Indiana University Athletics
#IUBB Media Availability – Nov. 30
11/30/2023 11:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Below is a full transcript of the Zoom press conference with Indiana head coach Mike Woodson on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.
Mike Woodson
Q. On Xavier Johnson…
WOODSON: We're still evaluating X to see where he is. If he can't play, it's the next man up. That's how it's always been here. Injuries are part of the game. You know, nothing you can do about it. If he can't play, then I expect somebody else to step up and play.
Q. On the rotation entering Big Ten play…
WOODSON: Well, don't really know. Flow of the game based on who they got in the game will determine that. X will play a major role in that too if he doesn't play. It's all about feel for me. You know, if guys are playing well when I put them in there they'll stay in the game. If not, I got to go find it somewhere else.
Q. On rebounding improvements…
WOODSON: Well, our perimeter guys are starting to rebound a little bit. Mackenzie, Kaleb Banks when he's been in there has picked up some rebounds.
We just got to get our guard play. Got to get Gallo and Gabe and CJ. Got to get them picking up some rebounds. If they do that, that takes a lot of pressure off the interior having to always rebound the ball.
Q. On the 3-point shooting…
WOODSON: Maybe we might be that team that makes the tournament not making threes. You ever thought about that? That could happen.
I'm just saying. Everybody puts so much on analytics. Maybe we might be that team to make it. The bottom line is we're sitting here with one loss, with some wins. Got a lot of work still on our hands. We hadn't made the 3-point shot, but we still are winning.
Maybe the 3-point shot will come around. I don't know. We work on them every day just like we work on free throws, shooting twos, all the things that you're supposed to do in terms of preparing for a game and getting better.
So, all we can do is hope that they put the ball in the hole when they shoot the three. If they don't, then I to feel like they are going to go down and get some stops and rebound the ball and give us another shot at it again.
Q. On what stands out positively about the start of the season…
WOODSON: Again, when you got 10 new faces and every game has been a challenge, we haven't gone the other way. You could easily go the other way. Then you guys will be singing another tune. But that hadn't been the case.
We made plays with a new team, new players, down the stretch, where we had secured the game. That's what's been intriguing to me as a coach. We could have easily gone the other way. So that means a lot in terms of building a basketball team.
Do we still have our long way to go? Absolutely.
Q. On Kel'el Ware…
WOODSON: Just pushing him. I mean, again, I'm not knocking where he's been, the coaches that coached him, but I coach a different way. You know, I mean, that's not even knowing how the other coaches coach when they're in practice.
You have to come to practice with energy. You have to play hard. That was a knock on him. He is starting to figure that part of it out. So far, this young season he's been playing well for us.
Q. On Malik Reneau…
WOODSON: He'll be ready to play. The difference is he put the time in this summer. His body has changed. It's not the same body he came in as a freshman. We thought we trimmed him down. He trimmed down even more and put the work in this summer, and it's paying off.
That's what young players have to do. They have work in the summer to get ready for the upcoming season and put time in on the floor. That's the only way you're going to get better, and he's done that.
Q. On the 3-point defense…
WOODSON: That's big problem right now because we were pretty good in that area the last few years and that's one of my biggest concerns. That and rebounding the basketball.
A lot of that is, again, new faces trying to figure out what the hell we're doing from a rotation standpoint. The miss cues have been so glaring it's scary. These are things that are correctable, but we just got to keep working until we get it right. Because we are giving up too many threes. It's putting so much pressure on us from a defensive standpoint to truly get stops when you need them. We got it got better in that area. No doubt about that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sport
Mike Woodson
Q. On Xavier Johnson…
WOODSON: We're still evaluating X to see where he is. If he can't play, it's the next man up. That's how it's always been here. Injuries are part of the game. You know, nothing you can do about it. If he can't play, then I expect somebody else to step up and play.
Q. On the rotation entering Big Ten play…
WOODSON: Well, don't really know. Flow of the game based on who they got in the game will determine that. X will play a major role in that too if he doesn't play. It's all about feel for me. You know, if guys are playing well when I put them in there they'll stay in the game. If not, I got to go find it somewhere else.
Q. On rebounding improvements…
WOODSON: Well, our perimeter guys are starting to rebound a little bit. Mackenzie, Kaleb Banks when he's been in there has picked up some rebounds.
We just got to get our guard play. Got to get Gallo and Gabe and CJ. Got to get them picking up some rebounds. If they do that, that takes a lot of pressure off the interior having to always rebound the ball.
Q. On the 3-point shooting…
WOODSON: Maybe we might be that team that makes the tournament not making threes. You ever thought about that? That could happen.
I'm just saying. Everybody puts so much on analytics. Maybe we might be that team to make it. The bottom line is we're sitting here with one loss, with some wins. Got a lot of work still on our hands. We hadn't made the 3-point shot, but we still are winning.
Maybe the 3-point shot will come around. I don't know. We work on them every day just like we work on free throws, shooting twos, all the things that you're supposed to do in terms of preparing for a game and getting better.
So, all we can do is hope that they put the ball in the hole when they shoot the three. If they don't, then I to feel like they are going to go down and get some stops and rebound the ball and give us another shot at it again.
Q. On what stands out positively about the start of the season…
WOODSON: Again, when you got 10 new faces and every game has been a challenge, we haven't gone the other way. You could easily go the other way. Then you guys will be singing another tune. But that hadn't been the case.
We made plays with a new team, new players, down the stretch, where we had secured the game. That's what's been intriguing to me as a coach. We could have easily gone the other way. So that means a lot in terms of building a basketball team.
Do we still have our long way to go? Absolutely.
Q. On Kel'el Ware…
WOODSON: Just pushing him. I mean, again, I'm not knocking where he's been, the coaches that coached him, but I coach a different way. You know, I mean, that's not even knowing how the other coaches coach when they're in practice.
You have to come to practice with energy. You have to play hard. That was a knock on him. He is starting to figure that part of it out. So far, this young season he's been playing well for us.
Q. On Malik Reneau…
WOODSON: He'll be ready to play. The difference is he put the time in this summer. His body has changed. It's not the same body he came in as a freshman. We thought we trimmed him down. He trimmed down even more and put the work in this summer, and it's paying off.
That's what young players have to do. They have work in the summer to get ready for the upcoming season and put time in on the floor. That's the only way you're going to get better, and he's done that.
Q. On the 3-point defense…
WOODSON: That's big problem right now because we were pretty good in that area the last few years and that's one of my biggest concerns. That and rebounding the basketball.
A lot of that is, again, new faces trying to figure out what the hell we're doing from a rotation standpoint. The miss cues have been so glaring it's scary. These are things that are correctable, but we just got to keep working until we get it right. Because we are giving up too many threes. It's putting so much pressure on us from a defensive standpoint to truly get stops when you need them. We got it got better in that area. No doubt about that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sport
Players Mentioned
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