hard and just not want to play at all, but you have to play hard to play for Coach Woodson.
Q. On opening up the offense…
JOHNSON: We just have to open up and play. Guys get standing with the ball, you know, we just stand and watch and wait until somebody makes a play, and that's what we have to get away from.
Q. On the guards getting through ball screens…
JOHNSON: When I watched film on the last game, we're not getting over a lot of ball screens, you're right. I think it takes a lot of heart, and that's what Coach said to some of the young guys, you know, wanting to play, to get on the floor. I think we ran too many rotations, what-if rotations, and we have to stay out of those.
Q. On getting better ball movement…
JOHNSON: Getting guys in the right spots and giving them the confidence to play. Coach instills confidence in them just to play, but it's kind of hard playing in front of thousands of fans and just executing.
Q. On cutting down on turnovers…
JOHNSON: think that goes back to the preparation. Guys in practice, you know, we just go soft up for layups. And when we turn over the ball, we think it's on the GAs that's reffing our little games when we play each other. I think with need to get stronger with the ball, and turnovers is the issue right now for this one game honestly.
Q. On what the offense is supposed to look like…
JOHNSON: Everybody touch the ball, move the ball. We have a whole bunch of talent. I know it's hard to see right now, but we actually do have a lot of good talent. We need to share the ball, move the ball, get the ball up the floor and run because that's what the offense is supposed to do. We're supposed to get out and get stops, and I think that's the main problem is we're not getting enough stops to get out and run.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
KEVIN KUWIK | ARMY HEAD COACH
Q. On what allowed for several three-point attempts…
KUWIK: I would have to watch the film a little, but we have been shooting a lot in general. That's what our identity is. We were really quick to the ball. We were really aggressive, attacked the paint and collapsed the defense. The first close out, (Indiana) was flying at us, so we shot faked and had the discipline and the patience to drive and get a little bit of a better look. Guys stepped up and made some shots.
Q. On the problems Indiana created when preparing for the game…
KUWIK: They have great positional size across the board. They execute really well. It's a new team at this stage of the year. Coach Woodson is still fitting his pieces together, but they are going to be great. They just have to get some game reps under them. I was proud of our guys and how they fought. We got down a couple of times, but the guys represented Army really well tonight.
Q. On the ability to keep the game within one possession…
KUWIK: I thought we did a great job scrapping and clawing for 50-50 balls. I think they had 16 or 18 turnovers. I'm sure Coach Woodson will want some of those back, but I thought our guys made the extra effort. They stuck their nose in there and they battled. We are not really a turnover forcing team, but we made those multiple efforts, we got our hands at deflections, lose balls, and found a way to scratch and claw Indiana.
Indiana vs. Army
Nov. 12, 2023
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the effectiveness of the smaller lineup…
WOODSON: I'm going to play guys that want to play and play the right way. The last two games that small line-up coming down the stretch was pretty good for us.
I don't know if we'll live with it the rest of the season, but if they keep making plays down the stretch, I think it will be okay for us.
Q. On the identity of the offense…
WOODSON: Well, more ball movement, more pick and rolls. I mean, we played well I think enough to where we got enough in the paint. We got 36 points in the paint. That's pretty good for us.
We haven't shot the three ball very well, and we're not getting very many fast break points, which we had in our first couple of exhibition games. We were out running, and that's where we've got to get to, but when you are taking the ball out of the net and happen to walk it down and not getting stops because I thought there were times we just didn't switch correctly, didn't switch up, and they were shooting three-point shots right in our face, and they made them.
It's a part of the game, but I thought for the most part we played pretty good basketball. Defensively we scored 64 points. That's kind of in the neighborhood of where we want to be per game, but we've got to get better.
Q. On what he wants to see out of Mackenzie Mgbako…
WOODSON: I want to see more from Mackenzie, more from Kaleb, more from CJ. I want to see more when they're in the game. If I don't feel like they're giving it to me, I've got to go somewhere else and get it.
Q. On getting better ball movement…
WOODSON: We have to move it. We have to trust each other. We catch the ball, and the first thing we think about is putting the ball down on the floor, making a play for myself.
This is a team game, a team sport. So we have to trust each other, and that's my job so get them to trust.
Q. On Mackenzie's production…
WOODSON: Well, he has to play harder and do the things that we want done on both ends of the floor. That might keep him in the game.
Q. On the challenge with the bigs right now…
WOODSON: I think Malik has done an adequate job in defending on the perimeter. I just don't like putting Malik and Ware in pick and roll situations where the guy knocks the ball handler off, and now they're stuck with having to guard the ball, and it's not fair to them. So a lot of that is on the guy that's on the ball.
I mean, we have to get better in pick and roll coverage and getting over the ball screen and guarding -- taking on guarding your own guy. I thought last season we were good in that neighborhood, but right now we still have a ways to go.
Q. On sparking Kel'el Ware's offense earlier on…
WOODSON: It's just not Kel'el in the first half. That whole unit has stunk the last two games in the first half.
When you put a starting five out on the floor, you expect them to get you off to a great start, and we haven't done that the last two games. I have to figure that out.
Q. On running more and quickening the offense…
WOODSON: The game is like this: If you get stops and you rebound the ball, you have an opportunity to get out and fast break and make plays. If you get in passing lanes and you get easy steals where you can generate offense that way, it's a quick way to get out and play faster.
Right now, we're not doing none of those things. We're not getting stops. We're not getting the ball out and getting up the floor and playing faster.
So those are things that we can build on. We can continue to work at, but we can't just live in the half court game this season. I mean, I want to play faster, and I got to get us to doing that because we're not doing it yet.
XAVIER JOHNSON | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On the tough first half…
JOHNSON: I'm going to be honest. In practice we have our young guys, including myself. I'm not young, but including me, Galloway, and just the whole team. We're not going as hard. I think our preparation led to that, and that's what I believe.
Q. On getting the young guys to bring more intensity…
JOHNSON: I try to tell them to do the right things. You do the right things, play hard, and Coach will reward you.
I think a lot of guys go away from not playing as hard and just not want to play at all, but you have to play hard to play for Coach Woodson.
Q. On opening up the offense…
JOHNSON: We just have to open up and play. Guys get standing with the ball, you know, we just stand and watch and wait until somebody makes a play, and that's what we have to get away from.
Q. On the guards getting through ball screens…
JOHNSON: When I watched film on the last game, we're not getting over a lot of ball screens, you're right. I think it takes a lot of heart, and that's what Coach said to some of the young guys, you know, wanting to play, to get on the floor. I think we ran too many rotations, what-if rotations, and we have to stay out of those.
Q. On getting better ball movement…
JOHNSON: Getting guys in the right spots and giving them the confidence to play. Coach instills confidence in them just to play, but it's kind of hard playing in front of thousands of fans and just executing.
Q. On cutting down on turnovers…
JOHNSON: think that goes back to the preparation. Guys in practice, you know, we just go soft up for layups. And when we turn over the ball, we think it's on the GAs that's reffing our little games when we play each other. I think with need to get stronger with the ball, and turnovers is the issue right now for this one game honestly.
Q. On what the offense is supposed to look like…
JOHNSON: Everybody touch the ball, move the ball. We have a whole bunch of talent. I know it's hard to see right now, but we actually do have a lot of good talent. We need to share the ball, move the ball, get the ball up the floor and run because that's what the offense is supposed to do. We're supposed to get out and get stops, and I think that's the main problem is we're not getting enough stops to get out and run.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
KEVIN KUWIK | ARMY HEAD COACH
Q. On what allowed for several three-point attempts…
KUWIK: I would have to watch the film a little, but we have been shooting a lot in general. That's what our identity is. We were really quick to the ball. We were really aggressive, attacked the paint and collapsed the defense. The first close out, (Indiana) was flying at us, so we shot faked and had the discipline and the patience to drive and get a little bit of a better look. Guys stepped up and made some shots.
Q. On the problems Indiana created when preparing for the game…
KUWIK: They have great positional size across the board. They execute really well. It's a new team at this stage of the year. Coach Woodson is still fitting his pieces together, but they are going to be great. They just have to get some game reps under them. I was proud of our guys and how they fought. We got down a couple of times, but the guys represented Army really well tonight.
Q. On the ability to keep the game within one possession…
KUWIK: I thought we did a great job scrapping and clawing for 50-50 balls. I think they had 16 or 18 turnovers. I'm sure Coach Woodson will want some of those back, but I thought our guys made the extra effort. They stuck their nose in there and they battled. We are not really a turnover forcing team, but we made those multiple efforts, we got our hands at deflections, lose balls, and found a way to scratch and claw Indiana.
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