Post-Game Quotes
11/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening comments... Not a lot of bright spots I can give you, I didn't think we played very well, but it's been a long day and there were bright spots, I'll pick those first. Kalen Lucas played very well. I was amazed at how hard he played defensively. Travis (Walton) played very well and Drew (Neitzel) is just struggling. I'm not over worried about it, he's been a shooter his whole life. He had good shots he just didn't make them and you have those kinds of shots and don't make them, it's hard for a team to be as successful. I think it really hurt us not having (Raymar) Morgan and not finding out until 2:30 today. Again we were just out of sync this time. I tried to do a better job of managing it but when (Goran) Suton got in foul trouble right away, it was a little harder to manage it with a smaller line up that they played. So all in all, I guess we shot well from the free throw line. I thought earlier our offensive rebounding was very good and then we quit doing it. I thought Michigan Tech made some shots, which they can do. You have to give them credit for that. They didn't shoot it as great either overall which means our defense was a little bit decent. We were out of sync, and that is going to have to change.
On Raymar Morgan not playing... Raymar had some academic things that he needed to take care of that he didn't take care of, so the decision was made for me at 2:30. Raymar in general, is not only a good student, but a good guy. He just didn't take care of some business he needed to take care of.
On Drew Neitzel showing troubles shooting during practice... He hasn't made as many shots in practice. I think he's pressing a little bit, but like I said he had good shots. We opened it up with the best shot we could get him right off the bat, and the ball went right through his hands. So I think he's pressing a little bit but I sure can't worry too much about a kid who shoots it as well as he does and works as hard as he does and yet we aren't going to look as good as we look when those kind of things happen.
On being surprised by the way they played during exhibition games... Yeah it really does. I thought we played well in our exhibition games and I think Kevin (Luke) would be the first to tell you. You have to give Tech credit, they played hard and made a few of those threes when they were open but I don't think he thinks they're as good a team as Grand Valley and we didn't play a lot better minus two more guys, but those are excuses that I should be held accountable for because they are kind of bad excuses. We are trying to play a lot of people which will get paired down some now, but we've got to get everybody back and we are going to try to do that this week.
On Goran Suton... I think the foul trouble, sitting on the bench that much time gave him trouble, but to his credit he came in and made some shots at the end. We have to get him to stop fading at the end.
On not having locker room privileges... I told them after the Grand Valley game, I probably should have taken an office outside because I didn't do a very good job either, but I think if you are going to get it from me, don't read into everything. My job is to hold us all accountable and I didn't like the way things turned out. The locker room surely doesn't matter how well you play the game. It's a perk that happens when you're younger. It's a nice perk, and I didn't feel like we played up to the responsibility of what we have. We might go into the locker room tonight we might back in a month. It's not really even a punishment, to me, you live up to what you've got and that is what I am going to do.
Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Luke
Opening comments... What an opportunity for our young men to come in and go at a much, much higher level than our league. And I think our league has shown that basketball doesn't have any limits. I want to thank Coach Izzo, his staff and Michigan State for the opportunity to play here. What an awesome trip this was for us. A nine hour ride seemed like two minutes; it will seem like that tomorrow, and I hope we can practice when we get home tomorrow.
Michigan State is a program that we would like to be like someday. I know we can't get that caliber athlete, but we have to work with what we can get. I'm very proud of our kids defensively, to hold them to 61 points in their facility. I think offensively, we have a long way to go. I think [MSU]'s athleticism caught up with us at the end of the game; Suton hit that huge three, and I'm happy for him but disappointed for us, because we are Michigan State fans at Michigan Tech. I was getting kind of fired up when you were playing the fight song.
On Michigan State's struggles right now... In watching their films, I don't know that I would call it a struggle; it's more of a transition. For us, I do think it's really easy to scout this team because we know that we have to try and put all our focus on Drew [Neitzel] at this point. I'm hoping what's going to happen here is the transition of Michigan State basketball into having more balance. And Neitzel is going to get his points and [Kalin] Lucas is going to get his points. And if the big guys can continue to score inside, I don't think they will have any problem. But that all takes time. And it's tough when you have five starters coming back, and it's not there right now. Michigan State was in an awfully good comfort zone at the end of last season, and the ball went through Drew every possession. This year is going to be a different situation. When those young kids come of age and feel a little more comfortable, I don't think there's going to be struggle. They have some outstanding athleticism.
On Michigan Tech's youth... We struggled because we have a couple of great freshman, but at this point, it's so hard to play them because they're just so far behind the upperclassmen. And I know that they will have a chance, and that's our job and our responsibility to get them up to speed. And once they're there, I would feel good about our young kids being able to compliment our older players. I think that is what Michigan State is going through right now.
On Kevin Maloney... He's a kid that wanted to be an engineer. He came up to Michigan Tech and just battled. What a great kid and what a great family. He's all of 5-9 and a shooting guard; and we're asking him to do things that are just impossible. But he's trying, and that's all he can do. Kevin was two for six tonight but there are nights when he's made all six. So, in a game like this, he's going to struggle because of the athleticism and size; and I knew that. But I also knew that this was a kid from Lansing coming home, and he was going to at least be aggressive. And coming into this environment, being the team after the loss [to Grand Valley State], I knew he'd be aggressive. And I'm really happy he wasn't afraid to put up shots.
