Postgame Quotes: vs. No. 24/RV Rutgers

Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Rutgers
Feb. 7, 2023

MIKE WOODSON | HEAD COACH
Q. On the toughness shown by the team throughout...
WOODSON: I mean, tonight was another team effort. I thought everybody that played helped gut this game out. That team plays hard, man. You know, we couldn't really get nothing going down the stretch from an offensive standpoint in terms of moving. We became stagnant, and somehow, I've got to help us when we get in that rut.

But our defense was solid, and we just kept grinding and grinding and we got stops when we needed. We could have done better on the boards because we were off on that area. We knew coming into the game, I mean, rebounding and not turning it over against their pressure will allow us to stay in the game or win the game and I thought we did a pretty good job in that area.

Q. On finding a way to win...
WOODSON: Well, again, we had not beaten this team in some years, and they kind of have had our number over the years. You start looking over your shoulder a little bit when I think they cut the lead to three or even one I think, and we make two free throws to extend it and then we started to make plays.

But again, our team, I'm proud of this team, man, because there's no quitting. They grind. They try to do whatever it takes to win and tonight we did that.

Q. On Miller Kopp's efforts against Rutgers this season...
WOODSON: Again he got good looks and they didn't get to him a lot of times in the zone, when the ball was swung around, he was getting good looks and he knocked them in and made them pay for it. Most teams that we play don't give him very many good looks like that.

But he was able to knock them down. But not just making -- scoring the 18 points, hell, he was pretty good defensively, too, tonight. He did a lot of good things defensively for us.

Q. On Trayce Jackson-Davis being the first player in IU history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds...
WOODSON: It's unbelievable. All I can say, it's unbelievable. This young man has done a lot since he's been here wearing this uniform. I couldn't be more prouder of a player. He's a phenomenal player, beautiful to watch but he does a lot of wonderful things on the floor, man, to be able to score 2000 points and 1,000 rebounds, that says a lot.

Q. On the level of play by Jackson-Davis recently...
WOODSON: I just thought tonight, they doubled him at Rutgers. We just didn't make plays around him. We threw the ball all over the gym. We didn't rebound well with him. I mean, there was a lot of things you can point to. But tonight, I thought we were just slid and offensively, we made shots when we had to make them, and that was the difference in the ballgame.

Q. On Kopp getting good looks...
WOODSON: That's basketball. I wouldn't leave him either, you know what I mean. When he gets looks, pretty much this year he's knocked them down. Tonight he had his looks. Had a lot of good looks and he was able to make them.

Q. On Kopp embracing his role...
WOODSON: Well, again, when you look at our roster and from a stats standpoint, you go down from a scoring standpoint, you know, we've got a lot of guys that are averaging about seven, eight, nine points a game. For me, I think that's good for our ballclub where, you know, you just can't load up on one guy. You know, we know Trayce is the guy, but we've got guys around him that are able to make shots and that was the whole thing coming into this season and the work that we put in this summer and shooting a lot.

You know, Miller, he doesn't get a lot of shots but he's efficient. He makes shots what he has to make them, and that's huge for a team when you are trying to win.

Q. On Trey Galloway making an impact at both ends of the court...
WOODSON: Again, Trey is a guy that I love him because he plays hard. You know, he accepts coaching. You want to challenge him, you know, there's lot of barking back. He just plays.

You know, I love everything about him because he plays hard. He does all the things that most people at that position or players at that position don't want to do. But we just got to continue to grow. He's got to grow and continue to grow with us, and continue to do the things that's helped us get to this point.

Q. On what adjustments Rutgers made from the first to second half defensively...
WOODSON: Body movement, setting good screens, ball movement. We became very lethargic, man, and you know, against good teams that really defend, you can't do that because it's a struggle to score the basketball. I thought we free-flowed the first half but the second -- you know, we looked tired tonight, and I'm not using that as an excuse. We just didn't have any pop coming down the stretch, and I've got to get us over the hump what I see that happen. We've got to figure out something. I've got to help them do that.

Q. On the emotional maturity of the team to respond like tonight after the Purdue win...
WOODSON: I think it's at its all-time high. We've done some things in this last eight games, I think we are 7-1 in our last eight where guys, they just believe now, and that's a big part of winning. When we lost those three in a row we were all searching. Me being the head of the snake as the coach, I'm searching and I know what the hell was going on, you know, what we weren't doing, and now we're back doing those things. That's what makes winning fun.

MILLER KOPP | GUARD
Q. On his focus during the game...
KOPP: I think a lot of it was just game plan. I knew kind of like coming into the game how their wings and stuff guard off the ball and kind of looking at last game's film, how they guarded Trayce and kind of finding where the gaps are in the defense, especially when Trayce has the ball in the post, I'm always trying to move and get in his line of vision, and when we lock eyes, I know it's coming.
It's just being super opportunistic, that's all, really.

Q. On Trayce Jackson-Davis and being the first 2,000-point and 1,000-rebounder in IU history...
KOPP: Well, it's just dominance, really. It's just consistency, really. At the end of the day, you not only have to be a really, really good player but you have to be consistent.

I remember playing against him my freshman year to now, it's like, the dude has been doing it since then since he was a freshman, you know, been that dominant. I still remember the scouting reports when I was a freshman, and we were playing against Indiana and kind of what he was doing.

So, it's just like, you know, it's one thing to be a good player, a really good player in college, but to be able to do it year after year after year shows a lot. It really shows a lot.

Q. On the adjustments that have been made down the stretch to open up the floor...
KOPP: I think we've gotten a lot better playing around Trayce and when he has the ball and giving him space to let him work but also keeping the wings, defenders, hold them accountable, as well, because we work a lot on shooting and the shots we're going to get and kind of where they are coming from.

And, so, you know, just comes down to getting better at what the coaches are asking us to do and we all are kind of feeling more comfortable with where our looks are coming from and kind of how to be opportunistic and aggressive in those areas.

Q. On the gritty plays made by his teammates during the current 7-1 streak...
KOPP: Well, I grew up with three brothers, and man, we just really just fought all the time in a good way. You know, playing one-on-one, two-on-two basketball in our driveway late at night, we had the cops called on us a couple times just because there's yelling and screaming and stuff. You know, the worst thing my dad did is getting us boxing gloves for Christmas one year. That didn't lost long. (Laughter).

That really shaped me to who I am because without them, without my brothers, you know, I'm not who I am today, and even my mom, she works her tail off. She works the hardest in my family. It really is just in my nature to grind and work and be that dude who is willing to do whatever to win.

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS| FORWARD
Q. On guys like Miller Kopp embracing roles and making the team better...
JACKSON-DAVIS: First off, he's a competitor. He's going to do whatever Coach asks him to do. And not only was he hitting shots but what really stood out to me was his effort on the defensive end of the floor, how he's sitting down and he was guarding. He was really, really locked in on the defensive end and when you're playing like that on both sides of the ball, a player like him, he really impacts the game at a high level.

Q. On if the team talked about not being "out-toughed" again against Rutgers...
JACKSON-DAVIS: That's how we've been playing. After the Penn State game, we went into Wisconsin and we started playing with a chip on our shoulder and it was the same thing to the paint. They were being tough, but I thought we were being tough right back.

They are a great team. Defensively they get after it. They muddy it up. But we got the best of them tonight, but props to them because they made it a game the whole time.

Q. On the belief of this team right now...
JACKSON-DAVIS: I think the biggest thing for us was just confidence. When you lose three in a row, you're kind of down on yourself.

But coach Woody always said, you've got to find a middle ground, and so that's what we did. And so when you win one game it can string the two to three, and then you win seven out of your last eight. And so that's with us, and we've just got to be consistent and just take it one game at a time.

Q. On his rebounding over the last four games...
JACKSON DAVIS: I just felt like I try to have a knack for the ball. I know Coach Woody, what he always says, the board man gets paid. I just try to get rebounds, whether it be offensively, defensively, just try to time where the ball is going to be.

But again, I think it's how long I've been here, as well, and just kind of knowing how players are playing me, if I'm watching, if I know a shot is going to go up, getting inside possession, just stuff of that nature, being smart and kind of timing where the ball is going to be.

Q. On if he has reflected on his accomplishments to this point
JACKSON-DAVIS: Do I know about the numbers? Yeah, I do. I don't really pay that much attention to it right now. We've got a lot of season left and a lot more to be focused on than me just individually. We are trying to win. I'm just doing my best to help my teammates win basketball games, but when my career is over, then I'll kind of reflect and think about all that stuff.

Just me from my freshman year, it's been a long ride. It's really, really -- it's just crazy because I remember my prior teams my freshman year, players like Devonte and De'Ron, it feels like a long, long time ago.

So just being able to just do it consistently like Miller said for this long and keep growing areas of my game, whether it be my passing, my ball handling, stuff of that nature. It's really been a blessing to play here, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Q. On the importance of winning games this time of year...
JACKSON-DAVIS: It's very important. I think that was the last team in the Big Ten that I had not beaten. We got Wisconsin earlier this year, but they are a tough team and credit to them. They will always bring it. The RAC is always the toughest place to play in that I've personally played in but they have a lot of pieces.

Caleb is great. I remember when they used to have Miles Johnson; he was a monster. Big Cliff is a really great player. They have a lot of pieces around them and just finally getting over that hump and like Coach Woodson said, getting the monkey off your back, it's big for us. We've just got to keep moving forward and taking it one game at a time.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

STEVE PIKIELL | HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
PIKIELL: Great environment today. Hard fought game. Indiana got out quickly, playing really good basketball. Too much Trayce Jackson Davis really, but our guys fought the whole time. We could have tied it up with three minutes left or so with an open three. We needed to probably get that one down. But we fought. Tough life on the road against a really good basketball team. I give Indiana a lot of credit. They were physical from the start, and they played really good basketball. A lot of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Miller Kopp. That's probably a really good combination for them moving forward. They did a good job and got us today.

Q: On the challenge of guarding Miller Kopp…
PIKIELL: Trayce Jackson-Davis is the problem. You.ve got to double team him, and then the ball gets moved out and he's the recipient of the good pass. I think Trayce had six, seven assists. Probably a lot of those were to Miller Kopp and he's a really good shooter and a really good player. You have to pick your poison sometimes when you play a post guy like that.

Q. On the difference from the first meeting this season…
PIKIELL: (Jalen) Hood-Shifino, he didn't play in the game. Obviously, they're more experienced now. They've gone through a season. You go the obstacles of the season. They've been hardened. It's just a good basketball team in a great environment here today. Obviously, they're really tough at home.

Players Mentioned

Trey Galloway

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Miller Kopp

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