Mike Woodson Press Conference After Indiana Basketball's 74-70 Win Over Wisconsin
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00:00 I guess Mike, just to address the obvious first, just how did you try to manage what was obviously a really unexpected kind of situation with the break there?
00:09 And maybe what did you see in your team's ability to maybe refocus? Wisconsin was kind of riding some momentum, but you stopped it not long after the restart.
00:17 First of all, I want to thank our fan base, our crowd, for going through what we all went through and still came back into the game and gave us the support that we needed to get over the hump to win the game.
00:29 So I truly thank the fans. It's the first time I've ever been a part of something like that in my career as a player and coach.
00:37 So when you go in the locker room, you're trying to clean up things that was going on during the course of the game, especially the second half when we got going,
00:48 and then try to get offensive plays in quickly so they know what we're doing when we come out to start playing again.
00:59 It's a tight game. I thought we played well early. Wisconsin is well coached. They're not going to ever quit.
01:10 And they pushed us to the end. And I just thought we held in there after even going down. I think we went down three and Mack hit a big three to tie it.
01:22 And then from that point on, we never looked back.
01:26 Jeff, on your right.
01:28 Yeah, coach, just wanted to get your thoughts on Ware's performance tonight, the points, the rebounds, the blocks, everything.
01:34 It was unbelievable. I mean, he had a man's game. He really did. You get 27 and 11 flat blocks, one turnover.
01:44 Maybe we didn't go to him enough, but he was fantastic tonight. I mean, we needed every bit of it in order to win this game.
01:53 What do you think was the key in that sort of final five minutes there when you mentioned McKenzie hitting that three and then kind of closing out the game on a run
02:04 and getting some defensive stops? What do you think was the difference there from the rest of the second half?
02:08 Well, again, I mean, you know, this team, we've been down a little bit.
02:14 You know, I mean, losing four games like we've lost, you're searching as a coach, players are searching, trying to figure each other out.
02:25 And Mack stepped up after going down three, hitting the big three, and then Malik hit the big two, leaning inside, that put us back up two, which was a huge bucket.
02:36 And then we came down and got a big stop defensively.
02:39 I mean, it's not like I haven't seen that out of our team. We just haven't done it consistently.
02:47 And tonight was Indiana basketball at its best, I think.
02:52 Mike, a lot of the narrative of the season has been about what you haven't had, but all season long, Kal-El has been a rock, been consistent all year long.
03:02 How much do you appreciate that and how much have you seen out of him in terms of how he's been able to embrace being that important to what you need to do?
03:11 Well, again, I think when we brought him on board, we didn't know what we were going to get. We really didn't.
03:16 We knew he was very skilled and, you know, the word was that he didn't work hard.
03:21 And, you know, I thought after the first month of us getting after him a little bit, you know, that kind of picked up and it was a nice carry over into the season.
03:30 I mean, he's just – he and Malik and Mack have had really wonderful seasons for us, for guys who really haven't played a whole lot in college basketball.
03:40 You know, it says a lot for my staff and the work that these guys have put in along with myself to get these guys playing at a high level.
03:49 It's great to have X back.
03:52 You know, I mean, it's – you know, every day I go to bed thinking about what this team could have been like if we had X earlier.
04:00 And to have him back tonight, you know, you can see the game changes a little bit when he's on the floor.
04:06 He didn't play particularly well, but I thought he did some good things when he was in there.
04:12 But it's good to have him back, man.
04:14 We just got to keep patting him and keep him safe and see if he can help us get where we need to go.
04:19 Mike, Trey had 12 assists tonight and did a good job in finding the right people, especially down the stretch.
04:27 When you're going through hard times like this, how good did that feel for you, just the way those final three or four minutes played out with those guys at least having the confidence to get done what they needed to get done?
04:36 Well, we got a lot of trust in Galloway.
04:39 I mean, there ain't no doubt about that.
04:40 I mean, he's played probably some of the most minutes of anybody on our team this year.
04:46 And so we trust when the ball's in his hands, he can make basketball plays.
04:51 And I thought tonight he delivered for us.
04:54 He made a lot of great plays, but he defended.
04:56 You know, I mean, his matchup was a tough matchup.
04:59 And, you know, he had a solid game.
05:03 It's what I expect from him.
05:04 And I told him I was very pleased with his play tonight.
05:08 Daniel and Mike.
05:09 Yeah, Coach.
05:10 With X, how did his absence kind of limit your offense or just overall your team?
05:17 And then what did his return tonight mean?
05:19 Well, again, I mean, he gives us defensive pressure out front.
05:23 He gives us speed in terms of he's the only guy that can really change directions and make plays off the bounce.
05:31 And then when we push in the basketball, that's when we're at our best.
05:35 I mean, when he's got the ball and he's pushing and we can get ahead of the ball, you know,
05:41 we can play a little faster with X on the floor.
05:45 You know, we just got to get him in a little better shape and just get him playing the right way.
05:51 I thought he was trying to do a little too much tonight, but, you know,
05:55 what the hell he hadn't played in so long, man.
05:57 I'm just happy to see him back on the floor.
06:00 Mike, can you write the more rapid pace?
06:02 Coach, you guys were riding a four-game losing streak.
06:05 You gave up a 15-point lead tonight, got fire alarms going off.
06:09 What does it feel like to you to just see your team be resilient through all that?
06:13 That locker room is very happy right now.
06:15 You know, I mean, when you go through a stretch like that, I don't wish that on anyone.
06:19 Nobody likes to lose.
06:21 And me being who I am, I hate losing.
06:26 And but, you know, there's a lot that comes with that, man.
06:31 You've got to stay patient.
06:32 You know, you can't just bury the guys.
06:36 You can't do that, you know.
06:37 And you've got to pat them.
06:39 And these -- you know, we all forget, man, these are 18- and 19-year-old young men, man.
06:45 Sometimes their feelings are crushed, too.
06:48 But that locker room is happy.
06:51 It's like we've got that monkey off our backs, so I'm happy for them.
06:55 Mike, you guys have all season stressed the importance of defense.
07:00 And rebounding tonight, you win the rebounding battle.
07:03 You hold Wisconsin to 43 percent.
07:05 They don't score in the last couple minutes.
07:06 What does that mean for your performance tonight and possibly the rest of the season going forward?
07:10 Well, we have to validate it, man.
07:11 I mean, it's -- you know, I'm happy as hell that we're off that slide.
07:16 But now we've got to go to Maryland, who's played well at home, is playing well,
07:21 and see if we can validate what we did this evening
07:25 and see if it can be a carryover into the Maryland game.