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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 9, 2017John GroceTracy AbramsWashington, D.C. Michigan - 75, Illinois - 55 THE MODERATOR: We'll ask Coach Groce to make an opening statement, then take questions. COACH GROCE: Obviously I thought they played really, really well, shot it well. I thought a big difference in the game was the turnover differential. We had the majority of ours in the first half, had nine, five in the second half. The points off turnovers was 12 to 5. Give them credit. They've been playing well, especially offensively. I thought defensively they were good today also. Made shots, spread us out. They had guys make plays. We had our chances. Obviously we get down 20, then you fight back. A big part of that was the guy sitting here to my right. His disposition, his fight in huddles, the fight he gives our team. All of a sudden, we cut it down to seven. We have a three-point shot in the left corner that was a good look that could have taken it from seven to four. Instead we miss. They get a jailbreak opportunity, or a runout, and now it's nine. I thought even at halftime going in, we had weathered a storm. Thought we played with a little bit of toughness and grit. Come out the second half, cut it to eight a couple times. They responded with a layup. A couple times we didn't absorb a couple screens. They get a couple layups. They make a couple threes. I thought that Walton was terrific. Certainly the other guys play well. But he's certainly used the phrase 'head of the snake.' He has been playing well for them the last 10 games. Gives them a great disposition at both ends of the floor. I was proud of our fight to come back, especially when we got off to such a slow start. Obviously really proud of this guy. I thought he really kept our team connected and kept fighting through some adversity there throughout the first half and the second half. Questions for Trace. Q. Tracy, you've had a long career at Illinois. I am sure this isn't the way you wanted to go out. Share your emotions going off the court. TRACY ABRAMS: I just wanted to leave -- personally, I didn't have any personal agenda, nothing like that. I just wanted to do what I can do to make sure guys is ready. I was just trying to lead a lot, whether that's making guys better, talking, whatever that covers. I just wanted to leave it all out there. Q. Tracy, you've been through a lot here. What have these last couple months been like as the team tried to battle back? TRACY ABRAMS: It's been great, honestly. We've been through a lot, obviously, ups and downs. I thought our guys, we was great the last month, the last couple weeks or so. Our whole disposition, our will to fight. We didn't back down, no matter what nobody said. We was in practice, helping each other out, doing the little things that matter. That's what it's all about. Fighting back when your back is against the wall. I can honestly say we got a group of guys that was real selfless and bought into what we need to do to be the best team we can be. Q. What do you think about the future of this program as it goes forward? What do you think you left behind? TRACY ABRAMS: The future's always bright for the Illini. Great program. Going to continue to be a great program. Obviously I made a connection with the younger guys. I gave those guys everything I got in terms of experience. They watched me go through adversity and things allow that, watched my response. The sky's the limit for our program. It's going to continue to be the limit. We never going to settle, regardless of what it is. Q. What did you feel like was the reason you weren't able to compete at the start of the game? TRACY ABRAMS: Our guys was ready to compete. Like coach said, I think that's the No. 1 team offensively in the Big Ten. When you play guys like that, little things matter. Every play, every possession matters. Obviously, we could have been better. As guys and players, we definitely take full responsibility for the start. But, you know, they made some nice plays at the end of the day. Give them credit. Q. You were talking in the huddles. What were you saying while you were trying to fight back? TRACY ABRAMS: It's not a quitting program. It's never been that way throughout my six years here. For me as a leader, that's all I'm going to preach. I don't care the score. I feel like the score take care of itself. At the end of the day, I want guys to continue to compete no matter how the last play went for anybody. You got to keep moving forward. That's what makes good teams. That's all I was trying to do, is keep guys motivated, give their all. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Tracy. We'll continue with questions for Coach Groce. Q. Can you talk about the way Malcolm struggled or what they did to keep him? COACH GROCE: I thought they defended him well. Zak Irvin was the primary defender on him. I thought he did a great job of making him work for everything. It really required him to be very detailed in everything he did, setting up cuts, screening well, coming off of screens tight, working hard to get open. They just made him really work. Give Michigan credit. Q. He appeared to be limping in that game. What was he battling? COACH GROCE: I don't think that was a factor. Q. Obviously you had that run toward the end of the regular season. Overall, look at the whole season. Why do you think it didn't come together more? COACH GROCE: Well, I thought it did at the end. Obviously today we got beat by a really good Michigan team that played really well. I agree with Tracy. I think our guys learned what it meant to fight. I thought we have had and have a very connected team that cares about one another. I thought our practices improved. I thought defensively we got better. I thought offensively we got better. I think the biggest thing is what Trace said, that transference from him and the other seniors, but he did a great job of transferring to those, guys what it means to defend, how hard you have to play, how we prepare for practice. Those guys have learned a lot. I think it's a big reason why we certainly played our best over the last month. I give our seniors a lot of credit, in particular Tracy. Q. You mentioned Tracy. The game he had today, how does it wrap-up the commitment he's made to this program? COACH GROCE: He's been unbelievably committed. He's been through a lot. It took him a lot over the last month to six weeks to get back to what I thought he was starting to play like he had even prior to that stuff. That's a lot, what he went through. He and I have had a lot of conversations. He's a special kid. I mean, he really is. Today I thought you saw him with a lot of fight and a lot of care for his teammates, a lot of leadership today. I was really proud of him. Q. A lot of fans are frustrated with where this program is at. What is your sell to them about the future, where this thing's going? COACH GROCE: As I said the other day, what's interesting last week we beat Michigan State at home. I got one or two questions after the game how everything has changed. I told you not to get too far ahead of yourself. At the same time, I'm not going to let a missed layup and a 25-foot three by a guy that's made 5-All years, four, five days later, make me feel any different. That's not how I'm wired. I feel the same way that I did. Tracy echoed it as a player. That's more important to me than what anyone else thinks. In terms of what they have learned, who is returning, how they've been practicing, how they've been playing, what we have coming in with our class, we're excited. I told numerous people about what we've done culturally over the last month, six weeks, how we have kind of turned that corner than any time I've been at Illinois. Also, we realize at this point we still have to take information in. By no means am I saying this particular season's completely over yet either. I don't know that at this juncture. We owe it to those guys to continue to not necessarily think all the time about future, future, future. We owe it to them to try to finish this thing the right way. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thanks very much. COACH GROCE: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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