INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 10, 2024

Mike Woodson

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana 90, Eastern Illinois 55

Q. Coach, I guess a number things to look at. First two games Trey Galloway's passing, ability to play as a facilitator; eight assists in 18 minutes tonight. Thoughts on how he's playing and how impactful he has been to start?

MIKE WOODSON: He's been great. A lot of that is a spin from last season. You know, when we basically converted him from off the ball to putting him on the ball based on the injuries that we had.

We're benefitting from it because he's gotten better over the summer. You know, even though he hadn't played much, you could see what little he's done since he's come back after injuries, his injury in practice, that has helped his game tremendously, and we're benefitting from it.

Man, it's really nice to see.

Q. I think we probably asked about Mackenzie's scoring after the last game, too. It think it is like 16 rebounds and five or six assists. How encouraging is it to see him not just scoring the ball, but hitting the game in other areas impactfully?

MIKE WOODSON: It's very encouraging because he's really starting to extend this game a little bit. You know, he's been very active, like you said, on hitting the boards. He's been able to rebound the ball.

Tonight he had some assists where he pushed the ball and made the right plays in the open court. It's just nice to see his growth heading in the right direction. We just got to keep him there.

Q. Is it fair to say the team wasn't playing as hard as you wanted them to in the first half?

MIKE WOODSON: That's an understatement. I thought we were still home in the bed sleep. It was awful. You got to give Eastern Illinois credit because they played hard and made shots.

I thought our defense intensity was just lacking the first half. We adjusted the second half and guys came out and got after it. Couldn't ask for a better second half.

Q. You care to share the halftime conversation?

MIKE WOODSON: No, I will never do that. It was enough to get a fire lit and get us going in the second half. I'm happy that they responded.

Q. In the second half you were able to get a lot of run-outs off turnovers and tip balls. That's something we've talked about a lot. That's what you want to see, right, playing at a faster pace and creating that kind of stuff?

MIKE WOODSON: Yeah, I mean, it's a good thing when you can hold teams to 18 points in a half. That doesn't happen very often in college basketball.

So those guys in that locker room after our halftime talk, you know, they stepped it up and they made catches tough. They made it tough to swing the ball.

You know, we got a lot of loose balls like you said and was able to get out and run and make plays in the open court.

Q. For Kanaan Carlyle to see a couple shots fall in the second half, how important do you think that was for his confidence and understanding his role after a slow start?

MIKE WOODSON: No, it's huge. You know, I mean, I'm going to need him to make shots. Goode made a few shots tonight. As a coach I got to get them comfortable. They can make shots. I know they can. I've seen it since this summer when we assembled this team.

We just got to keep working at it, taking it a practice at a time, and keep pushing these guys in the right direction.

Q. On Malik, obviously really important piece for you last year. Kind of feels like he has reached a new level so far. Where have you maybe seen that evolution from him?

MIKE WOODSON: Again, I mean, his skillset was always there. It was just keeping him on the basketball. That was the biggest hurdle to get over. They are starting to let him play, and he can do a number things. Defensively he's playing better because he has to guard smaller guys now.

We pretty much played him at some 4 but played him a lot at 5, too last season. You know, it's kind of nice to see him able to move his feet and still be able to score down low and make passes for his teammates around him. He's gotten so much better. I can't help but think if he continues to work he'll continue to grow his game.

Q. Building on Malik there, after the Tennessee game you talked about him being in the best shape he's been in since he's been here. How have you seen that benefit him on the court?

MIKE WOODSON: Again, just his movement up and down the court. I'm not playing him big minutes. He played more minutes last year. I'm sure we'll get his minutes back up to 30, 30 to 31, 32 minutes. Just his movement and being able to recognize things that are in front of him now defensively because we switch a lot.

And just being more of a leader. He's a junior now. You know, so you expect him to step up and be a player for us. He's doing that for us.

Q. Coach, Myles Rice didn't have a shot attempt in the first half. Do you want to see him being more aggressive on that side of the floor?

MIKE WOODSON: When he's got shots, I don't mind him taking them. I haven't told anyone on this team not to take shots. We scored 90 points tonight. That's a lot of points in college basketball.

But I'm encouraging him. You got shots, knock them down. Hell, Goode, you got shots, shoot the ball. I didn't bring you here to not shoot it.

Just got to take positive with these cats and see where it leads us.

Q. Continuing with Myles, what did you see from him from a leadership perspective at halftime and going into the second half?

MIKE WOODSON: Again, I mean, he, along with that starting group struggled the first half to defend.

That was addressed at halftime. I thought they came out and fixed it. You know, they start getting up in the passing lanes and not letting the ball swing as easy.

When we got the stops we were able to rebound the ball and get it out and got down and got somewhat we call quick strikes up the floor.

So I was pleased with the way they played the second half. They were good on both ends of the floor.