Post-Game Quotes: Tennessee Tech
11/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2010
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MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement...
Well, I'm going to go to sleep tonight thinking about turnovers. We have done a very, very poor job of turning the ball over. That kind of negates some of the good things we're doing like shooting almost 50% from the field and 42% from the 3-point line. The turnovers and the missed free throws are concerning. I'm very disappointed in our guard play, early. I think we did have some rust on us from the trip. We practiced better than we played. That's always disappointing and not very encouraging going into a game that we're going into on Wednesday. We can use all of the million excuses about looking ahead or travel, but I'm very disappointed by how we played. In Draymond's case, he has a back injury - just a muscle spasm - so he was kind of not with it as much as he has been with it. Durrell, it was good that he shot a little better. I was encouraged by that. But just our overall play was, our rebounding, our free throw shooting, our turnovers, was and still is very disappointing. We ran into a team that plays a little bit like us. I thought Mike's team plays inside out defense. They probably caused some of those turnovers. I like his guards a lot. (Zac) Swansey did not shoot as well as I have seen him shoot on film...His guards probably didn't play as well as he would have liked and mine didn't play as good as I would have liked, even though we scored some points.
On if there was a difference in Durrell's confidence today...
Like I said out in Maui, I think last night we had a little walk through and a little film session and then they were going to the hotel and Durrell just stays in there and shoots, shoots, shoots. I can't tell you how proud I am of him with the work that he has put in, in May, June, July, August, September, October. I mean he's done everything he has to do, yet there are other parts to the game. We need Durrell to be the complete player where he can rebound, where he can handle the ball, where he can defend. He's got a lot on his plate, but that's what great players have. But his shot, as you know, has been a little off. I think he has worked himself back into shooting well. I had no worries about that. He's worked too hard on it. It was fun to see him not only hit shots, but they looked good coming off of his hand. I think his comfort level is because of the extra time in the last three days he has spent. I can think of a lot of guys, like (Jason) Richardson, that spend a lot of time in the gym but maybe none more so than Durrell has done in the last six months.
Tennessee Tech Head Coach Mike Sutton
Opening statement...
I would like to congratulate Michigan State and Coach Izzo. All basketball teams are a work in progress particularly in November. I think his team will continue to improve. I like his team. I like some of the things they do. I think they will continue to be a very special basketball team if his kids will work as hard and buy into the Michigan State philosophy.
Today's game was a little sloppy. I don't think you saw either team play its best basketball, but I am certainly proud of our kids for how hard they fought. We didn't shoot the ball well and we didn't make shots, and that's one of the things you develop.
On why Michigan State pulled away after the first half...
There are going to be runs and the team who makes the least mistakes wins. We missed a lay-up which led to a dunk and there was another play where it was a 3-point play so it goes from 2 to 9 to 12 and now you're in a struggle. We were not flowing well. We had 12 turnovers in the first half and I think they had 10 so it was like watching a Thanksgiving Day football game. I'm sure when both coaches watch film they will see that. That is one good thing about this; you see lots of things you can improve on. That run was a big part and that gave them a little cushion. We were competing and you have to have everything go right. To beat an elite team on the road you have to do a few things. One of which is take care of the basketball and the other is make shots. Players make plays and teams win championships. We had to make more plays.
I love Draymond Green. He will never get enough credit for what he does. You look at his state line, 10 points, the only thing is he missed a couple free throws but he has nine rebounds and six assists. He knows how to play which is a rare breed in college basketball. There's a lot of guys that are good players but Draymond understands how to play and where to throw the ball and he is a nightmare matchup as a forward because he is bigger than the threes and quicker and more skilled than a lot of the fours he plays. He's a starter and more importantly he's a finisher in my book.
On the benefit of playing a nationally ranked team like MSU...
For us it tells us what you have to do to be playing in March. You come to Michigan State and I am sure the fans think they have an opportunity to be a Final Four team, and they do. I think they are one of the few teams that has a chance to be really special. As I eluded to earlier, they are a work in progress, but I think you play that kind of schedule, if you can work your way through it, if you can survive it, then it helps your team at the end of the year. I like my team. I love my kids. We are very young. The only senior that got significant minutes was Alfred Jones who was injured and we sort of rolled the dice a little bit. He really wanted to play. He has muscle issues in the upper part of the chest and missed part of practice yesterday, so in that perspective, it teaches your kids what they have to do to be competitive.
