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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 23, 2020Trayce Jackson-DavisAl DurhamJustin SmithBloomington, Indiana Indiana - 68, Penn State - 60 Q. Justin, the final minutes of the game you made a number of key defensive plays. What was your mindset as the game got close and you had to come back and win in the final eight-ish minutes? JUSTIN SMITH: Our main goal as a team was just to get stops. We can't really control what's going on on the offensive floor. So we were winning at a certain point. So if we just stop them as many times as possible, we don't have to worry about scoring. Q. Al, how would you describe what was not going right in that stretch where Penn State was hitting I think about 10-of-12 to start the second half? AL DURHAM: Just coming out and not being all the way locked in. I would say I take part of that. I wasn't always locked in some of the assignments I missed. And have to come out in the second half locked in and keep the same effort we had in the first half. Q. Trayce and Justin, give me your thoughts on Race and what specific things do you feel he's better at and how good was his defense at key times today? TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Race's defense has been outstanding here recently. After shaking off his injury and coming back and getting him 100 percent healthy, I think he's one of the best defensive guys on our team, especially in the post. JUSTIN SMITH: He gives us a lot of energy on the defensive end. He's always willing to make the dirty play, the extra play, the hustle play. He's been a valuable part of our team and it's good to have him healthy. Q. Justin, can you talk about the resiliency of this team both in this game where you had the lead, lost the lead, came back, and kind of reflect on the way the season has gone, the resiliency you've shown? JUSTIN SMITH: I would say, I mean, we lose a couple in a row and everybody counts us out, everybody wants to freak out. But we never wavered. This is a tough league. All the teams are good, pretty much. And you know they're going to get you a couple times. But it's always how you bounce back. And we responded really well. And we're just going to build on this momentum going forward. Q. Trayce, this was a game where you took a high volume of shots. How did you try to stick with it after a few early misses and just keep attacking the basket? TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Coach told me to keep being aggressive. If your coach has confidence in you, that's all you need, especially for me. I kept going up strong. And some didn't fall, but I'm going to keep having confidence and keep going up as hard as I can. Q. Justin, to stick on the point of resiliency when you lose that entire lead basically, and then you have it, was there a moment where you regroup or huddle or something? What gets said at that point? What gets your heads right after you lose a 19-point lead that allows you to take it back? JUSTIN SMITH: I mean, we knew they were going to go on a run. They're the number ninth ranked team in the country. We didn't expect to blow them out. So it's always, like I said, it's always how you respond and how you kind of stay with it, stay with the course and not really worry about any run that's going on in the game. Q. Justin, you mentioned you guys lose a couple games, everybody freaks out. How do you think this team has kind of battled through those low points? And are you able to as a team kind of block out the outside noise when that happens? JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, definitely. This group has been really, really good about not worrying about what everybody's saying to us or about us. I mean, that's just what comes with it. So I mean it's good that we show some resilience and we're able to stay with it. Q. Trayce and Al, in what ways do you feel this team has developed and gotten better over the course of the year? There's been some stops and starts, but you seem to be playing better now. TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: I really think we've taken care of the ball a lot better, especially our guards have been really good. I think that we have been playing inside/out here recently. I think that's been a big part, too, getting open shots for our shooters when they double down. So I think that was the biggest thing, honestly. AL DURHAM: To piggyback off what he said, we've been playing really good defense, I feel like we. And we haven't been turning the ball over, giving them live outs -- like, we haven't given them a lot of turnovers so they can score off of them. I feel we've been taking care of the ball, we've been going inside/out and we've been playing efficient offense and decent defense. I feel like we've been doing a really good all-around job. Q. Justin, going back to you said you lose a couple of games and people count you out, as far as blocking out that noise, what kind of effort do you make personally? You said the group is good, but how do you keep them going in those efforts, I guess? JUSTIN SMITH: Well, I turned off all my social media and notifications and then I showed a couple people how to turn those off. So I really -- we don't pay attention to that. We're not worried about that. Q. Justin, piggybacking off that question, when did you turn yours off? Was there a certain game no more? JUSTIN SMITH: Turned it off it was either after last year or going into this year. Q. It's been a while? JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah. Q. On a day like this where you're not getting a lot of shots, but you're determined to make an impact some way, is that the defensive end and rebounding? Is that what you're thinking? JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah. I mean, if the ball doesn't come to me offensively, I've got to make my impact somewhere else. And I'm okay with that. Where it was getting steals, getting rebounds, whatever is needed of me. Q. Want to go back to what you said about Race Thompson being able to make the dirty plays. How important is that when you're in a situation like this, when you lose a lead, when he makes a couple of those, basically just keep you guys centered and add some spark there? JUSTIN SMITH: The hustle plays build on momentum. They really get us going. And usually it's on the defensive end. So just those extra hustle plays gets us an extra stop or rebound. It's the 50/50 rebound. It just gives us some energy and some momentum to get going. Q. Justin, how important was Rob's presence late in the game there? I know there was one play late, you had to -- forced to call a timeout during the inbounds. He was able to get the ball consistently against that pressure. How important was he late in the game there? JUSTIN SMITH: He was very important. Rob was very steady. And he really calms us down, especially when he has the ball in his hands. We trust him to make the right decision. And nine times out of 10 he's going to. So especially down the stretch, he's able to get the ball, make some free throws for us, and he's just a steadying presence. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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