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NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: WASHINGTON D.C.

March 28, 2019

Washington D.C.

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the student-athletes from Michigan State, Cassius Winston, Matt McQuaid, and Nick Ward. We're going to open it up for Q&A right away. Coach Izzo will join us following the student-athletes.

Q. Your team is comprised of juniors and seniors mostly now. But being in the position last year, like LSU is in now, how does experience really help a team this far in the tournament?
CASSIUS WINSTON: Experience, we've been in a lot of situations as a team. I said it all year, there's really no situation that we've come across that we feel like we haven't been in before. So we've seen it all. We've made it through a lot of situations. So that experience, just being comfortable in those situations just kind of helped us along the way.

MATT MCQUAID: Like Cassius said, we've been through a lot together. We've gotten a lot closer this year, just through everything we've been through, and it's really just brought us closer together.

Q. Cassius, how familiar are you with Waters? And do you look at this as a challenge? Arguably the two best point guards in the country playing in this game.
CASSIUS WINSTON: I've seen him a lot at AAU and I've been watching him this year. I don't get into individual battles, you know? We both do a lot for our teams. And if we're playing our best then usually our team is playing their best, too. So the victory in itself is just winning the game.

Q. You've never played him in AAU or anything?
CASSIUS WINSTON: Not that I remember.

Q. Nick, what are your impressions of LSU, what they have down low in Naz Reid and Kavell Bigby-Williams and some of those other guys?
NICK WARD: They're huge down low. That's going to be a challenge for us. And we'll have to box out, rebound, stick to the game plan. They're one of the bigger teams we faced this year. So we're going to have our hands full.

Q. Cassius, I'm staring at your backpack right now with the green bear on it. Can you explain where you found this backpack, what it's of and why you bought it?
CASSIUS WINSTON: Oh man. Well, it's from China. My mom went to China earlier this year. She saw the backpack she thought of me. So I love cartoons and the cash money thing so it was just a play off that. I love the backpack.

Q. Matt and Nick, what do you think about the matchup at point guard?
MATT MCQUAID: Like Cassius said, it's not individual matchup but Tremont Waters is a great player. Like you said, he does a lot for his team. He can shoot. He can drive. He can pass. But they've got a lot of other good players on their wings and we've just got to be ready.

NICK WARD: I totally agree with what Matt said. It's not really a individual battle because they both do a lot for the teams. But I feel like we've got to come out and execute. Cassius will have to play well, and Tremont will have to play well for his team. It's going to be a battle.

Q. Nick, can you describe what this team's character is like, to be able to keep on an even keel when so many guys are going out this year?
NICK WARD: That's a great question, because it speaks a lot about our character. Our character has been very high this year. Missing me, Josh, Matt McQuaid four games, Kyle -- that's a lot of injuries. That's our core people.

So we just battled adversity all year and we pushed through it and we were able to overcome it.

Q. Matt, 10-1 against ranked opponents this year. How much is that in the back of your mind tomorrow against LSU, and how important will that be down the stretch?
MATT MCQUAID: It's good for us and like during the regular season, but it's a different time of year. We know we're facing a really good LSU team with great players through the board -- really big, that rebound and quick guards that can do a lot of different things.

So, like Nick said, we know we'll have our hands full the whole game, and they're a good team.

Q. You guys guard the 3 pretty well. This LSU team hasn't shot the ball very, very well this season. Mostly get the ball inside. How does that kind of play into your guys' strength especially at a stage like this?
MATT MCQUAID: Yeah, I mean, like you said, they're kind of a streaky team. But they still have guys that can make shots. You saw Mays hit that big shot against Maryland and Waters can shoot. They have guys that are capable of stepping up and knocking down shots when they need them.

Q. Cassius, you and Tremont have both been uber productive this year despite kind of bucking the trend of taller point guards in college basketball and the NBA. What attributes in you or Tremont's game do you point to to explain that production?
CASSIUS WINSTON: He does a good job of using his quickness, changing speeds and things like that to get to his spot. He does a good job of just staying poised and staying in control during the whole game.

He does a great job controlling that team, pushing tempo, doing a lot of good things for that team.

And I guess in my case, I play within myself. I know what I'm good at. I know my spots. And I don't try to play outside of my strengths.

Q. You play for a guy who is regarded as one of the top coaches in the history of the game. Just what are some things you see on a day-to-day basis -- practice, offseason, in-season -- that make him the great coach that he is?
NICK WARD: Coach Izzo is never satisfied. That's great, because he wants you to be the best. He pushes you to be the best every day.

We watch film every day, see what we can do better. We go over plays, typical coach stuff. But Coach Izzo is a hall of famer for a reason.

CASSIUS WINSTON: Like Nick said, he always wants you to get better. There's no point of the season, no point of practice, no point where he's just I feel like we've done everything. There's always something we can get better at. There's always something that can help us get to the next step. He's been pushing for it every step of the way.

Q. I'll go back to the backpack because you started laughing at it. Do you guys have an opinion over Cassius' backpack, and do you think it fits his personality well?
MATT MCQUAID: I think it definitely does. Like he said, whenever I walk into the Brez in the morning he always has cartoons on, it just fits him well. And the cash money thing, I think it all flows together.

NICK WARD: I completely agree with everything Matt said because he does watch cartoons all the time. I live with him. I hear all the little gunshots, the little "Looney Tunes" stuff. But for sure it fits his personality.

Q. Nick or Matt, with all the injuries you guys have dealt with this year, how important has just Cassius' consistency been to the success of this team?
MATT MCQUAID: It's been huge. Cassius has played every game. He's kind of been the stable guy. But it's not a one-man team. We kind of just had that -- it's not like a next-man-up mentality either. It's a group effort and everybody stepping up and stepping up and doing more in their job and role.

But Cassius has been great all year, consistent all year doing a lot of things for us and just keeping the core group together.

NICK WARD: Completely agree. Cassius has been really consistent this year. Between me and McQuaid, we missed ten games together. I missed six and he missed four. That's a lot of games missed this season. So Cassius has led us and he's been really consistent.

Q. Nick, you all don't play a lot of zone, right? Why is -- LSU struggled at times against the zone. Why is it you all haven't played much zone? And do you think you might try some in this game?
NICK WARD: I don't think we're going to try any zone. But that's not -- we're a man team. We press up. We do our principles. Zone isn't really our MO.

Q. Why is that? Why isn't it, do you think?
NICK WARD: You know what? I don't know. That's up to our coaches. We just do what we're told.

CASSIUS WINSTON: Like he said, that's what we do here at Michigan State. We've got a good system. You help your helper. You are there for your teammates. Man has been working for us all year. We guard a lot of good teams and good players. I don't think it's time to throw away our principles now.

Q. Cassius, you piqued our interest. What was that trip to China about that your mom took? And are you a world traveler, too?
CASSIUS WINSTON: No, I don't really have the time to be a world traveler -- pretty occupied a lot of times. But, yeah, she does -- she has a job at Delta that allows her to fly to different places. So she's just taking advantage of her time, going out checking out different places. She was there.

She always tries to bring something back from each place she goes to and that caught her eye. She got me and both my brothers one too. Different bags.

Q. Cassius, the LSU Coach and Wade, they both said that they see a lot of Kemba Walker in your game. What do you think of that comparison?
CASSIUS WINSTON: That's high praise. Kemba could do a lot of really good things. I wouldn't say I'm Kemba Walker. That would be farfetched, but that's really high praise.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

COACH IZZO: It's great to be back in the Sweet 16 and we're excited to be here in Washington. We think we have a completely different foe than any we've faced so far -- probably the most athletic, with size, team we've faced.

Earlier in the year we faced UCLA and Texas team that had great athletes and great size heighth-wise, but these guys are linebackers on the perimeter and huge size inside. I said I love watching them if I didn't have to play them because it reminded me of our teams back in 2000-2001, with Richardson and Randolph, and just guys that attack the boards.

I say they go with vengeance. They almost go violently to the offensive boards and have done an incredible job with that. Once in a while the missed shot becomes the best offense. And that's near and dear to my heart. So I've been very impressed watching them on film.

And I think the two areas that concern me is the turnovers -- because we've been a little more turnover-prone, and they do a great job of that -- and, of course, the offensive rebounding. So I'll take questions.

Q. Michigan State and LSU have both gone through a lot of adversity, albeit very different. What about tough times can bring a team together and sort of make a team tougher mentally this time of year?
COACH IZZO: You know, it can. I think it all depends on the players that are there and how they handle certain things and what are the issues. I think for us we've gone back-to-back years of winning 30 games. I think -- I'm proud of the way the guys have been and they've dealt with some adversity this year with all the injuries we've had. But they've just kind of hung in there.

And I think it has been a bond that's grown them closer. And I know that there's been a couple storylines with LSU, losing a player that was shot and the coach and different things you've gone through.

But it just depends on the different rallying abilities of each team, of each individual person. And that is so individually rated. It's hard to say that this team should be able to handle it; this team shouldn't. I've had a lot of good teams. I'm not sure I've had any that would handle this adversity this year with just those injuries. And it seemed like we got one guy back and another guy lost. And I guess that's what I'm proudest of our team about.

Q. You just mentioned you're happy to be back here. Coach K and Duke are also here. What is it like managing the expectations in leading such a storied program where this is, getting at least this far which is an achievement, is the expectation?
COACH IZZO: I've learned to manage expectations. And I always complain about it. I complain about our media having them. I complain about our fans having them. I complain about our alumni having them. And then I realize that my expectations are probably bigger than all the above. So then I'm mad at myself. And so that I have to deal with a little bit.

But those expectations are a privilege and an honor to have. You work all your life to get your program to the point where people are expecting you to be some certain places. And, yeah, you have to deal with it with your kids, and you have to tell them that you don't win because you show up; you win because you earn the win.

But I look at a lot of good programs. Mike's got arguably the best as far as consistently doing something. I look at football programs. I look at pro sports. And I try to steal things from them that I think can help my team understand that those expectations can be a burden or they can be a joy. And it just depends on how you approach it and how you look at it.

But for me, when I look back at 20 years ago, I'd die to have my program where it's becoming. It's not there yet, because we still have some finished business. But it has taken a monstrous step, and I think that's all good. I really mean that. It's all good.

Q. We're in an interesting moment in time right now in basketball and college athletics. There's three ongoing federal investigations. You're about to play a team in a Sweet 16 that doesn't have its coach because of a suspension. I'm wondering as someone who has fashioned himself as a guardian of the game over the years and cares about it deeply where you think we are right now in college basketball?
COACH IZZO: I'm glad you said that, because I do feel like a guardian of the game. I worked for a guy named Jud Heathcote who thought that was more important than anything he did.

I'm saddened by what went on with the federal investigation and what's going on. The problem I have today since I'm not a big Twitter guy, what is reality and what isn't? Do I think there are some problems in college basketball? I definitely do. Do I think that people are wrapping their arms around it and trying to make a difference? I do.

Not knowing different things about different programs, there's a million rumors about everything. I will not judge anybody until I see the reality of it. But it does make me sad. I think we're at a point in time when college athletics, in general -- and football and basketball since they're so visual -- you know, we've all got to take a deep look at what we're doing and what is it suppose to be and what can it be. And maybe if there's problems we've got to eliminate the problems.

And so nervous, scared, excited -- probably all the above. Sometimes when things happen, that leads to change that's positive change. And if that happens, that would be good, too.

Q. Just to follow on Pete's question there, do you think there's anything good about what's going on now, and that it will clean up the game and then we can move on from there? Also, is there any hypocrisy involved when a team has their coach sitting out, but the player who was involved in that situation is allowed to keep playing?
COACH IZZO: Boy, I will answer it because it's my job. And I do feel like I'm on the NABC board and I care about what the NCAA and NABC have done. And I don't have a great answer for that.

But I think everybody should be held accountable in everything we do. I think coaches should be held accountable. I think players should be held accountable. And I think whether it's the NCAA -- I mean, we all need to be held accountable.

It's hard to figure out what that accountability is, but it saddens me that we're even talking about it, but it is a reality, and I understand that. I just hope and pray that the game that I got into for the reason I got into it remains equal where everybody has the same chance to be successful.

And the hypocrisy, again, again I don't know all the facts to all these things. And so I'd be insane to comment on something, nor would I comment on something when I don't know all the facts involved.

Q. What's it meant to you personally over the past week in the face of some criticism about your approach that so many people came to your defense, both as coach and man?
COACH IZZO: You know, hey, listen, my old boss told me the game makes fools of us all. And I'm sure there's been times that, if I had to rewind something, I'd find a different way to do it. But in the heat of the moment, when a 30-second timeout -- I'm not going to let one incident, one snippet, determine two years of a relationship with somebody.

And I don't think many people can understand -- you know, I've heard people say, well, in business you couldn't do this. No, because it's adults to adults, you know? We're still talking adults to players, just like my own kid, who is an 18-year-old.

And all that matters to me is, you know, I could say it's nice that the former players -- I'm sure they weren't happy with some things when they were there either. We all, as we grow up -- I always heard the saying that your parents are the dumbest people on the planet when you're 17 to 23, and then they get a lot smarter as you get older. I think coaches are in the same boat, you know?

And when people have success, when they've been through a lot and they have had success and they've been pushed to levels that they didn't think they could be pushed to -- now, in saying that, do I need to figure out what approach is right? I think we do, because every player you do treat differently. You don't treat everybody the same. Some need different things than others.

But that thing is -- I'll say -- is my fault if I offended somebody. And, yet, it's not an easy job to try to take 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds and push them to places they've never been if you want to accomplish the things they want to accomplish, not that I want to accomplish. This is about their goals.

Players make a set of goals every year, five things they want to accomplish. And I tell them at the end of that, that's my job to hold them accountable to their goals, not my goals.

So, you know what? We'll work around it. We'll grow. Who says that I'm -- I made mistakes in my life. I made a lot of mistakes in my life. But the one mistake I don't make is my players and the coaches are usually on the same page and understand because we spend time with them. And that's what I'll say to that. Thanks.

Q. What are your thoughts on -- the point guard matchup could be arguably the two best in the country? And will there be any part of you looking forward to see how the two guys handle each other?
COACH IZZO: I am. I really am looking forward to that. Waters is heck of a player. He's jet-quick. They're similar in some ways, completely different in others. Cassius is not the greatest athlete. They're both about the same size, but Cash can score it. He can pass it. Waters can score it. He can pass it.

Waters is a little more disruptive on defense. I think Cassius is -- his ability to shoot the ball from outside with consistency is a little better.

So it should be a heck of a matchup. And usually everybody hopes for two good quarterbacks. And in the world champions of Super Bowl you always look for two good quarterbacks. We've got two great quarterbacks here, and I am looking forward to seeing how it works.

But it won't be where, I think, it will be Cassius against him or Waters against Winston. It's still going to be a team. It's five guys. We're not guarding any one of their guys with one person. They're too big and athletic to do that. So we'll be cheating and having people on all sides of him.

Q. LSU has played in seven overtime games; they've been able to close out in a lot of late games. Is there a common ingredient in teams when they're able to finish when it counts?
COACH IZZO: Usually a good point guard. Usually a good quarterback is going to make that play at the end of the game. So as we looked at that, we tried to find a positive to it. And that's what we came -- boy they can do the things -- then we found a negative. Why are they in that many games if they're that good?

And you've got to have to be able to sleep at night. If you look at the positive side of it, you say, oh, damn, this is not good. But if you look at both sides -- we've been a little up and down in some things; they've been a little up and down in some things.

Sometimes shooting the ball, although when they miss it -- they used to say on my teams early in my career, the best offense was the missed shot, because they got three guys looking down at that rim.

And so I think the reason they've had some success in those overtimes is they've got the ball in the right guy's hand. He made the big play against Maryland, just incredible, like, one on two play, because they switched off with a big guy and he found a way to get around that. So I've been very impressed with him.

Q. When covering LSU football, when Nick Saban came to town, he would talk about you a lot. Tom Izzo says this; Tom Izzo says that. You maintain a relationship with him over the years? You guys just like a greatest-of-all-time club?
COACH IZZO: Just talked to him the other day. Nick is -- we came together at Michigan State as assistants and then we came together at Michigan State as head coaches. If he says that, there's a lot of times I say the same thing. I just love people that have been able to sustain stuff over a period of time. And Nick's a very passionate guy.

He's from -- as he used to call it, a hillbilly from West Virginia; I'm a Yupper from way up. We kind of had similar backgrounds and we've kind of shared similar things.

But I've always been a big Nick Saban fan, because I believe how he does it. I believe that every day he's trying to get better himself and make other guys better. In fact, just text him, I might try to get down see a little spring ball, try to -- I love learning from guys and I love learning from some basketball guys. But I really like learning from some football guys because when you go to a football -- like spring ball or OTAs, like when Mariucci was in it -- all those assistants are head coaches at those positions. And I think it helps me give a better way to handle my own assistants.

Just like I believe that I'm not crazy about players that play just one sport, I'm not a coach that just worries about basketball. I look at other sports and learn from all of them. And Nick's helped me.

Q. So you made a comparison of this LSU team to teams of yours in the past. Looking at your team right now, how would you stack them up against some of your teams in the past and the talent of this team?
COACH IZZO: Well, talent isn't as good, especially with the injuries. I mean, that sounds like it's going against the players I've got. I just mean I've had teams with four draft picks on there. And this team isn't there yet.

But the connection, the grit of this team, the physical power isn't quite as good as some teams I have, but the mental power might be better than a lot of teams I've had. They've been able to redevelop their team and analyze and figure out a new way to cover ball screens or do this to get away from fouling too much because we don't have as much depth or this or that.

Back when I was comparing them to us, you know, we played nine guys. We had guys coming off the bench. I mean, Jason Richardson, Zach Randolph came off the bench. They ended up pretty good players at the next level. That either shows how dumb I was or how good they got the next year.

But I love watching teams. And they've got depth. They play their depth. But they play hard. I mean the one thing I love about LSU is they play really hard. I think we play hard. I just think right now we're going to have to beat them a different way than maybe some of my other teams would have beaten them because their size and athleticism is a little superior. But we've got some things we've done right to beat other teams that were better in that area, too.

Q. We saw Winston stand in between you and Aaron during the game against Bradley, trying to calm the situation down a little bit. How do you view his leadership this season, especially helping the young guys communicate?
COACH IZZO: Cassius was a guy that -- we voted for captains early in the year, and it was McQuaid and Josh Langford. And Cash is one of those leaders that he leads by example, which I think is really good. I've always enjoyed people that led by dragging other people with them.

And I think that was an area when I was talking about levels he has to get to, that's another level, you know? And, boy, when we lost Nick and I told Cassius that next morning, now, I need you to -- because you have the experience -- nothing, nothing -- he's flawless as far as being under pressure. He doesn't see pressure.

And so I said, these other guys are going to be a little more nervous. You're going to have to lead now and talk to them. And I think he's done a phenomenal job of that. The kid has gone beyond where I thought he could go so far. But I still think he has another level we're going to keep pushing to. But as far as his growth as a player and as a leader, it's taken great, great strides.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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