Postgame Quotes vs. Morehead State
12/19/2023 9:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Morehead State
Dec. 19, 2023
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On his feelings after the game…
WOODSON: First of all, you've got to tip your hat to Morehead because they played a great game. I've been preaching all year, you can be beaten by any team. Doesn't matter who they are, if you don't come to play.
I thought at the start of the game we were flat, and like we didn't even want to be out there. But finally we picked it up when our backs were against the wall, and we made plays coming down the stretch that we had to make in order to win the game.
I thought Malik's defensive stop at the end was probably the biggest defensive play of the night, but at the seven-minute mark we were down 11, I think, and then our defense got better and we were able to make some shots. We've just got to keep working. We've got to get better in a lot of areas. Free throws, three-point shooting. We're taking enough threes, we're not just making them.
Q. On the slow starts…
WOODSON: If I knew that, I could really answer that question. I mean, as coaches, we think we're ready to play every time we step out on the floor, and it didn't happen tonight. For whatever reason, it didn't.
But at the end of the day, the guys made the plays that they needed to make to secure the win, and that's what counts.
Q. On Anthony Walker's effort…
WOODSON: Phenomenal. He deserves the MVP tonight. He played 22 minutes, had 18 points, nine rebounds. By far his best game since he's been wearing an Indiana uniform.
We needed every bit of it to win this game tonight.
He gets the game ball based on what he did tonight. But again, I'm not taking anything away from Morehead. They played a great game. I'm just pleased that we didn't quit, could have easily thrown in the towel and said, hey, we'll get ready for the next game, but we didn't do that. We kept fighting and was able to get the win.
Q. On guarding Jordan Lathon…
WOODSON: Well, we really struggled with the pick-and-roll up top. It's something that we haven't done all year.
Then he got away. He made some tough shots. I knew they were going to go to him at the end, and I thought they got the switch that they wanted with Malik, but Malik just held in there and kept his ground and was able to get a tip, his hands on the ball when he shot it.
I thought Gallo started to really take the ball away from him some. When he got rid of it, I told Gallo not to let him get it back if he could so he was trying in that area to keep the ball out of his hands because he was basically the hottest player on the floor.
Q. On the halftime conversation…
WOODSON: Well, again, it wasn't real pretty. Based on how we were playing. We were awful. You've got to give them credit because they competed the first half.
Our fans don't come out to see stuff like that. I was very disappointed.
We got it going late in that seven-minute mark is when we really dug in and did what we needed to do.
Q. On the point of emphasis moving forward…
WOODSON: Can't concern myself with the Big Ten right now. We've got a game on Thursday. That's Alabama -- they're the next team up.
Then we have another game after that, after the Christmas break. Then we start the Big Ten.
We're two games away from the Big Ten. I can't concern myself with that right now.
Q. On keeping effort levels consistent after Kansas…
WOODSON: That's a great question. My thing is it should never be that way. When you're playing this game of basketball, and especially when you're playing here at home, you should never have highs and lows like that.
The Kansas game was a great game. I thought we did a lot of good things in that game, but we just fell short. That doesn't mean you come back the next game and lay an egg to start the game. That's unacceptable. That's on me, man. I was very disappointed in how we played the first half. That should never be.
We've just got to -- I've just got to keep working as a coach to get them better to make sure that we don't put ourselves in that position again.
ANTHONY WALKER | INDIANA FORWARD
Q. On staying ready for his opportunity and leading the team in scoring…
WALKER: Yeah, that's just a part of being on this team. We know everyone is capable of being the most scorer or the most rebounder, whatever the case may be in a given night. Not just me being ready but everyone coming off the bench and the starters that play most of the minutes. Just being ready, making sure that Coach Woody trusts me and always being ready for the moment.
Q. On the team coming out flat…
WALKER: Could be a number of reasons. I really couldn't tell you specifically, but it shouldn't have happened. We know that, and we obviously grouped together and pulled together and pulled out with a win, but this is a good lesson for us. They're a good team. They play hard. They're well-coached. Just being able to come together when we did get punched in the face early in the game and finish the game is something that means a lot to us.
Q. On his message in the locker room…
WALKER: Just to pick it up, just to pick the energy up. They're not a lesser team because of whether they're D-I, D-II, mid-major, whatever the case may be. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night, especially in college basketball. Just getting our energy up, getting our main guys going, getting them more comfortable is something that I took pride in and something that I did.
Q. On the rebounding effort down the stretch…
WALKER: Yeah, that's something that I feel like we need to be better at as a unit. We can't just rely on Kel'el to grab all the rebounds. Just coming in the game and attacking the boards offensively and defensively is something that I take pride in and everyone else on the team takes pride in, and the balls just started bouncing my way tonight.
Q. On early mistakes snowballing into the deficit…
WALKER: Right, I always say momentum is a powerful force and that's the beautiful part about this sport is once things start going well, everything starts going well. I think the most important part of their run is the fact that we didn't stray away from each other. We kind of stayed together, kept encouraging each other, kept playing Indiana basketball because mistakes is going to happen. Just being able to pull together in that moment and continue to play Indiana basketball, continue to trust Woody is something that we did, and we get to pull out the game.
Q. On bringing better energy in the first half…
WALKER: That's something we have to take pride in ourselves. We have to create our own energy, especially coming out the gate in the game, and this won't be a problem all year, trust me. We will pick our energy up. This was definitely a lesson.
There is no lesser opponent in college basketball, so this is definitely a lesson, and we'll be the boss of our own energy for the rest of the year. Trust me on that one.
Q. On what does a strong game like this do for you going forward…
WALKER: It gives me the utmost confidence, just knowing that Woody trusts me down the stretch in specific games and just knowing that I always have to be ready, and that's for anybody on the roster, whether that's the starting five or the last man coming off the bench. Just being able to play well, all glory to my teammates, all glory to Coach for keeping me on the floor and just my effort and the work that I've put in.
Q. On stepping up since Xavier (Johnson) went down with injury…
WALKER: So, I wouldn't say it was my time specifically, but like as a team, seeing him go down, it brought us all together. We all have to chip in. I believe that in this team we're the sum of our parts. We don't work well if the last guy on the bench isn't doing his job. Just us as a team and a unit being able to pull together, whether that's I take his minutes tonight or Kaleb Banks takes his minutes the next night, somebody always has to stay ready, and we have to continue doing what the goal is and what he teaches us.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
PRESTON SPRADLIN | MOREHEAD STATE HEAD COACH
Q. On the final stretch of the game…
SPRADLIN: (Indiana) started getting on the offensive glass, the crowd got involved, and we got away from executing our offense. Being in some foul trouble, we had to play with some guys on the bench that we can really generate some offense with. That made us a little stagnant, but for 39 minutes we probably deserved to win that game. It came down to one small play here or there: getting one rebound, hitting the screen a little bit better, a little bit more floor balance or rotating or not rotating to a non-shooter. I'm really proud of our guys because of the growth that we have had over the last six, seven weeks since we have played another Big Ten teams. But at the same time, they are not going to be satisfied. We are going to really learn from this one. It should sting, but it should also hammer home how important those little details are. We will get that.
Q. On the defensive strategy against Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware…
SPRADLIN: (Indiana) runs everything through those guys, so we were going to try to make them beat us from somewhere else. I thought we did a great job of that. They hit three threes here tonight. We didn't allow those guys to get into a rhythm and get comfortable. We did a really nice job of pushing those catches out, throwing a couple of extra bodies at them and rotating out. You want a team like this to beat you some other way than what they practice and what they work on every day. We did a nice job of that.
Q. On taking confidence from this game into the rest of the season…
SPRADLIN: You take the momentum. We are just going to focus on the growth that we have had, and that's all we have focused on to get to this point. We focus on getting better. We focus on one practice, one day at a time. I know that it sounds cliché, but it's also a great recipe for marching forward through a season. There is a lot of positives to take from this. It's also going to really hit home just how important it is to finish the possessions, to communicate, to know what we are in. All of those little things, which our guys know when you get into the heat of battle and the crowd gets involved and the team is on a run, that is how you stop that run. Sometimes you can learn those lessons with a win, sometimes you can learn them with a loss. It hurst, but we are going to get our opportunity again in March to play another team like Indiana. I am confident that with the growth we have had through these six weeks that over the next two months we are going to get a lot better and be ready for our opportunity.
Indiana vs. Morehead State
Dec. 19, 2023
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On his feelings after the game…
WOODSON: First of all, you've got to tip your hat to Morehead because they played a great game. I've been preaching all year, you can be beaten by any team. Doesn't matter who they are, if you don't come to play.
I thought at the start of the game we were flat, and like we didn't even want to be out there. But finally we picked it up when our backs were against the wall, and we made plays coming down the stretch that we had to make in order to win the game.
I thought Malik's defensive stop at the end was probably the biggest defensive play of the night, but at the seven-minute mark we were down 11, I think, and then our defense got better and we were able to make some shots. We've just got to keep working. We've got to get better in a lot of areas. Free throws, three-point shooting. We're taking enough threes, we're not just making them.
Q. On the slow starts…
WOODSON: If I knew that, I could really answer that question. I mean, as coaches, we think we're ready to play every time we step out on the floor, and it didn't happen tonight. For whatever reason, it didn't.
But at the end of the day, the guys made the plays that they needed to make to secure the win, and that's what counts.
Q. On Anthony Walker's effort…
WOODSON: Phenomenal. He deserves the MVP tonight. He played 22 minutes, had 18 points, nine rebounds. By far his best game since he's been wearing an Indiana uniform.
We needed every bit of it to win this game tonight.
He gets the game ball based on what he did tonight. But again, I'm not taking anything away from Morehead. They played a great game. I'm just pleased that we didn't quit, could have easily thrown in the towel and said, hey, we'll get ready for the next game, but we didn't do that. We kept fighting and was able to get the win.
Q. On guarding Jordan Lathon…
WOODSON: Well, we really struggled with the pick-and-roll up top. It's something that we haven't done all year.
Then he got away. He made some tough shots. I knew they were going to go to him at the end, and I thought they got the switch that they wanted with Malik, but Malik just held in there and kept his ground and was able to get a tip, his hands on the ball when he shot it.
I thought Gallo started to really take the ball away from him some. When he got rid of it, I told Gallo not to let him get it back if he could so he was trying in that area to keep the ball out of his hands because he was basically the hottest player on the floor.
Q. On the halftime conversation…
WOODSON: Well, again, it wasn't real pretty. Based on how we were playing. We were awful. You've got to give them credit because they competed the first half.
Our fans don't come out to see stuff like that. I was very disappointed.
We got it going late in that seven-minute mark is when we really dug in and did what we needed to do.
Q. On the point of emphasis moving forward…
WOODSON: Can't concern myself with the Big Ten right now. We've got a game on Thursday. That's Alabama -- they're the next team up.
Then we have another game after that, after the Christmas break. Then we start the Big Ten.
We're two games away from the Big Ten. I can't concern myself with that right now.
Q. On keeping effort levels consistent after Kansas…
WOODSON: That's a great question. My thing is it should never be that way. When you're playing this game of basketball, and especially when you're playing here at home, you should never have highs and lows like that.
The Kansas game was a great game. I thought we did a lot of good things in that game, but we just fell short. That doesn't mean you come back the next game and lay an egg to start the game. That's unacceptable. That's on me, man. I was very disappointed in how we played the first half. That should never be.
We've just got to -- I've just got to keep working as a coach to get them better to make sure that we don't put ourselves in that position again.
ANTHONY WALKER | INDIANA FORWARD
Q. On staying ready for his opportunity and leading the team in scoring…
WALKER: Yeah, that's just a part of being on this team. We know everyone is capable of being the most scorer or the most rebounder, whatever the case may be in a given night. Not just me being ready but everyone coming off the bench and the starters that play most of the minutes. Just being ready, making sure that Coach Woody trusts me and always being ready for the moment.
Q. On the team coming out flat…
WALKER: Could be a number of reasons. I really couldn't tell you specifically, but it shouldn't have happened. We know that, and we obviously grouped together and pulled together and pulled out with a win, but this is a good lesson for us. They're a good team. They play hard. They're well-coached. Just being able to come together when we did get punched in the face early in the game and finish the game is something that means a lot to us.
Q. On his message in the locker room…
WALKER: Just to pick it up, just to pick the energy up. They're not a lesser team because of whether they're D-I, D-II, mid-major, whatever the case may be. Anybody can beat anybody on any given night, especially in college basketball. Just getting our energy up, getting our main guys going, getting them more comfortable is something that I took pride in and something that I did.
Q. On the rebounding effort down the stretch…
WALKER: Yeah, that's something that I feel like we need to be better at as a unit. We can't just rely on Kel'el to grab all the rebounds. Just coming in the game and attacking the boards offensively and defensively is something that I take pride in and everyone else on the team takes pride in, and the balls just started bouncing my way tonight.
Q. On early mistakes snowballing into the deficit…
WALKER: Right, I always say momentum is a powerful force and that's the beautiful part about this sport is once things start going well, everything starts going well. I think the most important part of their run is the fact that we didn't stray away from each other. We kind of stayed together, kept encouraging each other, kept playing Indiana basketball because mistakes is going to happen. Just being able to pull together in that moment and continue to play Indiana basketball, continue to trust Woody is something that we did, and we get to pull out the game.
Q. On bringing better energy in the first half…
WALKER: That's something we have to take pride in ourselves. We have to create our own energy, especially coming out the gate in the game, and this won't be a problem all year, trust me. We will pick our energy up. This was definitely a lesson.
There is no lesser opponent in college basketball, so this is definitely a lesson, and we'll be the boss of our own energy for the rest of the year. Trust me on that one.
Q. On what does a strong game like this do for you going forward…
WALKER: It gives me the utmost confidence, just knowing that Woody trusts me down the stretch in specific games and just knowing that I always have to be ready, and that's for anybody on the roster, whether that's the starting five or the last man coming off the bench. Just being able to play well, all glory to my teammates, all glory to Coach for keeping me on the floor and just my effort and the work that I've put in.
Q. On stepping up since Xavier (Johnson) went down with injury…
WALKER: So, I wouldn't say it was my time specifically, but like as a team, seeing him go down, it brought us all together. We all have to chip in. I believe that in this team we're the sum of our parts. We don't work well if the last guy on the bench isn't doing his job. Just us as a team and a unit being able to pull together, whether that's I take his minutes tonight or Kaleb Banks takes his minutes the next night, somebody always has to stay ready, and we have to continue doing what the goal is and what he teaches us.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
PRESTON SPRADLIN | MOREHEAD STATE HEAD COACH
Q. On the final stretch of the game…
SPRADLIN: (Indiana) started getting on the offensive glass, the crowd got involved, and we got away from executing our offense. Being in some foul trouble, we had to play with some guys on the bench that we can really generate some offense with. That made us a little stagnant, but for 39 minutes we probably deserved to win that game. It came down to one small play here or there: getting one rebound, hitting the screen a little bit better, a little bit more floor balance or rotating or not rotating to a non-shooter. I'm really proud of our guys because of the growth that we have had over the last six, seven weeks since we have played another Big Ten teams. But at the same time, they are not going to be satisfied. We are going to really learn from this one. It should sting, but it should also hammer home how important those little details are. We will get that.
Q. On the defensive strategy against Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware…
SPRADLIN: (Indiana) runs everything through those guys, so we were going to try to make them beat us from somewhere else. I thought we did a great job of that. They hit three threes here tonight. We didn't allow those guys to get into a rhythm and get comfortable. We did a really nice job of pushing those catches out, throwing a couple of extra bodies at them and rotating out. You want a team like this to beat you some other way than what they practice and what they work on every day. We did a nice job of that.
Q. On taking confidence from this game into the rest of the season…
SPRADLIN: You take the momentum. We are just going to focus on the growth that we have had, and that's all we have focused on to get to this point. We focus on getting better. We focus on one practice, one day at a time. I know that it sounds cliché, but it's also a great recipe for marching forward through a season. There is a lot of positives to take from this. It's also going to really hit home just how important it is to finish the possessions, to communicate, to know what we are in. All of those little things, which our guys know when you get into the heat of battle and the crowd gets involved and the team is on a run, that is how you stop that run. Sometimes you can learn those lessons with a win, sometimes you can learn them with a loss. It hurst, but we are going to get our opportunity again in March to play another team like Indiana. I am confident that with the growth we have had through these six weeks that over the next two months we are going to get a lot better and be ready for our opportunity.
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