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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 24, 2008Tom IzzoCOACH IZZO: Well, I guess we finally get to, I don't know, it's still pre-season, but it seems like it heats up quickly for us now with the three games we have coming up. No matter who we play, gotten a chance to watch some tape on everybody, including Maryland, mostly Maryland, but I've also gotten a chance to watch a little bit of Oklahoma State and Gonzaga as they have to prepare for at least three teams going in, then go from there. I think still the single biggest issue I have is my own team. That's from a standpoint of trying to shrink our playing group a little bit and to get our rotation down. In trying to do that, probably the hardest part is still Delvon and Goran Suton, who has been more or less struggling for three weeks with a knee injury. Rehurt one early in the game against IPFW. Really hasn't practiced since. So in the last three weeks, he's had very limited practice time. It's created, you know, a tougher situation for us. In saying that, I think Marquise Gray has stepped up. Definitely Green has stepped up a lot. The big question for me will be, besides Suton, whether he can even go, how much we play Delvon and not get carried away with playing him too much because we could be a little thin at that position. So other than that, we're very healthy. We're going to play a team who is very well-coached, as we all know. Great guard play. Vasquez is maybe one of the better guards we'll face this year. At 6'6", 6'7", he seems to be doing it from the three-point line, doing it from the mid range, doing it from the free-throw line, and doing it with his rebounding. I think he's leading them in rebounding also. So he's kind of their Magic Johnson of Maryland from the standpoint that he's doing a lot of everything. Will be a tough matchup for us in how we defend him. We haven't really talked much since our IPFW game. As far as watching that game, I thought, you know, we didn't do a great job. But I think G was playing about a quarter speed. When you watch back, he got hurt early in the game. I didn't really know it till after the game. At the same time, you know, we missed some good shots. We missed some open looks. I think we had our chances a couple times to maybe widen the lead, and we didn't do that. That's what happens when you're on the road. You're in for a dogfight. That's what we had. I don't think it necessarily hurt us to be in one of those kind of games on the road early. But we sure understand that the competition's going to be three times what it's been. We're going to have to play our best basketball in all three games just to survive. I think there's going to be a lot of these tournaments. If you watched last past weekend, Virginia Tech could be in the finals, all of a sudden they lose two in a row on a halfcourt shot then on something else. USC was in the same boat. I think that's what happens in these tournament games when you're playing a tournament with a lot of good teams in the same tournament. Questions. Q. What is the likelihood of Suton being able to go this weekend? COACH IZZO: I honestly can't give you even an inkling of an answer. It's the last two or three days he has done nothing. Doctors are going to look at him today. I think they've done some MRIs and different things. Whether there's any tear or just a strain, either one could have the same prognosis. He could still probably play if it's not too bad. We were going to try to put him through a little testing yesterday, which we didn't end up doing. We're going to try today. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll know a little bit more on where exactly he's at. It's kind of not in my hands any more. But it's been frustrating because I think we've all talked about it. He had a great, maybe the best I've seen him play was the first month, September, then, you know, strained the knee a little bit, got hurt in the green/white game a little bit. He really hasn't been the same guy since after he worked so hard all summer. We have to get him healthy, whatever it is. But I can't give you a good, honest answer right now whether he'll play a little, play at all or play a lot. But a lot would seem slim to none, to be honest with you. Q. With so many good teams in this tournament, who would you rate as the favorite or the best team? COACH IZZO: That's a good question. You know, I think Gonzaga right now is playing as good as anybody and probably has the most number of scorers back in their lineup. But I watched a little bit of Oklahoma State. They just played Tulsa. I've never seen that many athletes, they play very small. I have not seen Tennessee yet. I saw a little bit of Georgetown. Maybe, believe it or not, one of the better teams in the tournament could be Siena. They got all five starters back and had an incredible year last year. So Maryland thinks they're going to be better, yet you look at some of the polls, whatever that means. So I don't have a good feel right now. It's like these other ones, it seems like there's so many teams that are maybe pretty equal. I think a lot of people would agree there's North Carolina, maybe UConn, and then of a group of 20, 25 teams all could be good to pretty good to great. I think a lot of the teams in all these tournaments, as far as the top five or six, could be in that same boat. So I just haven't seen enough of them all to give you an honest opinion. Looking at what they got back, what I've seen, those would be the group that I think have the best chance to be successful in it. Q. When it comes to playing some of these frontline guys, you mentioned the uncertainty with Suton, Delvon, do you have an idea yet of what you could do as far as minutes? COACH IZZO: Yeah, I mean, the question with Delvon more than anything, you know, it's the first time he'd have to play four days in a row. I mean, three games in four days. We'd have to have a practice. You'd be practicing some, even if it's a walk-through, the day of each game, you know, to prepare for the next team. That's the problem with these tournaments. I have first both doctor and trainer that I'm going to give them the minutes I want them to play, then they have to decide. I don't want to get caught up in a game, Suton is not playing, then I play him too many minutes. I have to think big picture here. That's been difficult for me, if you want the truth. It's been difficult in the first place. But pencilling him in, you know, last year he would have been 25, 26, 27 minutes. Suton has been anywhere from, in our minds, 27 to 30 minutes a game because we just think he gives us the best chance to do the most things. I'm hoping that Delvon will play 16 to 20 minutes maybe. But then what does that mean the second game? What does it mean? I just have no clue. That's been the hardest part for me, as much as it's been enjoyable, because I think I have a good team. It's been difficult to try to put those things down because, you know, like last night Delvon didn't practice. It's just part of what we're going through. But it makes it not very comfortable. Q. I know you're guessing a little bit, but are you concerned later on it could be scope or knife or a season? COACH IZZO: I'm not concerned about it being a season. I'm not concerned about it being a knife. I guess I'd be a little concerned whether it could be a scope, which would be -- you know, which could present weeks, a couple weeks, three weeks. I mean, so, yeah, concerned about that. It seems like everything he is, I feel right now I have two guys, I have to be concerned about the big picture, not the small picture. Yet I have four monster games coming up here in the next week. So it's enough to leave you not sleeping well. At the same time, it's an opportunity for somebody else. At least it's been in practice. We've gotten to do more things there. G understands the game and he understands he can watch and see what other teams are doing. So as far as the prep, it's not as big a deal. It's really not been just this past week that he hasn't practiced, but even when he has he's been at, you know, not full go. We got to do what we got to do. I wish I had better answers for you. If I had a better answer, I'd feel better myself. I just don't know. And maybe we'll have I'm hoping a better, clearer picture by tonight, but might not. And yet we're not going to go into the game questioning whether he's going to play a few minutes or a lot. I mean, if it's not better, it's not going to be better. If it is better, it will be getting better. We'll have some clue tonight, tomorrow morning at worst. Q. Does a tournament in November prepare particularly your younger players for what's down the line in March with three games in four nights? COACH IZZO: You know, I've gone a lot of times where I thought, Does our schedule prepare you? I think any time you have a reference point to go back to something throughout, whether it be the Big-10 tournament, the NCAA tournament, whenever you have a reference point, this is how you prepared for no day's prep, in other words, one game after another, after another, after another, this is how you do it with one-day prep. I think these are lessons to be learned for all the young guys. All the young guys are playing. That makes important statements to them. Does it really help you in November for what you're going to face in March of some kind? I don't know. I have mixed feelings on that, to be honest. But it's not going to hurt you. You know, I think it does help. That's why we kind of do it. It would be a tough schedule. Everybody says a tough schedule makes you better. Four months later, you got to question that a little bit. But I think the tough schedule, it kind of gives you a better idea where you are at the present, what you have to get better at, what you're already pretty good at. I think it gives you those kind of valid standards to kind of live by. Instead of kind of guessing, we scored 90 points in this game, shot so well, yet it was against a team that wasn't as good. I think it gives you a better standard of where you're at. I don't know how much it helps you down the road. I think some. And I do think the one-day preps or no-day preps, you know, give them an idea what it's going to be like in the Big-10 tournament or beyond. Q. You talked about Maryland's guard play. How do you think you match up against them? COACH IZZO: Well, they're big. They're really big. Their guards are 6'4", 6'6". It's almost like the old Louisville teams. Everybody is 6'4" to 6'8". You know, they have a lot of bigger guards. They post them a lot. Running the flex, not like Wisconsin, but kind of, where they're posting their guards. That's a little bit of a question for us. It puts us in a position where, you know, harder to play maybe two smaller guards together. But at the same time, you know, I think we'll be ready defensively. I think we'll do some things that hopefully will not hurt us down there. They do not have maybe the shooting big men they had with the (indiscernible) kid that graduated. Not quite as powerful inside in that respect. But definitely a guard-oriented team that has very good guards and are very well-coached. Q. What did you learn about your team from the IPFW game? Do you think with the schedule coming up that was sort of a reality check for your players? COACH IZZO: Well, you know, what I learned, I learned different the next morning. I was really kind of disappointed in some of their play, especially in G's play. He missed a couple layups, this and that. Then I found out five minutes into the game that he hurt that thing and was just kind of sucking it up a little bit. Then I think the hurt became a worry, you know, as the game goes on. I wasn't pleased. I thought for the first time in a long time we just had the whole group kind of let down a little bit. I did not feel that anybody played that well. One just led to another, led to another, led to another. So that was disappointing. Hopefully we showed it on film and we talked about it. I thought we looked a little selfish for the first time. Maybe that was just part of the whole thing. But when you have a couple key players, too, a lot of our offenses, remember last year, can run through Suton. He can be a stabilizer in that aspect. So, you know, the next day when I found out how he was and that, still a concern, but not as big a concern. Q. Gonzaga, Maryland, Oklahoma State will get your team's attention a little bit better than the IPFWs and the Idahos. Do you see that in your team, the sense of urgency of preparation? COACH IZZO: We've had a good week of practice, except for the injuries. Like I say, when you're trying to prepare a team and all of a sudden you got two key guys not practicing, you know, it's not like football. It's basketball, where there's only so many. It's kind of ironic, isn't it, every year that we have a lot of what we would call quality depth, I think the first question is how are you going to play them all. I say, Don't worry, it will even itself out. It's done that pretty quickly already. I think there is a sense of urgency. I think they understand. Good thing about television right now is there's a lot of games on, so you see a lot of games. Our managers have done a good job of kind of going through all the upsets already. There's more upsets already than you used to have in a season 10 years ago. I think they understand where they're at. There's been a sense of urgency as far as the practice. But it's the games that really matter. We had good practices before we went to IPFW and didn't play as well. Q. Given some uncertainty with some of these frontline players, is this a time where you tell somebody like Draymond, You're getting more of an opportunity, let's see how you handle it? COACH IZZO: Yeah. But it's nice in theory to tell ID, Draymond, Marquise, you have an opportunity, but then the reality sets in that you have to play. So I do think there have been some pluses we got to spend more time with them in practice. Depending what happens with G in the next week, one way or another we're either going to be playing them some, or if we're not playing them, you know, those guys are going to get thrown in under fire. Maybe like we went through with (indiscernible) or something, it will make us better in the long run. But only time's going to tell on that. As I said, it's just been a little bit discomforting that you don't know and you're throwing guys in there with the first unit that haven't been in there yet. It's made it a little harder in practice as far as the inside guys go. Q. Through two games, Raymar has elevated his play. What is the biggest difference between him last season and this season? COACH IZZO: I think Raymar has elevated his play. He's gotten more aggressive. He's taking the ball to the basket more. He shot a lot more free throws. I think he's averaging over 10 free throws a game. Really not shooting as well as I think he'd been shooting. He's missing out on a couple of points there. I do think he's been more aggressive. I think he's been moving around a little bit, playing some three, some four. We've moved him around. Maybe he feels more comfortable now to be able to do that. Maybe the defense doesn't feel as comfortable because they've got to guard him with different people at different times. Sometimes we've had him inside, sometimes we've had him outside, sometimes we've had him in ball screens, sometimes we don't. We've utilized him in a lot of different ways. I think that's helped him. Keep in mind he had a good start last year and then, you know, whether he's matured enough now to continue this on a game-to-game basis. The other thing I like that he didn't do last year is he's staying out of foul trouble, doing a better job in that. He's definitely made some strides in the right direction, and yet, like our program, time will tell whether that maintains itself. Q. I assume you'd rather not follow this tournament up with North Carolina immediately after. How would you rate this week in terms of toughest stretches that you've had here? COACH IZZO: I never looked at it quite that way. But as you were saying it, I was reading between your brain there, your eyes, ears, whatever, and I have to agree with you. This might be definitely the toughest four-game stretch because the other thing is none of them are at home. Yeah, it just gives me something else to worry about over Thanksgiving. It is an incredible four-game stretch. I can't think of a bigger or better teams that we may play in a four-game stretch. There's been some great two-game, or maybe even three in a week. But four in six days or whatever it is of this caliber all on the road, yeah, there's another one for the book. This is a week for the book. Q. You said one of the problems that coaches have with tournaments like these is just the uncertainty, not knowing who you're going to play, no prep time. How do you prep for a game when you don't even maybe know who you're prepping for? Is it cram as much as you can as fast as you can? COACH IZZO: We'll go in there with a scouting report on all seven team. Our assistants have been working on that. Our video guys. We have film from all seven teams. We'll hone in on three going in. We'll hone in on Maryland hard, then Gonzaga, Oklahoma State because we know we'll play two of those three teams one way or another. So that's the way we do it. Then you do have the day in between in this tournament, which is odd compared to Maui. Gives us a little bit of time. You know, it's different for the players. We did have a little longer period before so we were able to put in some things that are generalities with maybe those three teams that we're going to play, whether it's how we would cover ball screens similarly or how we would cover things like that. But that's what makes it fun. You know, that's what makes the tournaments fun, is you can see how much time you can spend. As you say, we've all crammed for tests before. So we'll be cramming two weeks before finals. Q. I think you say the team has made a lot of progress offensively this year. When you look at the team on an individual basis, guy by guy, who has made the most progress defensively? COACH IZZO: I'm not real happy with our defense right now. We're giving up a higher percentage than we ever have. So I would probably say nobody. But on a serious note, I look at it, and Walton has been a good defender. I think Lucas has made some strides in that area. I mean, both Durrell and Chris have made some strides. They went from, you know, down here a ways to down here a ways. So they've made some strides upward. It's just they got a long way to go to get it where we want to get it, where we need to have it. So I'd say, you know, when I watch Lucas and Walton, that's a pretty defensive guard tandem, too. That's a tribute to Kalin, because he had a great offense last year in a lot of ways, and he has taken a lot of pride in his defense this year. I think a big key is going to be how those wing guys play. I said that the whole time. Especially now, if I have to play Raymar more at the four, still because of Delvon, who knows with Suton, it even becomes more critical. Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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