Michigan State University Athletics
Post Game Quotes: Robert Morris
11/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant
On what the team needs to work on…
A couple of things; I still think we struggled to finish our defensive rebounds and keeping people in front of us which has to change. Our pressure is really good, but we can't always rely on that just to get us going. We have to refocus, re-center coming out of the half. That is something we really need to focus on.
On the benefits of the upgraded off-season program…
Some of our problems were a lot of players were hurt and there's no substitute for running when you play basketball. The best thing you can do is get on the floor and play. We had four or five kids that were playing minutes for us that were banged up. We did meet after last season and discussed how this is unacceptable, and for me, as a coach, I need to make sure we're in better shape and I think they bought into that and really brought into the process.
On establishing the press as a team…
We need to get the backline rotating and do a better job in the areas we look to attack the ball. We played a little bit more passive, but we need to able to make adjustments. I was more worried about getting pressure to the ball and understanding rotations. We probably need to break it down a little better so we understand our slides and angles. Sometimes our kids were close to completing the trap but then they would back down. As a coach I need to make sure our kids know what to do. The better the trap, the more you can gamble.
On the bigs having long range...
All of our bigs can shoot which isn't a bad thing. I don't mind having that option. We have guards that can post, so we can mess around. It's fun. I enjoy the versatility piece, which we also look for in kids. It has been awhile since I have had a pick-and-pop player four man in Sidney (Cooks) who can knock it down.
