INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

December 15, 2022

Mike Woodson

Press Conference

MIKE WOODSON: Morning.

Q. Mike, I guess as much as you feel like you can share, has Jalen been able to do more in practice, especially having this full week off?

MIKE WOODSON: Well, today we're going to start him out on the floor and see if he can go practice. Last few days he's kind of shot around and done some things. He's moving around. So today we're going to let him bang a little bit and see where he is tomorrow.

Q. You've dealt with back issues back in the day yourself. With what Jalen is going through, do you pay any more attention to what it is? You know what backs are like. Are you trying to be as patient as you can?

MIKE WOODSON: Well, again, you got to be patient with it. Then I think the player itself will lead you in the direction that he wants to go.

From a medical standpoint, I think he's fine in that regard. But, again, when you can't do the things that you're used to doing on the floor, move around like you normally do, that's a problem. That's what he was experiencing.

The last few days he's been on the floor shooting, moving around. Got a good workout on our off day yesterday. So now we'll see can he handle the pounding a little bit today in practice, then see how he feels tomorrow.

Q. Just watching Kansas on film this week, what's keeping you up at night with them?

MIKE WOODSON: Well, they're well-coached. I've known Bill for many years. I watched his team all the time when I was coaching in the NBA because of our relationship. He's a hell of a coach. His teams always play hard. They do on both ends of the floor.

They got Wilson and the kid Bird -- not Bird but Dick that can really score the basketball. For a freshman, he's really, really good.

I mean, they play well at home. If you look at their record over the last 16, 17 years or so, they haven't lost very many games at home.

We're going to have to go in there and commit to 40 minutes, do it on both ends of the floor and see what happens.

I know one thing, we can't come out and start a game like we did against Arizona and dig a hole and expect to win. That was tough the other night. We fought back and did a lot of good things. Against good teams you got to be in the game early, give yourself a chance.

Q. I don't know if you're aware of this, but when you were playing at Indiana, you were 3-0 as a player against defending national champions. Is there anything you can import from the experience of the anticipation of playing in a game like that? How much do you like to use your own playing experience as a teaching tool?

MIKE WOODSON: I always tell these players it's really not about me. My day is behind me in terms of when I played. I didn't know that stat either that you just threw out there.

At the end of the day, man, you playing a top-ranked team. You're ranked. You're playing on their floor in front of a hostile environment. It's kind of what you live for when you play basketball in college. You can't run from it.

I just try to get our players to understand that, hey, you got to seize the moment. This is a big-time game, it really is. Nationally televised. You got a chance to go in and do something that a lot of teams hadn't done in years there. They haven't lost very many games in the last 16 or so years. I don't want to say it's like maybe five, six, seven. It ain't a lot of games that they've lost there in that Field House.

We just got to go in and play with some confidence. That's going to be a big key. Compete for 40 minutes.

Q. When Race is knocking down threes like he was against Arizona, how does that help the other four guys on the court?

MIKE WOODSON: It helps a lot because he had been struggling, man. He's had some of the same looks that he had last season that he was knocking down. To see him make four threes like he did, man, we needed every bit of it to even stay in the ballgame.

But it lightens the load for guys like Miller, who has been shooting it well, Tamara and X. If I can get X to make it. If we can get Jalen back, he's knocking some down. Even Gallo. Gallo has been shooting a lot of them in practice and he's been making some.

When you shoot it, you got to feel good about shooting it. We put up 25 the other night. I think we made 10 or 11 the other night, which is good for us.

There's other parts of the game that we got to correct and be better at, I think.

Q. Wanted to ask about Tamar Bates. What do you enjoy about coaching him?

MIKE WOODSON: Again, he's playing well for us. When I brought Tamar in, I brought him in to be a starting two. Last year he had his ups and downs on some of the things that he was dealing with.

This year, he's starting to grow as a player. I mean, he's doing some things. I thought when we started our journey at the very beginning, he was one of the best players on the floor, him and Xavier.

He's had his moments, but he's had some good games, man, that you say, hey, he's starting to figure out some things. We just got to keep him in a good place and keep him ready to play.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Miller Kopp, not just the way he's been shooting, but defensively the way he's performed.

MIKE WOODSON: Well, that's kind of a carryover from last season. Miller I thought became one of our best perimeter defenders last season. You guys might laugh when I say that, but watching him on tape, he didn't get beat a whole lot. He still struggles just a little bit in an isolation position. You guarding guys like last year Davis, guys like that, that can put the ball down and make plays off the bounce, that's a hard cover for anybody.

Miller's been a nice addition to our team now. I mean, he's starting to figure it out. I thought last year, I think just the Indiana Hoosiers jersey that he wore, was a bit much for him. But this season he's starting to come in his own, man. He's making shots, defending, doing a lot of good things for our ballclub.

Q. When you take a look at Kansas on the defensive end of the floor, a little bit of a smaller front court than Arizona, do you have some versatility with their guards and on the perimeter? What about them defensively stands out?

MIKE WOODSON: Well, I'm sure that they'll double-team our bigs on the block. Race, Trayce, Malik. Geronimo is down there. They double the block. We got to be ready for that.

It's not nothing new. We've seen it dating back to last season. Guys have just got to be ready to step up and make shots on the perimeter. When that ball comes out, it floats around, you just got to feel good about shooting it and knock 'em down. We do that, we'll be fine.

Q. In the last few games with Jalen out, how do you feel Trey Galloway and Tamar have responded to having the ball a little bit more and run the offense a little bit more?

MIKE WOODSON: They've done a pretty good job I think. When we started the journey, that was one of the things, most college teams, they carry three point guards. We basically got two legit point guards. So my thing was we got to develop Tamar and Galloway, get them in a position where they're comfortable bringing the ball up the floor and making basketball plays. They both can do that now. Gallo has really gotten good at it.

I felt pretty good. I thought in the Nebraska game at home, Gallo was great in terms of running the second unit until I could get X back in.

Getting Jalen back helps, man, because he gives us another guy that can run your team, another guy that can score the ball, defend, do a lot of things at that position.

Q. I know Logan Duncomb has been sick here. Early in the season you talked highly about his progress during the summer and such. When you're facing big teams going forward, how much are you hoping that he can be a factor for you this year?

MIKE WOODSON: Again, it just depends. I mean, the other night, again, he hadn't really practiced to be able to throw him in the game in Arizona. That just wouldn't be fair to him, especially against those two big guys that they had.

But moving forward, once he gets back into some game shape and starts practicing, this week was the first time we really had a chance to really get after one another. Been a couple tough days of practice.

So, I mean, moving forward, if he's in a position where I can throw him in... I mean, he's done some good things for us early on. I mean, I date back to last season. Even the little, small minutes he got last season, he was productive.

I won't be scared to throw him in if there's foul trouble or anything like that. But we got to get him back physically ready.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, coach.

MIKE WOODSON: All right, guys. Take care.