Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: SIUE
11/6/2024 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Postgame Quotes
No. 17/18 Indiana vs. SIUE
Nov. 6, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the offensive explosion with Mackenzie (Mgbako)
WOODSON: I thought he was the only one that truly played pretty good offense tonight. I mean, I thought we came out with great intentions. The ball moved early. We just got stale from an offensive standpoint in terms of moving the ball, making the extra pass.
This team was able to hang around. A lot of that is because we just didn't execute. I got to get us better in that regard.
I thought our defense was not too bad. We got to rebound the ball better. Gave up too many offensive rebounds.
Q. On how practice has been leading up to this…
WOODSON: No, I think we've been having some pretty good practices. The ball just wasn't moving. Our bodies weren't moving. I got to get us better in that area.
I thought, again, defensively we were pretty solid. You take away their offensive rebounding, we really are pretty good defensively. But we just couldn't keep 'em off the glass. That's not a big team.
I got to get us blocking out and getting better in that area.
Q. On Mackenzie's approach and effort…
WOODSON: No, he's still learning. I mean, I thought tonight was one of the best games he's had since he's been here. He was pretty solid defensively.
I look at what Kanaan Carlyle did from a defensive standpoint. Gallo coming in and defending, giving us nine assists.
This team, there's enough to spread the wealth all around the team if guys play the right way. I don't think in stretches we played the right way tonight.
Q. On lowering turnovers throughout the season…
WOODSON: Yeah, I think so. Myles (Rice), he had five turnovers. Three of them was where there just wasn't nothing there. He tried to split two and three guys and lost the ball. Those are things that are correctable. He has to be patient to get us in something, then know what to go do what he needs to do offensively himself.
Still a work in motion in terms of trying to get him to play the right way and be a true point guard.
Q. With Myles (Rice), where maybe is the next step with him?
WOODSON: Again, I mean, good point guards, great point guards, they figure out how to make players better around them, and then still figure out how to go score the basketball.
He can score the ball, there's no doubt about that. He's shown that in practice. I don't want to ever take that away from him.
But I do want him to play the right way and run our offense when he's got the ball in his hands and make the right plays when it's time to make 'em.
Q. Trey (Galloway) and his versatility and role…
WOODSON: Again, a lot of it has been we can't help but bring him off right now because he can't play big-time minutes yet. He's missed so much of summer play, coming back from summer play up until this point. We're just gradually trying to bring him along, not burn him and get him hurt again.
I mean, tonight his minutes grew a little bit more. He played 17 minutes, but he played longer in stretches tonight. So, we'll see how he feels tomorrow when he wakes up and comes in for treatment. That's going to be the key.
Q. On the team's offensive identity…
WOODSON: Don't know. Still searching. I do know we can score the basketball. Certain guys haven't really made shots like I thought they would. They'll start falling eventually.
Q. On managing high expectations…
WOODSON: We can't hide from it. Expectations, that's a good thing. We expect that. So I expect our players to play at a high level. I thought in stretches we did tonight.
I just got to get us where we're playing 40 minutes a game throughout the game no matter what, no matter who we play.
Q. On SIUE's 16 offensive rebounds…
WOODSON: No, I just give them credit from a team standpoint. They wanted it a little bit more than we did. That's something that can't happen.
I got to go back and break this film down and put them in front of the film and try to get better.
MACKENZIE MGBAKO | SOPHOMORE FORWARD & TREY GALLOWAY | SENIOR GUARD
Q. On how he was feeling it tonight…
MGBAKO: Just playing within the offense and playing with my team. Just being aggressive, playing with what they gave me.
Q. On what it's like seeing Mackenzie hit every shot…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, I mean, it's great to see. People don't see it, but we all see. He puts in the work. He's very efficient in his work. He's a guy that can score for us, and we know that. He did that tonight. We're going to need him to do it a lot of times.
I think whenever it's anybody's night, just making sure we keep finding that person. It's going to be a lot of guys' nights throughout the season that can get out and score.
Tonight was Mackenzie's night and he played really well for us.
Q. On the connection with Oumar Ballo down the stretch…
GALLOWAY: We were stagnant early on and throughout the game. We needed to move in a pace that we've been doing in practice and stuff.
I think just creating some movement that we were able to kind of find some things, get some open gaps. He got behind the defense, we were able to score. I think continuing that on to the next game and playing with pace.
I think our pace was good towards the end of the game. We got to have that pace for all 40 minutes on offense and defense.
Q. On finding different ways to score…
MGABKO: Yeah, most definitely worked on defense. A big thing is defense creating offense. Being able to know the reads on the defensive side, that leads to offense.
Q. On building chemistry with new guys on the team…
GALLOWAY: I think just getting and finding and being comfortable with new rotations that we really haven't had yet. In practice, just getting those game-like reps and doing everything at game speed is going to be huge for us.
This is only our third game together. My second game. Everyone else. It's coming together, doing it at game speed. It shows. It's a different game when you're out there on court.
I think continuing to get better in practice and trust in each other and keep building that trust within each guy, it's going to help us.
Q. On how this team differs from the last five years…
GALLOWAY: I think just a lot of the weapons that we have. There's so many guys that can do so many things. Like I said previously, it's going to be a lot of guys' nights. We're going to have to sacrifice that all season. I mean, if one guy is really playing well, we got to be unselfish and find them.
I think we'll continue to get better as we get into the season and keep growing together. I think just with that being said, we got to continue to do it every day in practice and continue to find each other.
Like I said, we got so many weapons that can create for others and create for themselves.
Q. On managing expectations…
GALLOWAY: I think it's great because we have high expectations for ourselves, as well. We've really come together and shared our goals together. We all know what our goals are.
As a collective group, we've got to come together and find ways to keep doing those every day. Like I said, I always go back to practice. That's our main thing. Our focus is getting better in practice and being ready to go for those games.
I think taking it one game at a time and trusting our work. Obviously, there are expectations. We're Indiana. The history of this place is phenomenal.
I think just like I said, taking it one game at a time and coming together, it's going to be huge for us.
Q. On becoming a cohesive offensive unit quickly this year…
GALLOWAY: It's a different team. Every year is a different team. I think just like I said, we got a lot of experience with guys that have played a lot of minutes in the Big Ten, the Pac-12, older guys. I think with that being said, we got to find ways to come together quicker. The season goes quick. Before we know it, we'll be in the Big Ten playing.
I think we have to work out some kinks and keep coming together and figuring everything out.
Q. On his 13 points in a four-minute window…
MGBAKO: I was just going with what the team gave me. It was like moving the ball, finding the right shots, and just taking them.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
BRIAN BARONE | SIUE HEAD COACH
Q. Opening statement…
BARONE: I really like my team. I like the character of my team. I like the talent of our team. Arnas Sakenis played five days ago for the first time in six months. Darrion Baker was out for about a month ana a half. Jo Valrie was out for about a month and a half until three, four or five days ago. It was neat to see them just go out there and compete along with all of the guys that have been working really hard as well.
I'm really proud of who we are and what our program has become. In this situation when you tie (the game) 27-27, I think (Indiana) went on a 10-0 run pretty quick then. Then we cut it to seven, eight, or nine.
We missed two free throws and gave up another missed assignment three. Indiana did a great job of making the shots they needed to make. We made enough plays to put ourselves in a position to take the turn to the next step to hopefully win the game.
Unfortunately, we did not make that second or third one that we needed to make. We didn't shoot great tonight.
Q. On Indiana's performance…
BARONE: They are big. I was impressed with how they pressured the ball. That was something different from the scouting. I thought they scouted Ray-Sean Taylor well and put pressure on him.
They picked us up full-court and sped us up a little bit. I thought that was really impressive what they did. They did it with a level of urgency. When you get to that second line, they were really long.
I thought some of our guys hesitated on some of the shots to finish at the rim, or doughnuts into the shots. They were able to block the shots. They are a big and physical team. They have the ability, if they can shoot like that and knock down the big shots, to be a pretty darn good team.
Q. On what makes Mackenzie Mgbako so effective…
BARONE: He doesn't get sped up. He just goes about himself. I thought that on film. We watched a bunch of film from the end of the year and saw some stuff from this year as well.
I didn't feel like he really sped up. I thought he read the screens the right way. At the end of the day, He was 13-17 (from the field). When he gets into his shot, he just shot what his shot looked like. He had it going. He has great size. He did a good job pressuring us on a couple of reversals. He got the and-one just after he hit a three early in the first half.
No. 17/18 Indiana vs. SIUE
Nov. 6, 2024
MIKE WOODSON | INDIANA HEAD COACH
Q. On the offensive explosion with Mackenzie (Mgbako)
WOODSON: I thought he was the only one that truly played pretty good offense tonight. I mean, I thought we came out with great intentions. The ball moved early. We just got stale from an offensive standpoint in terms of moving the ball, making the extra pass.
This team was able to hang around. A lot of that is because we just didn't execute. I got to get us better in that regard.
I thought our defense was not too bad. We got to rebound the ball better. Gave up too many offensive rebounds.
Q. On how practice has been leading up to this…
WOODSON: No, I think we've been having some pretty good practices. The ball just wasn't moving. Our bodies weren't moving. I got to get us better in that area.
I thought, again, defensively we were pretty solid. You take away their offensive rebounding, we really are pretty good defensively. But we just couldn't keep 'em off the glass. That's not a big team.
I got to get us blocking out and getting better in that area.
Q. On Mackenzie's approach and effort…
WOODSON: No, he's still learning. I mean, I thought tonight was one of the best games he's had since he's been here. He was pretty solid defensively.
I look at what Kanaan Carlyle did from a defensive standpoint. Gallo coming in and defending, giving us nine assists.
This team, there's enough to spread the wealth all around the team if guys play the right way. I don't think in stretches we played the right way tonight.
Q. On lowering turnovers throughout the season…
WOODSON: Yeah, I think so. Myles (Rice), he had five turnovers. Three of them was where there just wasn't nothing there. He tried to split two and three guys and lost the ball. Those are things that are correctable. He has to be patient to get us in something, then know what to go do what he needs to do offensively himself.
Still a work in motion in terms of trying to get him to play the right way and be a true point guard.
Q. With Myles (Rice), where maybe is the next step with him?
WOODSON: Again, I mean, good point guards, great point guards, they figure out how to make players better around them, and then still figure out how to go score the basketball.
He can score the ball, there's no doubt about that. He's shown that in practice. I don't want to ever take that away from him.
But I do want him to play the right way and run our offense when he's got the ball in his hands and make the right plays when it's time to make 'em.
Q. Trey (Galloway) and his versatility and role…
WOODSON: Again, a lot of it has been we can't help but bring him off right now because he can't play big-time minutes yet. He's missed so much of summer play, coming back from summer play up until this point. We're just gradually trying to bring him along, not burn him and get him hurt again.
I mean, tonight his minutes grew a little bit more. He played 17 minutes, but he played longer in stretches tonight. So, we'll see how he feels tomorrow when he wakes up and comes in for treatment. That's going to be the key.
Q. On the team's offensive identity…
WOODSON: Don't know. Still searching. I do know we can score the basketball. Certain guys haven't really made shots like I thought they would. They'll start falling eventually.
Q. On managing high expectations…
WOODSON: We can't hide from it. Expectations, that's a good thing. We expect that. So I expect our players to play at a high level. I thought in stretches we did tonight.
I just got to get us where we're playing 40 minutes a game throughout the game no matter what, no matter who we play.
Q. On SIUE's 16 offensive rebounds…
WOODSON: No, I just give them credit from a team standpoint. They wanted it a little bit more than we did. That's something that can't happen.
I got to go back and break this film down and put them in front of the film and try to get better.
MACKENZIE MGBAKO | SOPHOMORE FORWARD & TREY GALLOWAY | SENIOR GUARD
Q. On how he was feeling it tonight…
MGBAKO: Just playing within the offense and playing with my team. Just being aggressive, playing with what they gave me.
Q. On what it's like seeing Mackenzie hit every shot…
GALLOWAY: Yeah, I mean, it's great to see. People don't see it, but we all see. He puts in the work. He's very efficient in his work. He's a guy that can score for us, and we know that. He did that tonight. We're going to need him to do it a lot of times.
I think whenever it's anybody's night, just making sure we keep finding that person. It's going to be a lot of guys' nights throughout the season that can get out and score.
Tonight was Mackenzie's night and he played really well for us.
Q. On the connection with Oumar Ballo down the stretch…
GALLOWAY: We were stagnant early on and throughout the game. We needed to move in a pace that we've been doing in practice and stuff.
I think just creating some movement that we were able to kind of find some things, get some open gaps. He got behind the defense, we were able to score. I think continuing that on to the next game and playing with pace.
I think our pace was good towards the end of the game. We got to have that pace for all 40 minutes on offense and defense.
Q. On finding different ways to score…
MGABKO: Yeah, most definitely worked on defense. A big thing is defense creating offense. Being able to know the reads on the defensive side, that leads to offense.
Q. On building chemistry with new guys on the team…
GALLOWAY: I think just getting and finding and being comfortable with new rotations that we really haven't had yet. In practice, just getting those game-like reps and doing everything at game speed is going to be huge for us.
This is only our third game together. My second game. Everyone else. It's coming together, doing it at game speed. It shows. It's a different game when you're out there on court.
I think continuing to get better in practice and trust in each other and keep building that trust within each guy, it's going to help us.
Q. On how this team differs from the last five years…
GALLOWAY: I think just a lot of the weapons that we have. There's so many guys that can do so many things. Like I said previously, it's going to be a lot of guys' nights. We're going to have to sacrifice that all season. I mean, if one guy is really playing well, we got to be unselfish and find them.
I think we'll continue to get better as we get into the season and keep growing together. I think just with that being said, we got to continue to do it every day in practice and continue to find each other.
Like I said, we got so many weapons that can create for others and create for themselves.
Q. On managing expectations…
GALLOWAY: I think it's great because we have high expectations for ourselves, as well. We've really come together and shared our goals together. We all know what our goals are.
As a collective group, we've got to come together and find ways to keep doing those every day. Like I said, I always go back to practice. That's our main thing. Our focus is getting better in practice and being ready to go for those games.
I think taking it one game at a time and trusting our work. Obviously, there are expectations. We're Indiana. The history of this place is phenomenal.
I think just like I said, taking it one game at a time and coming together, it's going to be huge for us.
Q. On becoming a cohesive offensive unit quickly this year…
GALLOWAY: It's a different team. Every year is a different team. I think just like I said, we got a lot of experience with guys that have played a lot of minutes in the Big Ten, the Pac-12, older guys. I think with that being said, we got to find ways to come together quicker. The season goes quick. Before we know it, we'll be in the Big Ten playing.
I think we have to work out some kinks and keep coming together and figuring everything out.
Q. On his 13 points in a four-minute window…
MGBAKO: I was just going with what the team gave me. It was like moving the ball, finding the right shots, and just taking them.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
BRIAN BARONE | SIUE HEAD COACH
Q. Opening statement…
BARONE: I really like my team. I like the character of my team. I like the talent of our team. Arnas Sakenis played five days ago for the first time in six months. Darrion Baker was out for about a month ana a half. Jo Valrie was out for about a month and a half until three, four or five days ago. It was neat to see them just go out there and compete along with all of the guys that have been working really hard as well.
I'm really proud of who we are and what our program has become. In this situation when you tie (the game) 27-27, I think (Indiana) went on a 10-0 run pretty quick then. Then we cut it to seven, eight, or nine.
We missed two free throws and gave up another missed assignment three. Indiana did a great job of making the shots they needed to make. We made enough plays to put ourselves in a position to take the turn to the next step to hopefully win the game.
Unfortunately, we did not make that second or third one that we needed to make. We didn't shoot great tonight.
Q. On Indiana's performance…
BARONE: They are big. I was impressed with how they pressured the ball. That was something different from the scouting. I thought they scouted Ray-Sean Taylor well and put pressure on him.
They picked us up full-court and sped us up a little bit. I thought that was really impressive what they did. They did it with a level of urgency. When you get to that second line, they were really long.
I thought some of our guys hesitated on some of the shots to finish at the rim, or doughnuts into the shots. They were able to block the shots. They are a big and physical team. They have the ability, if they can shoot like that and knock down the big shots, to be a pretty darn good team.
Q. On what makes Mackenzie Mgbako so effective…
BARONE: He doesn't get sped up. He just goes about himself. I thought that on film. We watched a bunch of film from the end of the year and saw some stuff from this year as well.
I didn't feel like he really sped up. I thought he read the screens the right way. At the end of the day, He was 13-17 (from the field). When he gets into his shot, he just shot what his shot looked like. He had it going. He has great size. He did a good job pressuring us on a couple of reversals. He got the and-one just after he hit a three early in the first half.
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
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Forward
/ Men's BasketballThursday, August 13
Thursday, August 13
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 12