Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
11/2/2026 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement...
Well, things haven't changed in 30 years. If you guard better, you usually rebound better. If you rebound better, you usually run better. If you defend, rebound, and run, you have some success. Most of you don't know Tom (Pecora), but he's a hell of a coach. He worked for Jay Wright. He's a damn good coach. His team played with some toughness. I thought those guards gave us some problems early. I thought we got back to playing the defense that we play, which is more gap defense. As soon as we got some stops, we got our run game going. I think we had 36 or 38 points off of fast breaks, which is really what we need. There were a lot of positives and a few negatives. Two of my worst free-throw shooters last year, Coen (Carr) and Cam (Ward), went 8-for-10, but my other guys did not shoot the ball very well from the line. That's one thing we've got to straighten out, because that wins and loses you a lot of games. We only had 12 turnovers, not bad when you think of all the possessions that we had. I'd like to keep that down to 10 or under, but it's decent. We shot decent from the field. The other thing is, my two best shooters are probably Jasiah (Jervis) and Jordan (Scott), and they both struggled on wide-open shots. Jasiah was 1-for-6, every shot he took was a good one. Jordan was 1-for-5 from the three. The encouraging part is that I know they can shoot it.
That's the least of my worries. We played a lot of people again because of the score. It was nice to see Coen (Carr) almost get a double-double, and (Anton) Bonke get a double-double. He still struggles with movement, but he was much, much better than he's been. I think those exhibition games are really healthy for us. Jeremy (Fears Jr.) kind of took the game over in the second half like All-American's should. He was okay in the first half. As I told Jeremy (Fears Jr.), his standards for me have changed. Okay isn't good enough. Good isn't good enough anymore. He's got to play at an elite level, and when he started to do that in the second half defensively, it changed the whole game. I thought the rest of the guys kind of rose. I always said, when the head dies, the body follows. All in all, I guess I was pleased until I watched the film. We don't know how good or bad any of these teams are for a while until we get a couple of weeks in. Some people think they'll (Quinnipiac) win their league. I think they have a chance to do that. Toledo has been really good. They're next on deck, but so many new faces. Eight or nine new faces, so many new faces that nobody knows what's right and wrong.
On Kaleb Glenn's spark and perfect second half after missing all of last season…
I was really happy for him. Proud of him, but happy for him. I thought him and Kur (Teng) did some good things, and they've been struggling since their injuries. But that was definitely by far Kaleb's best game.
I thought C.J. (Carlos Medlock Jr.)—those three guys came in and really did some things in the first half. And we got more out of our bigs. Even Ethan (Taylor), the motor. I've had some good big guys with a weak motor, and I vowed I'd never let it happen again. So, there's nothing wrong with me getting on Ethan. He's got a chance to be a hell of a player but not playing half-speed. I already told him I'm not going to let it happen. As the game went on, he got a little better in the second half. He's really got some skills and talent. It's a shame a kid like that hardly played last year in high school. He's going to be a good player; it's just going to take a little time. All of our backups were pretty good tonight.
On freshman point guard Carlos Medlock Jr.'s electric play and similarities to past MSU guards…
Since the day I recruited him, he's got Kalin Lucas in him. You could say Cassius (Winston) because he can score it and pass it, but Cash (Cassius Winstons) wasn't as electric as C.J. is, whereas Kalin was. Having four assists and no turnovers was great. Running the team is still going to be a factor for him, he's got so much to learn there. But it was fun to see him really compete and get after it. He can score the ball.
I thought he took better shots. In that Marquette exhibition, he took some bad shots; tonight he took good shots. I was really happy for him. It's fun to see guys come in, spend time watching film, understand what they didn't do right, and change. Hats off to him. If he doesn't go 0-for-4 from the free throw line, he might have had a perfect night. He's a very good free throw shooter, so hopefully we can correct that.
On Carlos Medlock Jr. balancing personal scoring spurts with making the extra pass…
You know me: I do want him to score, but I love the extra pass. There's something special when a team starts making extra passes and when a team starts defending like Jeremy (Fears Jr.) got them going.
We made a couple of dumb fouls – it's got to be my assistants' fault, it can't be mine. But we've fouled a three-point shooter about seven times this year, six for sure – three in one half. We did it a couple times tonight after a great defensive stand. But C.J.'s defense was better, his extra passes were better, and he took better shots. He's starting to see the game and it's slowing down a little bit. It's hard for a freshman to come in and do that. Jeremy (Fears Jr.) struggled with that, Mateen (Cleaves) struggled with that – it's like playing quarterback in football. It's a tough position for a freshman.
On six players scoring in double figures and balanced offensive distribution…
We had two other guys that had nine points: Cam (Ward) and Carlos (Medlock Jr.). So that's encouraging. And as you said, one of my best shooters who had some great looks was Jordan, and he went 5-for-10. If we can get everybody shots, it makes you harder to guard, and that'll be one of the strengths as I look at the film tonight.
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On pulling Anton Bonke early, reinserting him on the block, and Jesse McCullough's status…
We went to Anton twice in the first two minutes. His problem, as it is with all big guys, is conditioning. We went to him early on the first play and it dribbled off his foot.
I don't mind him taking a three, by the way, if it's an inside-out three. But if it's a reverse three and he's jacking it like he's Michael Jordan or something, I have a problem with that. I decided this year: I'm going to be hard on guys, hard on parents, hard on everybody. We can make mistakes – there's never a perfect game – but they're not going to be effort mistakes, and they're not going to be selfish mistakes. When you catch the ball, jack it, and don't hit the rim, even you guys can figure out that's probably not a good shot, right? I told him,  'Even the media knew that was a bad shot, and you didn't know it was a bad shot.'
Even with Jeremy (Fears Jr.) and me, I'm pushing him to a different level now. He's earned respect, but he's also got to realize he has to live up to what people are saying about him. He had three turnovers tonight, two of them ridiculous, but he had 11 assists, which is great. We're going to be more demanding. We did a lot of good things tonight, but we just played two exhibition games where we didn't do many good things, so we've got a lot of work to do.
On Anton Bonke responding to the coaching and gaining confidence…
What's funny about that, I think I needed it. It's not just the players that need confidence; the coach needs to have confidence in the player. If you push a player and he responds, that's the greatest gift a coach can get.
He still has trouble moving laterally a little bit, but he was much better than he was over the week, and his coverage on ball screens was much better. I'd like to see him block a couple more shots when guys drive in, but he's making progress. Playing in Greensboro (Charlotte) to playing here is a big adjustment, and he's making progress. Right now, that's all that matters to me.
On demanding high-level defense from Jordan Scott…
I think Jordan is one of the best players we've got. He struggled a little bit defending tonight and missed some shots, but I don't know if there's a guy in this league that plays harder than Jordan Scott. He's smart, he plays hard, he can shoot it, handle it, and usually defend it. Quinnipiac had some quickness at guard with a dribble-drive offense.
The advantage we had tonight, I was glad to see Coen (Carr) do well. We played him some at the three, but with Jasiah (Jervis), Jeremy (Fears Jr.), Coen (Carr), and Jordan, we have a lot of things we can do on the perimeter. If Kaleb (Glenn) and Kur (Teng) start playing better with C.J. (Carlos Medlock Jr.), that gives us great depth.
There are still question marks at center. Jesse (McCullough) didn't play tonight, and he's been our most consistent. That position is going to be like it was with Coop (Carson Cooper), Szymon (Zapala), and Jaxon (Kohler), where it's shared by committee. Having them play 14 or 15 minutes at the level we want would be good. We'll take this, start working on Toledo tomorrow morning, and see if we can make some jumps.
On outside overreactions to exhibition losses and tuning out social media noise…
It's really sad. I've listened to a lot of football coaches the last two or three weeks. There's an advantage to playing those exhibitions – we had 15,000 people against UConn, not an empty seat. You try to play a number of guys, and you realize it's an exhibition game, but people are crazy. Half of them are mad because they lost a gambling bet, and I have no use for those people. If they're our fans, I have no use for them.
Look at what happened over the weekend, someone flew a plane over Florida State's stadium ripping Mike Norvell while the team was warming up and kept it flying through the whole game. Think about being those players, those coaches, their wives, and their children.
I understand my job is to win. But I am not taking nothing from these idiots who think they know what's going on and never come to practice. You guys have been to more practices than those idiots. It's time coaches start standing up for coaches. I talked to Dabo Swinney – I loved everything he said and the way he said it. There's got to be more of that. You have a right to an opinion, but it better be an educated opinion.
If I had played Jesse (McCulloch) two minutes tonight just for the hell of it, everybody would have said, 'What's the deal with Jesse? He had 20 in the first game, and the dumb coach didn't play him,' because they have no clue what's going on. We have 31 regular-season games left, and there will be ups and downs.
For 12 years people have told me, 'If you're not on Twitter, you're going to lose recruits.' It would be a blessing if I lost a recruit because I'm not on Twitter. I'm not getting NIL deals from Twitter, and I don't give a damn. I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed because the craziness we're all going through right now. Every coach is scrutinized under pressure.
I'm in Dabo Swinney's court. Mike Norvell is a good coach going through tough times with injuries. Look at our football team, I hear people talking all the time. I'm going to bet on Pat Fitzgerald until told not to. I believe in what he's doing. It's nobody's fault when there are a million injuries. Entitlement comes from getting something you haven't deserved yet. Tom Pecora is a friend of mine, and a good guy and a good coach.
One of the best friends I had was Jim Heos. Jim would call me 10 years ago and say, 'Did you see what they said about you in the paper?' I said, 'No, you told me to cancel my newspaper five years ago, and for some dumb reason I listened to you.' Then he'd say, 'Did you see what they said about you on Twitter?' I don't look at Twitter. Then he would tell me what they said anyway. I don't listen to the noise; I don't give it the time of day. Thank God when (Steve) Mariucci and I were young, we didn't have Twitter, so we didn't have to listen to any BS.
On Kaleb Glenn's bounce-back performance and regaining confidence after his nine-month rehab…
I was happy for him. Guys who go through nine-month injuries like Kaleb or five-month injuries like Kur (Teng), it's hard, and rehab is hard. To see those two guys have good nights was great.
Half of Kaleb's good night was because of his effort. He made shots, but he was all over the court. He's a great kid and has a body that's hard to beat for a basketball player: 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, can jump, shoot, and do a lot of things. It's just a matter of him getting back on track. We thought he would have helped us a lot last year when we didn't have him. This could be a big night to get his confidence back.
I don't need everybody telling him how good he is now, because it's only one night, but one night helps when you've been off that long. We'll see what he does in practice tomorrow.
The goal now: we're trying a few new things on two-day preps. Tomorrow morning we'll have early meetings with the players to put this game to bed. That's another reason I love football: they play Saturday, Sunday they review, and Monday through Thursday they prep for the next one. We have an instant turnaround. We'll stay within the 20-hour rule – we know the NCAA would slap us if we didn't – and get ready for Toledo.
Thank you all.
Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora
On playing a team with an environment like Michigan State...
Everyone's got a plan til they get hit, you know, and as a young player, they're going to be physical. Now the crazy thing too, where it's like, I try to explain to them, they're not dirty, they're physical. And when you're young and out of high school, you've probably never played in an environment like that. I was kidding around with my assistants; it was 100 years ago when I was a young teenager, you'd hang around the schoolyard, and then we would play and the older guys would come to play. They throw us off the court in the summer at 6 o'clock, right? And then once in a while they'd need one, and you'd be there to die to get in that game and then you realize that basketball is a contact sport and it was just taking that step up and the physicality of it, and the nuances to it, you know, there's a way of doing it and properly, and no one does it better than Michigan State. Everyone knows that their ability to play physical, solid physical defense and rebound the heck out of the ball. I always have a few keys to the game and one of them is that we've got to play close to even on the backboards. We're negative twenty at least I think, right? On the glass, and if you don't turn it over, we didn't turn the ball over, but they just shot the heck out. There's a reason why they're ranked where they are.
On Carlos Medlock Jr.'s play off the bench...
Yeah, well I think one of the things I always look for when watching a team like this, when you see a young man like that coming off the bench and play the way he's, he's pissed, he's not stubborn. That's what you want. You want your guys who are coming off the bench to be 'hey, I'm gonna take somebody's spot up here' and to have that level of competition, but they have great depth and I think that's necessary with the pace that they play, the physicality that they play at, and all of us as coaches are always anticipating guys are gonna go down every course of the season. When you have somebody, everyone wants to say next man up, but who can truly do it and not take a big dip in their ability to excel and play at their highest level and I think that's very impressive. In their ability to do that and continue to run guys at you, they will wear people down in the course of the game.
On what his team handled the best and what needs improvement...
On the court I thought we handled the atmosphere early. We didn't let them just jump us early, because that can happen in an environment like this. Coming out of that timeout, I said to them that the intensity's gonna go up here, we have to match their intensity. We just got manhandled physically from it and I think that that was the biggest thing. Once again guys, eight new people, and a couple of them weren't even in summer one session. We got them in summer two. So, you know, we're still evaluating. We see them every day against ourselves, but having this as a barometer and looking at what they can do and how, what they can get done, maybe the best defensive team in the country, or if not one of them, that really can, now I can project a little bit more about what some of these guys are going to be able to do when we get out. We play in conference games. I thought Tayeshawn (Cunningham-Pemberton) was great. You know, I thought he held his composure. He was physical. He played within himself. He didn't get too sped up. That's what happens when you move up a class. You know, we're in class, and he plays; they speed you up, and then, you know, offense is about timing, spacing, and when they speed you up, you have neither. And that's why it's tough to succeed and get buckets. And then defensively, it's about taking space away from them, but when they shoot the ball as they did, it's really about getting the closeouts on the weak side, when they're reversing the ball and knocking down threes like that, they were really good.Â
On a building block that he can take from this game...
Well, I think we have doubts. You know, we do have some depth, and we're gonna be able to play those guys, and run then out, and they have to get accustomed to playing with each other, once again, in game type situations. But yeah, we, you know, we can definitely have 10 guys out there. We play Friday, Friday, Sundays, and it's a tough turnaround. You know, if you don't have depth, that can be really challenging.Â
On ball-handling improvement this season...
You know, use the hockey term, if you turn the ball over, you're not getting into the rim. We don't look it on the floor against this team, but we're a good-sized mid-major basketball team. We're fairly athletic and we can hurt people on the offensive glass on the one level, but I thought that taking care of the basketball is key. It's just something I was taught. So we talk about it constantly in practice and it's something we will get better at as year goes on.Â
On freshman forward Ali Diouf's performance...
Yeah, he's you know, he's a puppy, man. He's going to be so good as his body grows and he continues to get better. He loves to play basketball and that's the most important thing. He was just physically outclassed tonight. But once again, as we play other mid-major teams, there'll be nine teams will have a verteran center, a senior center, and he's gonna give him the business and he'll work him over. But that's all part of the learning curve. That's how you become a better player. You play against bigger, older, stronger players, but I think that the sky is the limit for him. He's going to get better this year and hopefully stay another.
Michigan State freshman guard Carlos Medlock Jr.
On his confidence building after shots were falling tonight after a tough exhibition season...
You know, the confidence is always there. I can't really get bummed out about missed shots, you know. It happens to the best of us, but let's keep that confidence, and know that I work on it every day. Just got to keep shooting the ball. One of them going to fall for me.
On Quinnipiac's coach saying that he plays like a guy who wants to be starting...
That's just part of my game, you know. Going to college. I'm a freshman, it's a whole different system. So, I just go in there and do the best I can, to be that spark... I'm always ready for my moment.
On there not being a drop off when he comes off the bench...
I just have to be that spark, to keep that second unit in. Keep that intensity up the whole game.
Michigan State graduate center Anton Bonke
On building on his 'double-double' performance in the future...
Just being locked in, bringing energy every day, and being coachable.
On the building blocks for improvement for the big men...
We have to be more dominant on the block. Especially for next game, we have to be a presence down low.
On developing a connection with Jeremy Fears Jr. on the lobs...
Mostly on me rolling, trying to go as fast as those very fast players. I have to match that pace.
Michigan State redshirt junior guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
On (Michigan State freshman guard) Carlos Medlock Jr.'s stretch with nine points in the first half…
That's huge, it's overall confidence. Just understanding that by December, by January, it gets a little easier, but it can also get a little bit more challenging so right now you just want to be confident going into every game, going into every play. Having the right mind space and headset that you can be anywhere from 8, to 15, to 17 minutes, so whatever minutes you put in in the moments, that time, to come in and play as hard as possible and be ready to go.
On winning on a game-to-game basis…
For me, being the best defender I can, being out there for my team and me, getting these guys shots. That's another way for us to essentially just be winning games. I think winning determines a lot about the team's success, the players and everyone else in this locker room. As long as we continue to try to win games, we keep building, keep getting better. I think that's a great performance for me.
On Tom Izzo knowing he can perform great…
I think the fact that we've built that trust over these last four years is huge. He has a job to do to still coach me and still get better, and I have a job to do to still get better and to lead this team. It's a win-win when you look at it, especially early on. I didn't really get it or understand but now I get the point. Being here is a confronting demand. When I'm not doing my job, he's going to let me know in front of everybody. I would love for the team to let me know when I'm not doing my job also, I would let them know for sure.Â
Michigan State junior forward Kaleb Glenn
On his role with the team…
A lot of versatility, being able to guard a lot of people, being an energy guy, going to make impact plays and stuff like that.
On Medlock's play in the first half…
It didn't surprise me. We see it every day in practice, he's a hell of a player. Good things are coming this season.
Opening statement...
Well, things haven't changed in 30 years. If you guard better, you usually rebound better. If you rebound better, you usually run better. If you defend, rebound, and run, you have some success. Most of you don't know Tom (Pecora), but he's a hell of a coach. He worked for Jay Wright. He's a damn good coach. His team played with some toughness. I thought those guards gave us some problems early. I thought we got back to playing the defense that we play, which is more gap defense. As soon as we got some stops, we got our run game going. I think we had 36 or 38 points off of fast breaks, which is really what we need. There were a lot of positives and a few negatives. Two of my worst free-throw shooters last year, Coen (Carr) and Cam (Ward), went 8-for-10, but my other guys did not shoot the ball very well from the line. That's one thing we've got to straighten out, because that wins and loses you a lot of games. We only had 12 turnovers, not bad when you think of all the possessions that we had. I'd like to keep that down to 10 or under, but it's decent. We shot decent from the field. The other thing is, my two best shooters are probably Jasiah (Jervis) and Jordan (Scott), and they both struggled on wide-open shots. Jasiah was 1-for-6, every shot he took was a good one. Jordan was 1-for-5 from the three. The encouraging part is that I know they can shoot it.
That's the least of my worries. We played a lot of people again because of the score. It was nice to see Coen (Carr) almost get a double-double, and (Anton) Bonke get a double-double. He still struggles with movement, but he was much, much better than he's been. I think those exhibition games are really healthy for us. Jeremy (Fears Jr.) kind of took the game over in the second half like All-American's should. He was okay in the first half. As I told Jeremy (Fears Jr.), his standards for me have changed. Okay isn't good enough. Good isn't good enough anymore. He's got to play at an elite level, and when he started to do that in the second half defensively, it changed the whole game. I thought the rest of the guys kind of rose. I always said, when the head dies, the body follows. All in all, I guess I was pleased until I watched the film. We don't know how good or bad any of these teams are for a while until we get a couple of weeks in. Some people think they'll (Quinnipiac) win their league. I think they have a chance to do that. Toledo has been really good. They're next on deck, but so many new faces. Eight or nine new faces, so many new faces that nobody knows what's right and wrong.
On Kaleb Glenn's spark and perfect second half after missing all of last season…
I was really happy for him. Proud of him, but happy for him. I thought him and Kur (Teng) did some good things, and they've been struggling since their injuries. But that was definitely by far Kaleb's best game.
I thought C.J. (Carlos Medlock Jr.)—those three guys came in and really did some things in the first half. And we got more out of our bigs. Even Ethan (Taylor), the motor. I've had some good big guys with a weak motor, and I vowed I'd never let it happen again. So, there's nothing wrong with me getting on Ethan. He's got a chance to be a hell of a player but not playing half-speed. I already told him I'm not going to let it happen. As the game went on, he got a little better in the second half. He's really got some skills and talent. It's a shame a kid like that hardly played last year in high school. He's going to be a good player; it's just going to take a little time. All of our backups were pretty good tonight.
On freshman point guard Carlos Medlock Jr.'s electric play and similarities to past MSU guards…
Since the day I recruited him, he's got Kalin Lucas in him. You could say Cassius (Winston) because he can score it and pass it, but Cash (Cassius Winstons) wasn't as electric as C.J. is, whereas Kalin was. Having four assists and no turnovers was great. Running the team is still going to be a factor for him, he's got so much to learn there. But it was fun to see him really compete and get after it. He can score the ball.
I thought he took better shots. In that Marquette exhibition, he took some bad shots; tonight he took good shots. I was really happy for him. It's fun to see guys come in, spend time watching film, understand what they didn't do right, and change. Hats off to him. If he doesn't go 0-for-4 from the free throw line, he might have had a perfect night. He's a very good free throw shooter, so hopefully we can correct that.
On Carlos Medlock Jr. balancing personal scoring spurts with making the extra pass…
You know me: I do want him to score, but I love the extra pass. There's something special when a team starts making extra passes and when a team starts defending like Jeremy (Fears Jr.) got them going.
We made a couple of dumb fouls – it's got to be my assistants' fault, it can't be mine. But we've fouled a three-point shooter about seven times this year, six for sure – three in one half. We did it a couple times tonight after a great defensive stand. But C.J.'s defense was better, his extra passes were better, and he took better shots. He's starting to see the game and it's slowing down a little bit. It's hard for a freshman to come in and do that. Jeremy (Fears Jr.) struggled with that, Mateen (Cleaves) struggled with that – it's like playing quarterback in football. It's a tough position for a freshman.
On six players scoring in double figures and balanced offensive distribution…
We had two other guys that had nine points: Cam (Ward) and Carlos (Medlock Jr.). So that's encouraging. And as you said, one of my best shooters who had some great looks was Jordan, and he went 5-for-10. If we can get everybody shots, it makes you harder to guard, and that'll be one of the strengths as I look at the film tonight.
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On pulling Anton Bonke early, reinserting him on the block, and Jesse McCullough's status…
We went to Anton twice in the first two minutes. His problem, as it is with all big guys, is conditioning. We went to him early on the first play and it dribbled off his foot.
I don't mind him taking a three, by the way, if it's an inside-out three. But if it's a reverse three and he's jacking it like he's Michael Jordan or something, I have a problem with that. I decided this year: I'm going to be hard on guys, hard on parents, hard on everybody. We can make mistakes – there's never a perfect game – but they're not going to be effort mistakes, and they're not going to be selfish mistakes. When you catch the ball, jack it, and don't hit the rim, even you guys can figure out that's probably not a good shot, right? I told him,  'Even the media knew that was a bad shot, and you didn't know it was a bad shot.'
Even with Jeremy (Fears Jr.) and me, I'm pushing him to a different level now. He's earned respect, but he's also got to realize he has to live up to what people are saying about him. He had three turnovers tonight, two of them ridiculous, but he had 11 assists, which is great. We're going to be more demanding. We did a lot of good things tonight, but we just played two exhibition games where we didn't do many good things, so we've got a lot of work to do.
On Anton Bonke responding to the coaching and gaining confidence…
What's funny about that, I think I needed it. It's not just the players that need confidence; the coach needs to have confidence in the player. If you push a player and he responds, that's the greatest gift a coach can get.
He still has trouble moving laterally a little bit, but he was much better than he was over the week, and his coverage on ball screens was much better. I'd like to see him block a couple more shots when guys drive in, but he's making progress. Playing in Greensboro (Charlotte) to playing here is a big adjustment, and he's making progress. Right now, that's all that matters to me.
On demanding high-level defense from Jordan Scott…
I think Jordan is one of the best players we've got. He struggled a little bit defending tonight and missed some shots, but I don't know if there's a guy in this league that plays harder than Jordan Scott. He's smart, he plays hard, he can shoot it, handle it, and usually defend it. Quinnipiac had some quickness at guard with a dribble-drive offense.
The advantage we had tonight, I was glad to see Coen (Carr) do well. We played him some at the three, but with Jasiah (Jervis), Jeremy (Fears Jr.), Coen (Carr), and Jordan, we have a lot of things we can do on the perimeter. If Kaleb (Glenn) and Kur (Teng) start playing better with C.J. (Carlos Medlock Jr.), that gives us great depth.
There are still question marks at center. Jesse (McCullough) didn't play tonight, and he's been our most consistent. That position is going to be like it was with Coop (Carson Cooper), Szymon (Zapala), and Jaxon (Kohler), where it's shared by committee. Having them play 14 or 15 minutes at the level we want would be good. We'll take this, start working on Toledo tomorrow morning, and see if we can make some jumps.
On outside overreactions to exhibition losses and tuning out social media noise…
It's really sad. I've listened to a lot of football coaches the last two or three weeks. There's an advantage to playing those exhibitions – we had 15,000 people against UConn, not an empty seat. You try to play a number of guys, and you realize it's an exhibition game, but people are crazy. Half of them are mad because they lost a gambling bet, and I have no use for those people. If they're our fans, I have no use for them.
Look at what happened over the weekend, someone flew a plane over Florida State's stadium ripping Mike Norvell while the team was warming up and kept it flying through the whole game. Think about being those players, those coaches, their wives, and their children.
I understand my job is to win. But I am not taking nothing from these idiots who think they know what's going on and never come to practice. You guys have been to more practices than those idiots. It's time coaches start standing up for coaches. I talked to Dabo Swinney – I loved everything he said and the way he said it. There's got to be more of that. You have a right to an opinion, but it better be an educated opinion.
If I had played Jesse (McCulloch) two minutes tonight just for the hell of it, everybody would have said, 'What's the deal with Jesse? He had 20 in the first game, and the dumb coach didn't play him,' because they have no clue what's going on. We have 31 regular-season games left, and there will be ups and downs.
For 12 years people have told me, 'If you're not on Twitter, you're going to lose recruits.' It would be a blessing if I lost a recruit because I'm not on Twitter. I'm not getting NIL deals from Twitter, and I don't give a damn. I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed because the craziness we're all going through right now. Every coach is scrutinized under pressure.
I'm in Dabo Swinney's court. Mike Norvell is a good coach going through tough times with injuries. Look at our football team, I hear people talking all the time. I'm going to bet on Pat Fitzgerald until told not to. I believe in what he's doing. It's nobody's fault when there are a million injuries. Entitlement comes from getting something you haven't deserved yet. Tom Pecora is a friend of mine, and a good guy and a good coach.
One of the best friends I had was Jim Heos. Jim would call me 10 years ago and say, 'Did you see what they said about you in the paper?' I said, 'No, you told me to cancel my newspaper five years ago, and for some dumb reason I listened to you.' Then he'd say, 'Did you see what they said about you on Twitter?' I don't look at Twitter. Then he would tell me what they said anyway. I don't listen to the noise; I don't give it the time of day. Thank God when (Steve) Mariucci and I were young, we didn't have Twitter, so we didn't have to listen to any BS.
On Kaleb Glenn's bounce-back performance and regaining confidence after his nine-month rehab…
I was happy for him. Guys who go through nine-month injuries like Kaleb or five-month injuries like Kur (Teng), it's hard, and rehab is hard. To see those two guys have good nights was great.
Half of Kaleb's good night was because of his effort. He made shots, but he was all over the court. He's a great kid and has a body that's hard to beat for a basketball player: 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, can jump, shoot, and do a lot of things. It's just a matter of him getting back on track. We thought he would have helped us a lot last year when we didn't have him. This could be a big night to get his confidence back.
I don't need everybody telling him how good he is now, because it's only one night, but one night helps when you've been off that long. We'll see what he does in practice tomorrow.
The goal now: we're trying a few new things on two-day preps. Tomorrow morning we'll have early meetings with the players to put this game to bed. That's another reason I love football: they play Saturday, Sunday they review, and Monday through Thursday they prep for the next one. We have an instant turnaround. We'll stay within the 20-hour rule – we know the NCAA would slap us if we didn't – and get ready for Toledo.
Thank you all.
Quinnipiac head coach Tom Pecora
On playing a team with an environment like Michigan State...
Everyone's got a plan til they get hit, you know, and as a young player, they're going to be physical. Now the crazy thing too, where it's like, I try to explain to them, they're not dirty, they're physical. And when you're young and out of high school, you've probably never played in an environment like that. I was kidding around with my assistants; it was 100 years ago when I was a young teenager, you'd hang around the schoolyard, and then we would play and the older guys would come to play. They throw us off the court in the summer at 6 o'clock, right? And then once in a while they'd need one, and you'd be there to die to get in that game and then you realize that basketball is a contact sport and it was just taking that step up and the physicality of it, and the nuances to it, you know, there's a way of doing it and properly, and no one does it better than Michigan State. Everyone knows that their ability to play physical, solid physical defense and rebound the heck out of the ball. I always have a few keys to the game and one of them is that we've got to play close to even on the backboards. We're negative twenty at least I think, right? On the glass, and if you don't turn it over, we didn't turn the ball over, but they just shot the heck out. There's a reason why they're ranked where they are.
On Carlos Medlock Jr.'s play off the bench...
Yeah, well I think one of the things I always look for when watching a team like this, when you see a young man like that coming off the bench and play the way he's, he's pissed, he's not stubborn. That's what you want. You want your guys who are coming off the bench to be 'hey, I'm gonna take somebody's spot up here' and to have that level of competition, but they have great depth and I think that's necessary with the pace that they play, the physicality that they play at, and all of us as coaches are always anticipating guys are gonna go down every course of the season. When you have somebody, everyone wants to say next man up, but who can truly do it and not take a big dip in their ability to excel and play at their highest level and I think that's very impressive. In their ability to do that and continue to run guys at you, they will wear people down in the course of the game.
On what his team handled the best and what needs improvement...
On the court I thought we handled the atmosphere early. We didn't let them just jump us early, because that can happen in an environment like this. Coming out of that timeout, I said to them that the intensity's gonna go up here, we have to match their intensity. We just got manhandled physically from it and I think that that was the biggest thing. Once again guys, eight new people, and a couple of them weren't even in summer one session. We got them in summer two. So, you know, we're still evaluating. We see them every day against ourselves, but having this as a barometer and looking at what they can do and how, what they can get done, maybe the best defensive team in the country, or if not one of them, that really can, now I can project a little bit more about what some of these guys are going to be able to do when we get out. We play in conference games. I thought Tayeshawn (Cunningham-Pemberton) was great. You know, I thought he held his composure. He was physical. He played within himself. He didn't get too sped up. That's what happens when you move up a class. You know, we're in class, and he plays; they speed you up, and then, you know, offense is about timing, spacing, and when they speed you up, you have neither. And that's why it's tough to succeed and get buckets. And then defensively, it's about taking space away from them, but when they shoot the ball as they did, it's really about getting the closeouts on the weak side, when they're reversing the ball and knocking down threes like that, they were really good.Â
On a building block that he can take from this game...
Well, I think we have doubts. You know, we do have some depth, and we're gonna be able to play those guys, and run then out, and they have to get accustomed to playing with each other, once again, in game type situations. But yeah, we, you know, we can definitely have 10 guys out there. We play Friday, Friday, Sundays, and it's a tough turnaround. You know, if you don't have depth, that can be really challenging.Â
On ball-handling improvement this season...
You know, use the hockey term, if you turn the ball over, you're not getting into the rim. We don't look it on the floor against this team, but we're a good-sized mid-major basketball team. We're fairly athletic and we can hurt people on the offensive glass on the one level, but I thought that taking care of the basketball is key. It's just something I was taught. So we talk about it constantly in practice and it's something we will get better at as year goes on.Â
On freshman forward Ali Diouf's performance...
Yeah, he's you know, he's a puppy, man. He's going to be so good as his body grows and he continues to get better. He loves to play basketball and that's the most important thing. He was just physically outclassed tonight. But once again, as we play other mid-major teams, there'll be nine teams will have a verteran center, a senior center, and he's gonna give him the business and he'll work him over. But that's all part of the learning curve. That's how you become a better player. You play against bigger, older, stronger players, but I think that the sky is the limit for him. He's going to get better this year and hopefully stay another.
Michigan State freshman guard Carlos Medlock Jr.
On his confidence building after shots were falling tonight after a tough exhibition season...
You know, the confidence is always there. I can't really get bummed out about missed shots, you know. It happens to the best of us, but let's keep that confidence, and know that I work on it every day. Just got to keep shooting the ball. One of them going to fall for me.
On Quinnipiac's coach saying that he plays like a guy who wants to be starting...
That's just part of my game, you know. Going to college. I'm a freshman, it's a whole different system. So, I just go in there and do the best I can, to be that spark... I'm always ready for my moment.
On there not being a drop off when he comes off the bench...
I just have to be that spark, to keep that second unit in. Keep that intensity up the whole game.
Michigan State graduate center Anton Bonke
On building on his 'double-double' performance in the future...
Just being locked in, bringing energy every day, and being coachable.
On the building blocks for improvement for the big men...
We have to be more dominant on the block. Especially for next game, we have to be a presence down low.
On developing a connection with Jeremy Fears Jr. on the lobs...
Mostly on me rolling, trying to go as fast as those very fast players. I have to match that pace.
Michigan State redshirt junior guard Jeremy Fears Jr.
On (Michigan State freshman guard) Carlos Medlock Jr.'s stretch with nine points in the first half…
That's huge, it's overall confidence. Just understanding that by December, by January, it gets a little easier, but it can also get a little bit more challenging so right now you just want to be confident going into every game, going into every play. Having the right mind space and headset that you can be anywhere from 8, to 15, to 17 minutes, so whatever minutes you put in in the moments, that time, to come in and play as hard as possible and be ready to go.
On winning on a game-to-game basis…
For me, being the best defender I can, being out there for my team and me, getting these guys shots. That's another way for us to essentially just be winning games. I think winning determines a lot about the team's success, the players and everyone else in this locker room. As long as we continue to try to win games, we keep building, keep getting better. I think that's a great performance for me.
On Tom Izzo knowing he can perform great…
I think the fact that we've built that trust over these last four years is huge. He has a job to do to still coach me and still get better, and I have a job to do to still get better and to lead this team. It's a win-win when you look at it, especially early on. I didn't really get it or understand but now I get the point. Being here is a confronting demand. When I'm not doing my job, he's going to let me know in front of everybody. I would love for the team to let me know when I'm not doing my job also, I would let them know for sure.Â
Michigan State junior forward Kaleb Glenn
On his role with the team…
A lot of versatility, being able to guard a lot of people, being an energy guy, going to make impact plays and stuff like that.
On Medlock's play in the first half…
It didn't surprise me. We see it every day in practice, he's a hell of a player. Good things are coming this season.
Players Mentioned
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