INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 17, 2021

Mike Woodson

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana 76, St. John's 74

Q. Obviously on that last play, you sub in Jordan to take on Champagnie. To put a young guy in that position, he came through for you. What went into that decision and what impressed you about Jordan tonight?

MIKE WOODSON: Again, you know, I went to him, I think around the sixth, seven-minute mark, and he came in and he responded. He made some big plays for us. He made a couple buckets. He hit a three and he hit a little leaner in the lane. So you know, I felt good. My coaches are over screaming at me saying, hey, let's get him in the game for defensive purposes, and so we put him in.

Q. Your thoughts, three guys off the bench, Jordan overall the second half, the stretch you got from Khristian Lander with that driving layup.

MIKE WOODSON: Again, man, listen, I've got to do a better job, man, and when we got big leads like this, you know, this is kind of a carbon copy of the Eastern Michigan game. But the beauty behind it all, we didn't crack, man. We made it again winning plays down the stretch.

We have to get better at making free throws. We shoot them every day but guys just got to be comfortable and knocking them down because that could be the difference in winning and losing.

But I'm happy with our ballclub, man, and where we are as we stands today, man, because we're competing. Our defense has been solid as hell. We're solid again tonight I thought.

Q. You knew coming into the game that Champagnie was going to be incredibly tough and you threw different things at him; your thoughts on the defense. And in the second half, what do you think really got him going and made him tough to stop?

MIKE WOODSON: Well, he's a shot maker. Hey, they got a great coach, coaching staff, great personnel, they play hard, man. I thought they hit us with everything they could possibly hit us from a man-to-man press, zone press, half-court zone-press. I mean it, was a lot to swallow.

But I thought our guys were engaged and in tune, but hey, Chanpagnie, he's a tough competitor. The beauty about their team, they don't run pick-and-rolls with him, so it's hard to double-team him. So he's always got a live dribble in his hand and being able to make plays, which is tough.

Q. Can you talk about what you got out of Tamar especially in the first half?

MIKE WOODSON: He was great. He came in, and he's been playing well. Unfortunately he's had some injuries, and we are kind of working him back. I thought tonight was a solid ballgame for him.

Q. What has impressed you most about Tamar from an intangible perspective, and just the leadership role he's taken even as a freshman?

MIKE WOODSON: Again, he can score the ball. He can handle it. I've got to get him better defensively where he's not jumping around as much where he can be a little more solid there.

But again, he's a freshman and he's got to get his body, get a little more meat on his body. But he's been playing well, man. I like him because he sees the moment. He's not scared of the moment. You need players like that.

Q. Bates, Geronimo, we've seen other guys step up. How do you keep those guys in a mode where they come in they are impacting the game both ends of the floor?

MIKE WOODSON: Well, you go back to our last game with Illinois -- who am I thinking about?

Q. Northern Illinois.

MIKE WOODSON: Northern Illinois. Our bench was solid. And, you know, we can't play our starters the whole game. I played Trayce and Race a lot of minutes. Didn't go with Mike because they were in and out playing small ball, and I didn't think it would be fair to Mike.

But you know, our bench has got to be ready. Our bench is just as important as the guys that start the game. I thought they did that against Northern Illinois, and tonight they came in and did a great job as well.

Q. Coming out of halftime, what do you feel like the keys were for St. John's to be able to come back and tie you up after you had a 12-point lead?

MIKE WOODSON: Man, listen, we knew they were going to make runs. They are a team that the fact that they keep pressing and putting the heat on, you know, they can -- which I thought we handled it the first half, they can always be in a ballgame based on quick shots that an opponent might take or a turnover, missed free throws like we had, it kept them in the game. Didn't hurt that the kid was making shots, too.

But at the end of the day, this is a good win for our ballclub.

Q. Update on Trey Galloway? Looked like he got hurt and didn't come back in the game.

MIKE WOODSON: Well, they are going to evaluate him. He's got to see some doctors tomorrow and see where -- see where we are with him, and you know, if he can't go, it's just, hey, it's Next Man Up. That's how I feel. I feel good about all the guys that are in uniform.