Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: vs. Iowa
1/30/2024 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
Indiana vs. Iowa
Jan. 30, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the effort and energy of [Anthony] Leal…
WOODSON: I gave him the game ball after the game. I thought he was huge -- 13 points, seven rebounds. I mean, defended his ass off. It was a nice carry-over because I thought he played well in the Illinois game. That's why we elected him to come in early and play him and he responded for us which was kind of nice.
Q. On the impact of [Kel'el] Ware…
WOODSON: We needed him back in the worst way. Games like this, man, it's huge for our ball club. He gets 23 and 10 and three blocks. We were missing his length and ability to block shots. We just didn't have it.
It was nice having him back. He was huge tonight for our ball club. And we hadn't beaten this team since I've been here. Fran has kind of had his way with this ball club. They're always well-coached and they get after you. But I thought we withstood it coming down the home stretch and made the plays to win the game.
Q. On the health of Malik [Reneau] and Xavier [Johnson]…
WOODSON: I applaud our team. I've always said since I've been here, it's the next man up. I don't know the severity of X and Malik at this point. But both went out kind of in pain. I'll know here when I get back there to see what the outcome of that is.
But if we have to wait on them, we have to wait on them. But it's the next guy up. We've just got to get the next man ready to play.
So guys that have been sitting over there, hadn't played a whole lot, they've got to step in and help us win basketball games because that's what it's all about at the end of the day.
Q. On focusing while players go down…
WOODSON: You've got to move on. I don't like seeing any player hurt, especially my own players. But the game is still going on. And you've got to get these guys refocused and deal with what they're facing, what's in front of them.
This was a game that could have gone either way, but we made defensive stops. I thought the shot that we gave up with 2 seconds or so on the clock was huge for them. But we responded back when Gabe hit the 3, and we never looked back from that point on, which was kind of nice.
Q. On more offense from Anthony [Walker]…
WOODSON: Where I come from in the NBA, you call that a true pro. And Anthony is the ultimate teammate, man, in terms of just hanging in there with me. And I've coached him and he's come to practice every day and has done what's asked of him and never complained, not once.
He's been a true, true teammate. And guys like that, it's easy to coach. It's easy to throw them in the game and feel good about it because you know what you're going to get based on how he performs in practice. And he's earned the right to play, and that's why I'm playing him.
Q. On the effort and reaction of Kel'el [Ware]
WOODSON: A lot of Coach Woodson screaming from the very beginning when I got him. I don't mean that in a bad way. I just tried to push him, along with our coaching staff. Because the first two or three weeks with him was a nightmare in terms of his energy and his get-up-and-go.
And we've kind of coached him into playing better, playing with a little more energy. And I thought tonight was -- he actually showed some emotion. I mean, one time -- hadn't seen that all pretty much all year with him, but it was kind of nice to see.
Q. On the defensive continuity tonight…
WOODSON: Yeah, I mean, we still got to get Mack better from a defensive standpoint because I think he got lost a few times, and that's not to knock on him. That kid's come a long way since we started with him. And I just got to help him more.
I've got to help everybody more, because it's going to be our defense that carries us the rest of the way and rebounding the ball. And I thought tonight it was a beautiful carry-over from the Illinois game, because we were pretty good defensively.
ANTHONY LEAL | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On focusing after the injuries …
LEAL: I think it's a way to rally us all together. One guy goes down, we know the next guy's got to step up. And we're all committed to winning and doing what we need to do win. Malik goes down, X goes down, we know we have to find a way to win and move on.
Q. On the mentality of just going to work…
LEAL: In that time of waiting it's really been great for me in terms of my faith and just growing closer to God and trusting him and his timing.
But I think just really coming to work every day and understanding, like, me just putting this jersey on for practice, even, is more than a dream come true. It's what I've wanted to do since I was first touching a basketball.
So just trusting God and loving my teammates and this jersey and this school.
Q. On the team finding itself during emotional swings…
LEAL: I think it was a huddle we had with maybe a minute and a half. I mentioned we were just here, we were just here against Illinois, tie game or tie or down two, up two, that sort of situation and we weren't able to figure out how to win. It's something about this team and how we have a lot of new guys but we're figuring out how to win. And this was a good step in that direction.
Q. On the play of [Gabe] Cupps…
LEAL: He loves the game. He loves the school, and he works really, really hard. He's always in here. So it's just a testament to the work that he puts in and the confidence in himself.
Q. On the expectations and the perseverance through the hard times…
LEAL: I think obviously coming out of high school everybody has the expectations. I went through a coaching change and tried to stick it out because I love this university and this school.
So just being committed to that and understanding, like I said earlier, that this is a dream come true whether I'm playing 1 minute or 40 minutes. Just to be able to put on this jersey is kind of my mindset and just the love for IU.
Q. On help with confidence from coaches and teammates…
LEAL: I work out with Coach Hulls, Jordy, almost every day. He's someone I've always looked up to. He's been good for me in my corner. But I think just overall my teammates give me confidence. They trust me. They know I put in the work to be able to reap what I sow. I think just staying committed to it and having confidence in myself and the work that I put in.
Q. On what you saw from Kel'el [Ware]…
LEAL: The last couple of games, whenever he was out, it really took a toll on him, mentally, emotionally. Obviously physically he was out. But he loves us as teammates and he wants to win more than anything. So it was good to see him show some emotion and fight through some nicks and bruises and whatnot. But especially with Malik going down, he stepped up big time for us.
GABE CUPPS | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On seeing out the game tonight …
CUPPS: I think a lot of it is just trusting in myself and trusting in my teammates. I think one of the most important things that Coach Woodson said to me during that series of events, it's in the past, you've got to leave it behind. Even though he was pretty mad at me, he told me to move to the next play.
I think just me being here is a blessing like Anthony said. So I'm here to work, here to get better. And I think that allows me to trust myself and also for my teammates to trust me. If Gallo doesn't trust me, he probably doesn't swing that pass back. Just really thankful for the opportunity and thankful for these guys.
Q. On what you saw from Kel'el [Ware]…
CUPPS: I mean, I liked it a lot. That's the thing we need from him. He's obviously super talented, super skilled. And a lot of people's knock on him is that he's not tough. And I think he shows it in spurts, but once he can be consistent in that -- and he showed that tonight -- he's an unstoppable player.
FRAN MCCAFFERY | IOWA HEAD COACH
Q. On what went wrong in the first half…
MCCAFFERY: We didn't match the intensity level that (Indiana) came out with to start the game, so you have to credit them for that. They jumped us. They were shooting the ball well, but the energy level in the building and the energy level that they were playing with was better than ours. We settled down and climbed back. We were down 17 and climbed back in and got it to a manageable number. Our defensive intensity and our execution was way better in the second half. We got back into the game, took the lead. But credit to them for pulling it out.
Q. On how the gameplan changed when Malik Reneau went out for Indiana…
MCCAFFERY: It didn't change anything. They just put (Anthony Walker) in there, and he's not bad either. Having both (Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware) of them is difficult because Reneau is so good at scoring the ball, but he's also a physical rebounder. (Indiana) went small, and that changed things. It enabled us to go small at times because you can't go small when those two guys are in there.
Q. On Tony Perkins in the second half being guarded by Anthony Leal…
MCCAFFERY: We just turned him loose. We weren't really isoing anybody. We were running some actions to get him downhill, give him opportunities to give him space. (Xavier) Johnson had four fouls, so we were going at him too to try and get him in trouble. He's our guy, so we went to him.
Indiana vs. Iowa
Jan. 30, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the effort and energy of [Anthony] Leal…
WOODSON: I gave him the game ball after the game. I thought he was huge -- 13 points, seven rebounds. I mean, defended his ass off. It was a nice carry-over because I thought he played well in the Illinois game. That's why we elected him to come in early and play him and he responded for us which was kind of nice.
Q. On the impact of [Kel'el] Ware…
WOODSON: We needed him back in the worst way. Games like this, man, it's huge for our ball club. He gets 23 and 10 and three blocks. We were missing his length and ability to block shots. We just didn't have it.
It was nice having him back. He was huge tonight for our ball club. And we hadn't beaten this team since I've been here. Fran has kind of had his way with this ball club. They're always well-coached and they get after you. But I thought we withstood it coming down the home stretch and made the plays to win the game.
Q. On the health of Malik [Reneau] and Xavier [Johnson]…
WOODSON: I applaud our team. I've always said since I've been here, it's the next man up. I don't know the severity of X and Malik at this point. But both went out kind of in pain. I'll know here when I get back there to see what the outcome of that is.
But if we have to wait on them, we have to wait on them. But it's the next guy up. We've just got to get the next man ready to play.
So guys that have been sitting over there, hadn't played a whole lot, they've got to step in and help us win basketball games because that's what it's all about at the end of the day.
Q. On focusing while players go down…
WOODSON: You've got to move on. I don't like seeing any player hurt, especially my own players. But the game is still going on. And you've got to get these guys refocused and deal with what they're facing, what's in front of them.
This was a game that could have gone either way, but we made defensive stops. I thought the shot that we gave up with 2 seconds or so on the clock was huge for them. But we responded back when Gabe hit the 3, and we never looked back from that point on, which was kind of nice.
Q. On more offense from Anthony [Walker]…
WOODSON: Where I come from in the NBA, you call that a true pro. And Anthony is the ultimate teammate, man, in terms of just hanging in there with me. And I've coached him and he's come to practice every day and has done what's asked of him and never complained, not once.
He's been a true, true teammate. And guys like that, it's easy to coach. It's easy to throw them in the game and feel good about it because you know what you're going to get based on how he performs in practice. And he's earned the right to play, and that's why I'm playing him.
Q. On the effort and reaction of Kel'el [Ware]
WOODSON: A lot of Coach Woodson screaming from the very beginning when I got him. I don't mean that in a bad way. I just tried to push him, along with our coaching staff. Because the first two or three weeks with him was a nightmare in terms of his energy and his get-up-and-go.
And we've kind of coached him into playing better, playing with a little more energy. And I thought tonight was -- he actually showed some emotion. I mean, one time -- hadn't seen that all pretty much all year with him, but it was kind of nice to see.
Q. On the defensive continuity tonight…
WOODSON: Yeah, I mean, we still got to get Mack better from a defensive standpoint because I think he got lost a few times, and that's not to knock on him. That kid's come a long way since we started with him. And I just got to help him more.
I've got to help everybody more, because it's going to be our defense that carries us the rest of the way and rebounding the ball. And I thought tonight it was a beautiful carry-over from the Illinois game, because we were pretty good defensively.
ANTHONY LEAL | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On focusing after the injuries …
LEAL: I think it's a way to rally us all together. One guy goes down, we know the next guy's got to step up. And we're all committed to winning and doing what we need to do win. Malik goes down, X goes down, we know we have to find a way to win and move on.
Q. On the mentality of just going to work…
LEAL: In that time of waiting it's really been great for me in terms of my faith and just growing closer to God and trusting him and his timing.
But I think just really coming to work every day and understanding, like, me just putting this jersey on for practice, even, is more than a dream come true. It's what I've wanted to do since I was first touching a basketball.
So just trusting God and loving my teammates and this jersey and this school.
Q. On the team finding itself during emotional swings…
LEAL: I think it was a huddle we had with maybe a minute and a half. I mentioned we were just here, we were just here against Illinois, tie game or tie or down two, up two, that sort of situation and we weren't able to figure out how to win. It's something about this team and how we have a lot of new guys but we're figuring out how to win. And this was a good step in that direction.
Q. On the play of [Gabe] Cupps…
LEAL: He loves the game. He loves the school, and he works really, really hard. He's always in here. So it's just a testament to the work that he puts in and the confidence in himself.
Q. On the expectations and the perseverance through the hard times…
LEAL: I think obviously coming out of high school everybody has the expectations. I went through a coaching change and tried to stick it out because I love this university and this school.
So just being committed to that and understanding, like I said earlier, that this is a dream come true whether I'm playing 1 minute or 40 minutes. Just to be able to put on this jersey is kind of my mindset and just the love for IU.
Q. On help with confidence from coaches and teammates…
LEAL: I work out with Coach Hulls, Jordy, almost every day. He's someone I've always looked up to. He's been good for me in my corner. But I think just overall my teammates give me confidence. They trust me. They know I put in the work to be able to reap what I sow. I think just staying committed to it and having confidence in myself and the work that I put in.
Q. On what you saw from Kel'el [Ware]…
LEAL: The last couple of games, whenever he was out, it really took a toll on him, mentally, emotionally. Obviously physically he was out. But he loves us as teammates and he wants to win more than anything. So it was good to see him show some emotion and fight through some nicks and bruises and whatnot. But especially with Malik going down, he stepped up big time for us.
GABE CUPPS | INDIANA GUARD
Q. On seeing out the game tonight …
CUPPS: I think a lot of it is just trusting in myself and trusting in my teammates. I think one of the most important things that Coach Woodson said to me during that series of events, it's in the past, you've got to leave it behind. Even though he was pretty mad at me, he told me to move to the next play.
I think just me being here is a blessing like Anthony said. So I'm here to work, here to get better. And I think that allows me to trust myself and also for my teammates to trust me. If Gallo doesn't trust me, he probably doesn't swing that pass back. Just really thankful for the opportunity and thankful for these guys.
Q. On what you saw from Kel'el [Ware]…
CUPPS: I mean, I liked it a lot. That's the thing we need from him. He's obviously super talented, super skilled. And a lot of people's knock on him is that he's not tough. And I think he shows it in spurts, but once he can be consistent in that -- and he showed that tonight -- he's an unstoppable player.
FRAN MCCAFFERY | IOWA HEAD COACH
Q. On what went wrong in the first half…
MCCAFFERY: We didn't match the intensity level that (Indiana) came out with to start the game, so you have to credit them for that. They jumped us. They were shooting the ball well, but the energy level in the building and the energy level that they were playing with was better than ours. We settled down and climbed back. We were down 17 and climbed back in and got it to a manageable number. Our defensive intensity and our execution was way better in the second half. We got back into the game, took the lead. But credit to them for pulling it out.
Q. On how the gameplan changed when Malik Reneau went out for Indiana…
MCCAFFERY: It didn't change anything. They just put (Anthony Walker) in there, and he's not bad either. Having both (Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware) of them is difficult because Reneau is so good at scoring the ball, but he's also a physical rebounder. (Indiana) went small, and that changed things. It enabled us to go small at times because you can't go small when those two guys are in there.
Q. On Tony Perkins in the second half being guarded by Anthony Leal…
MCCAFFERY: We just turned him loose. We weren't really isoing anybody. We were running some actions to get him downhill, give him opportunities to give him space. (Xavier) Johnson had four fouls, so we were going at him too to try and get him in trouble. He's our guy, so we went to him.
Players Mentioned
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