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

March 30, 2019

Washington D.C.

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and student-athletes Cassius Winston, Matt McQuaid and Nick Ward. Coach, an opening statement?

COACH IZZO: We're excited. It doesn't get any better than this. I think this has been a year when players teach you more than you teach them, as resilient as they have been and kind of what they've gone through. But as we've talked about it as a staff and we've talked with our players, everything we've gotten this year, from our Big Ten Championship to the Big Ten Tournament, to this Elite Eight appearance, has been earned and not given. And that makes it special. And the guys that earned it are the guys to the right of me, and they've taken me along for the ride.

So we're excited to be here. We know that Duke is the number one overall seed. And they've earned all their stuff, too, with the way that program has been, Coach K and the players. So hopefully it will be as good as a game as the billing.

Q. Cassius and Matt, as captains of this team, a lot of talk about Zion, but your guys' team is extremely physical too. I just asked Zion about matching up. Do you think your physicality is under the radar, not getting the attention maybe nationally that people in the Big Ten are aware of?
MATT MCQUAID: I mean, yeah, we do a lot of little things. And Coach always says attention to detail. And we just try to go out there and execute as best as we can on our cutouts and just on the defensive end in everything we do. It's just all detail.

CASSIUS WINSTON: We do a good job of hitting bodies, being physical down there, boxing out. We play physical, we play in a really physical league. So physicality isn't new to us, really.

Q. Matt or Cassius, you guys have been on a role going back into the Big Ten. Can you put a finger on what's gone so right to allow you guys to kind of just keep piling up win after win like this?
CASSIUS WINSTON: I would think our defense. That's been the most consistent thing for us, just holding teams to low percentages, cleaning up on the rebounds and things like that. Just playing Michigan State basketball for this little stretch. We've been rebounding, running, defending, and that's what we do best.

Q. Cassius, what have you seen on tape so far of Tre Jones? What's your plan of attack for tomorrow?
CASSIUS WINSTON: He's a really, really good player for that team. He does almost all the little things. They've got lots of talented players, a lot of dudes that got a lot of credit and things like that. But he holds them together. He makes big plays for them. He's a really good defender. He's a key, key part of that team.

Q. What have you seen from Zion, and how much are you looking forward to the challenge of facing basically the guy everyone's talked about all season?
NICK WARD: He's extremely athletic. He rebounds the ball at a high level. He's a great player overall. Me, X and Kenny, all the bigs really, are very excited to take on this challenge tomorrow, and we'll do our best to contain him.

Q. Nick, first of all, just the hand and what's your status and how is it feeling for tomorrow?
NICK WARD: My hand's doing good. It was bruised. I'll be fine. It's a day-by-day type thing. But I'll be fine.

Q. For any of you, the whole year, nationally, Duke's been the story, Zion's been the story. But with them having two close calls in the past week, is there any of that that kind of leads you to guys be, like, it's just a team? You know what I mean? Does that change anything?
CASSIUS WINSTON: I think that was our mindset going into the game anyway. They're a really good team. They earned their position. They earned to be in the situation that they're in. I feel like we're a really good team also and we earned to be in this situation, too.

So we've both got good coaches. We've both got good programs. It comes down to executing and which team plays the hardest.

MATT MCQUAID: Both respectable teams. Both earned what they had, like Cassius said. We're just excited to have the opportunity to play in the Elite Eight.

Q. When you landed yesterday, what was the first thought that went through your head on that hand? And second of all, when you woke up this morning how was it, and is there anything that's going to keep you off the court tomorrow?
NICK WARD: Nothing is going to keep me off the court tomorrow. And my first thought when I landed on the hand was just make sure everything's all right. My trainers, Nick and doc took me back and made sure everything was cool and everything looks good.

So basically this morning it was sore. It was sore. But I expected that. It's more a day-by-day type feel.

Q. Cassius, Coach Izzo has talked about how you rise above the pressure and then it never really gets to you. Interested to know where that might have started for you and your playing career, maybe if it was in your youth or just where that gene comes from to rise above that?
CASSIUS WINSTON: As -- I would say, just been a long time. I remember when I was little I used to cry a lot. I used to let my emotions get the best of me in a lot of situations. Like I said, it didn't help me any, you know what I'm saying? It would just take me away from my game. And nothing ever good came from it.

I've been through a lot of mistakes, been through a lot of situations, just keep learning, getting better to the point where I feel like there's not much that you can throw at me that I haven't seen, not a lot of situations I haven't been in. I'm going to figure out a way to get out of it.

Q. Cassius and Matt, when the bracket came out everyone kind of pointed at this was the dream matchup, Michigan State versus Duke. Obviously their freshmen against your experience and savvy. Was this something that you were looking forward to or hoping to see, to get the challenge against the team that everyone's pegged as the favorite from day one?
CASSIUS WINSTON: I wouldn't say we're looking forward to it. We just focus on one game at a time, and that's been our mindset the whole way. Now that we're in this situation, we're not afraid of it. We embrace challenges. We embrace opportunities.

They're the highest No. 1 seed. So it's going to be a huge game, a huge opportunity. And we're looking to take advantage of it.

MATT MCQUAID: Like Cassius said, just having that one-game mentality and winning the weekend. We knew big picture we probably would have to see them. But we were just taking it one game at a time. And now we have the opportunity to play them.

Q. From all three of you, how would you describe Coach Izzo's impact on your lives both as men and as players.
NICK WARD: Well, Coach Izzo just wants the best for you. He pushes you to your limit each and every day, which is only going to help you on and off the court, to see your full potential.

And he's never satisfied which is good because he doesn't accept mediocrity. And he really inspires me.

MATT MCQUAID: Coach is one of the most passionate people I've ever met. Always coming ready to work. And I know you guys only saw him that one clip of him that got on Henny holding him accountable. What you don't see is laughing with us at practice, laughing with us off the court, joking with us off the court.

And when someone is going through something, him being the first one to call, and helping us get through tough times. He's always the first one at our door. He always says call us whenever he wants. He's a big part of everyone on this team's lives.

CASSIUS WINSTON: Definitely just a huge part of the person and the player I am today just constantly pushing you, constantly wanting you to get better, constantly believing in you more than maybe you believe in yourself. And that's just huge.

A lot of things thrown at you, a lot of things you learn on the fly, he's with you every step of the way just pushing you.

Q. Can you take me through your initial play against Duke in 2016, and from then how you guys have grown as players to at this point in time?
CASSIUS WINSTON: My freshman year?

Q. Yeah, freshman year, you played at Duke, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The experiences from that game and how you feel you've grown as players since then.
CASSIUS WINSTON: Man, that feels like so long ago. Like I said, I feel like we're more confident. We know more about ourselves, the type of team we are. We know the system. We know the coach better. All type of things.

We've grown over the years. And I feel like individually we're much better as players. And so that makes us better as a team.

MATT MCQUAID: We came a long way from that game. That was two -- two, three years ago? We've all become more confident and better players, and it's a whole different team. We're really close together and well-connected.

NICK WARD: I completely agree. That was a long time ago now, just thinking about it. But, you know, we're more experienced now. We've been through everything as far as injuries and a whole bunch of adversity. So that made us who we are today.

Q. Cassius, just as a basketball fan, how much did you watch Duke even when you were a kid? And when you hear Duke, what comes to mind?
CASSIUS WINSTON: You see them a lot. Like I said, they've got a history of really good teams, really good players. And so you always see Duke. You always see them doing big things.

They're fun to watch. Definitely, like I said, when you think of college basketball that's one of the things you think of, just that organization. And they earned it. They did a lot of great things throughout the years. Had a lot of great players come through there.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.

Q. I asked Coach K -- you're not sitting around reflecting on this tomorrow with Duke tomorrow, but I asked how he sees the game changing when the one-and-done changes in '21 or '22, whenever the NBA rule goes in. And he basically said we don't really have a plan for that in college basketball right now for that. I wondered if you had thoughts on that will be the next major paradigm shift in the sport. What are your thoughts as you look ahead to that?
COACH IZZO: There's so many moving parts right now with the G League and those rules and the NBA and what happens there. I've stayed the same course the whole time. I honestly am still worried more about the kids and the decisions that they make and who's influencing those decisions.

And everybody else says, well, the coaches make a lot of money and the teams make a lot of money and the colleges make a lot of money. But what we never talk about is the kids could lose a lot of money. Making a wrong decision at 18 or not ready for the world that you're entering -- one of my first recruits, one my favorite guys, a guy named Steve Smith. And I remember him saying to me many a times, still to this day, you know, it is a job.

The NBA is a job. It's a job just like you've got and I've got. Some of them make a lot more money than you and some of them make a lot more money than me. But as we all learn as we get older, money isn't the only thing that makes you happy because there's also a lot of pitfalls in that.

And I just wonder where I'd be at 18, would I be ready for -- well, I don't wonder, I know what I would have been ready for.

So I worry more for the players. And yet everybody's trying to say players should have all these rights. If you could make such good decisions at certain ages -- I still always wonder, why do you have to be 36 to be the president, you know? It's because you don't make as good of decisions when you're younger.

And, hell, until my dad died I still asked him for his opinion on things and this and that. I think these kids, they get a lot of people in their circle. And that's the only thing I worry about.

If it's one-and-done, if it's coming right out of high school. If it's two years and done, we're going to play by the same rules. And probably I'll keep my job and probably the school won't go under. But I really worry about how many kids either don't make it or make it, but their life's been tainted because they're not mature enough to handle those situations.

And I laugh at the people because I'm not against it at all. I just I don't think -- there's moving parts that I don't think we know; and then it will take five, six years to figure out, was it good or was it bad. And I don't know. There's only a couple LeBrons and Kobes out there.

There's a lot of people that have gone the other way. That's the only thing I worry about. It's for them. It's not going to make any difference to me.

Q. You faced Coach K in the tournament now for two decades dating back to the 1999 Final Four. I was wondering how has your and/or his style or objectives changed over time over the past 20 years when you see a guy over and over in March?
COACH IZZO: You know, I see him. I don't like seeing him as much because we haven't had as much success. But what I do is I have incredible respect for what he's done. I think any coach, any player, any person, any CEO that can consistently work at a level of excellence, I'm a fan of.

And I don't think we've changed that much. I don't think he's changed that much. He dipped into the more one-and-done style and has found a way, like a chameleon, he has -- he can just figure out a way to make it work for him and has done an excellent job of that.

Maybe that's the only thing that's been a lot different is the number of one-and-done players they had. We have a few. Not as many. But he's maintained -- man, he's maintained it since the late '80s when I really started watching them and figuring out how they do things from the Johnny Dawkins and Jay Bilas area and Grant Hills and Jay Williams and the guys we played in that first '98 game. And then we were in a couple of Final Fours that they were in, sometimes played them, sometimes didn't.

But you always keep an eye on the programs -- and I think everybody does this in life -- that have been successful. And you try to figure out how do they do it, and then how do you beat 'em. And I figured out a little bit how they've done it. I haven't figured out as well how to beat them. I'm still working on that. And that's why we're still a work in progress.

Q. Have you ever coached or seen someone at this level like Zion? And how just how difficult is it going to be to deal with him?
COACH IZZO: You all know I'm a big football fan. Khalil Mack is a guy I look at and say, geez, if I could borrow somebody from the Bears, maybe we could cover him. He's an incredible athlete. But what I loved watching about him up close and personal that I didn't see is he really -- and I don't have any idea -- but he really seems like an incredible person, you know? Seems like a good teammate. Doesn't seem like a guy with an ego for the skills he has. He seems to play as hard as anybody.

He's got the most incredible first step. That's why he's getting all those steals. He can take one dribble and cover more space than most human beings that I know can do. And so then he has the strength to finish at the end. So he's not Superman, but he's damn close.

And we're just going to have to figure out a way. And I think most people have, that great players usually take more than one person to cover them. The problem is they have some other weapons. But everybody that's said everything about him, I think they're all true. And I guess what I like about him is to have a college basketball player that seems content where he is, not worried about where he's going.

When they talked about him having the injury and some people brought up shutting it down, I have no clue, I just sat back in my house and said, from what I watched, that kid is not shutting it down. He was born to be a basketball player. He was born to be an athlete.

And in that respect it's going to be good to play against somebody that I respect in different ways than just as a great player.

Q. What has the leadership of Cassius Winston meant to your team this year? And how have you seen his maturity develop since he first joined your program?
COACH IZZO: He really has matured a lot. And his maturity has been more on the court. He's one of the more mature players I've known. He's one of the better students I've had. He's just -- his two brothers are two of the most important people in his life.

He's pretty grounded. In fact, he's an extremely grounded kid. But he has grown as a player. He's become a better defensive player. He's become more talkative. He realizes that I've been harping on him for two years that, you know, when the head dies, the body follows. And when you're a quarterback, you're the head.

And every once in a while I said, did you see those little ducklings following you again? If you don't do it the right way or motivate them, or if you don't drag them with you, they're going to follow you whatever way you go.

Sometimes Cassius can be Cassius. He's got a sense to him that you wonder how passionate he is sometimes because he's always stayed so even keeled. But I know inside there's a burning desire, but sometimes the other players don't. So I say, like today, I just said at practice, remember, you've got to bring it even if it's not as much physically, you've got to bring it emotionally and communicatively.

And I think that's where he's really, really grown. And he's a special kid. And he's still the guy that you'd line up, and I'm not sure you'd pick him out to be one of the best basketball players in the country, but when you watch the things he does and the way he handles himself and the IQ that he has, which is off the charts, he's found a way to be a hell of a player.

Q. I know you just talked about how much you respect Coach K and his program. But what is your relationship like with him and how much do you guys actually get to interact during the year or during the offseason?
COACH IZZO: Got real close a couple years ago when my son was picking teams. And he picked Duke. And I disowned my son for a year or two. But I remember when Duke beat us that year. Coach K had made the statement that he's always got a scholarship at Duke.

Well, now he's graduating from high school. So Mickey (phonetic) is going to be short some money because I think I'm going to get Steven to go there. (Laughter) but I've had a good relationship with Mike. I respect people that do it the right way and that have again found this consistency over, man, it's been 30 years or maybe more, you know?

And we used to be on some boards together and some things. So I knew him that way. And I am on still a couple things with him. But I'd say it's a good healthy relationship except one hasn't won as many games against the other and hope to find a way to change that.

Q. I know you sort of made a face when I asked about Duke's close calls over the past week. Over the course of the year, with them being sort of the story and everything, but your team has beaten teams that are maybe more athletic than your team, even last night, probably. And so how do you kind of reconcile those two things, the fact that, yeah, Duke's a great team they've got great players, but your team is --
COACH IZZO: You know what I'm proud of about our team, we've played 24 Big Ten games this year. We've played -- I think we've won more Quad 1 wins than anybody in the country. We've not lucked out to get here. We've earned our way here and we've earned our way here through some injuries.

Yes, they've had Zion and I don't have a player like that. But I've had four or five that have been injured and we've kind of had to regroup. And I think we grew from that and for some reason I'm not as big and strong as some Michigan State teams are. But this group has been a little more fearless. And I've had some knock-down, drag-out teams that maybe weren't as mentally comfortable with where they are.

And I think all the adversity we've gone through has made us maybe more mentally tough than physically tough. Last night, you know, our whole MO was to slay the dragon that was so physical and so big. And our guys found a way to rise to the occasion.

And I still think the Big Ten, as evident with us and Purdue still hanging around, it was a very good conference. And we found a way to win the regular season with Purdue and found a way to win the Big Ten Tournament. So you know what? We have a player that is here this week in Andre Hutson. And he went to four Final Fours. And he once said, you know, when we were going against different teams back then: To be the best, you've got to beat the best.

Well, we have a chance. Not everybody has a chance to do that. But Duke is, as you say, everybody's favorite. And they've been the number one No. 1. So it's our chance to go against the best and I think we're looking forward to that.

Q. On the one-and-done thing, RJ and Zion probably would have been drafted had there been no rule last year --
COACH IZZO: Damn, I vote for the rule change. (Laughter).

Q. How much do you think it benefits them both physically and, let's face it, financially that they were at Duke a year, they're playing against college guys and building up their brand before they go to the NBA?
COACH IZZO: You know maybe of all the things I'd be an advocate for, we act like college is not important. And I'm not saying that -- I know for some of my guys that are great students, yeah, it's important that way. Some of my guys that aren't as good of students, it's important for them that way. But the experience. I talk about, all the time, that there's certain phases of your life when you have things happen that become memories. And that's what life is. It's a bunch of those memories.

And I've always said, my buddy Mariucci and I could sit around to this day, and -- we both had a lot of success, but we both talk about college. What was it like living in the trailer back home? And it's a topic beyond topics.

When our guys come back, even our alums now, we did some crazy things, you know, like, many years ago, before legal systems and everybody in the Internet, you know, we did practice once with football pads and people would think that was crazy.

That's the most talked about thing we have. When we have that reunion and they're having a beer and I'm having a pop because I'm not allowed to drink in case anybody sees me. That's the topic of conversation.

And, I mean, pro ball is great. And I love the NBA. But it's different. It's a job. It is a job. This is not a job. You kind of volunteer to be here. And once you get there, it's a little different.

But I think it's going to be good for them, I really do. I think watching those two guys -- and seeing Zion have to deal with all the pressures and it doesn't look like he's changed. You know, I'm not with him on a daily basis. But I know I had Jaren Jackson last year and Miles Bridges, and I don't think some of these guys get enough credit on how classy and how good they are. We build them up and put them on pedestals so we can rip them down.

But I think college helps you learn how to deal with that. And I don't care if they're allowed out of high school, if it's one-and-done, if it's two-and-done or if it's three-and-done. But I do think that there is great value in anybody that gets to go to college and be a college kid -- be able to make a mistake and it not cost you the world.

I think that -- watch what you wish for a little bit. If it works out for them, God bless them.

Q. Tom, last year's team was a lot like this year's Duke. A lot of individual talent, great players, high draft picks. There may not even be a first-round draft pick on this year's team, but this toughness can it be attributed to what they went through last year with all the off-court adversity that wasn't fair to them, could that have instilled the toughness in this team that you've even wondered, where did it come from?
COACH IZZO: It could have, because I do wonder sometimes where. I don't see the same guys, you know? I had a Travis Walton or Mateen Cleaves, and Cassius isn't the same makeup on that. I had a Morris Peterson or Jason Richards, and Matt McQuaid isn't the same makeup as that. A Zach Randolph. I mean Nick's close in some of those ways as far as toughness.

But I think that just all the different adversity. We found a way to win 60-some games in two years and playing still one of the best schedules. And I think that helped, too. And so we've kind of hung in there and we've kind of grown together. That's what's so cool about this whole thing is there will be relationships for life.

This is a very connected team. And I used to use the word close or everybody got along, but connected means that there's just a line, one to another, all the way down. And whether that will be good enough tomorrow, I don't know. But I'm looking forward to the opportunity. I mean, it is one of the things you did dream of. And I heard someone ask a question when the pairings came out, you know, we're allowed to -- we're not supposed to talk about it, but anybody, if you're dreaming big, you gotta look at it and say, what if we could play this team to get to the Final Four. Because winning games during the tournament aren't as exciting anymore because we've been there and done that.

And so this is a match up that I don't know how many people want, but it's 1 versus 2. Is there one other one, 1 versus 2? Kentucky and who? So we're the only 1 versus 2, not that it really matters. But it's really what you want. The last game of the day to go to the Final Four.

I hear kids talk about shooting that free throw or making that 3 or that layup that you did out in your driveway. For a coach, this is what you do. You dream of it and now you get to live your dream. How cool is that?

Q. For all you've accomplished, you've also talked and even joked about still chasing Duke and could you ever even catch Coach K and the victories and everything else, and the and the 1-11 record and all this stuff comes up. Is this one of your last obsessions? Is this the great white whale you're chasing?
COACH IZZO: You're calling Coach K a white whale, huh? It's what everybody should do. Everybody has a standard you want to get to. And when players say you're never satisfied, why would you be satisfied? Unless it's time to hang up the whistle. Why would you be there?

What he motivates me to do is there's always another challenge. I was around during the John Wooden era. But in a lot of ways it was a different era back then, too. But I wasn't coaching then. He has done it as consistently and as well.

And so when I look at that or when I look at my buddy Nick Saban, who has done it as consistently and as well on a year in, year out basis, that's what I want for me, just like what I want for my players, is them to max out. So I want to max out. I've got bigger goals than just beating Duke. I'd like to get back to another Final Four.

I'd like to win another national championship. I'd like to get our program in a position where, whenever I'm done the basement's built so strong that it will go forever. I'm on boards still. I want to do what's right for college basketball. I've got a lot of goals.

But I think I could focus in on making one of them the game tomorrow night and see if we could change that 1-11 record that -- hell, not many guys outside of their league are playing them 11 times. I figure that we've played them a lot. Played them down there a lot. Played them in different events and we've knocked on the door. It hasn't opened yet. One of these days it's going to open.

Q. What was your reaction when you saw Zion go way up and get that alley-oop dunk? And what was your reaction for Buzz Williams at the end of the game when they had that perfect play and it just didn't go in?
COACH IZZO: It can happen in football, but I say in basketball, between the 3-point shot, fouls, different things, a lot of things affect the game a little differently. And watching Zion go up and up, I said we better make sure we either put a lot of pressure on the ball or we don't let him get to the rim. And watching Buzz and the job he's done there -- I love Buzz, he's tough as nails -- came up with a great play at the end. And I feel for the kid who missed it, because you kind of live with that.

But that's what sports is all about. There's a lot of highs. There's a lot of lows. There's the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, as they used to say. But in Zion, you've got a kid who I'd say is kind of every so often -- he's not an every-year-type of guy. And I watched him up and close personal yesterday.

And now we're going to get to play them. And it's not going to be Michigan State against Zion. It's not going to be Krzyzewski against Izzo; it's going to be Michigan State against Duke. And I'm proud that I've got a team that I think is ready for that challenge.

Q. When you walked in the door in East Lansing all those years ago, what did you hope to achieve, and how does reality compare with all of these Elite Eight trips and all these victories and this resumÃ© you've accrued?
COACH IZZO: You know, I just hoped to get a job. I applied for the job three times with Jud, and he turned me down three times. I begged to be a GA. That's when I first walked in the door, I was a GA, and just dreaming about -- I still remember the first Big Ten game. 10,000 people in the arena. And it was more than in my hometown. And I sat there and looked around like a kid in a candy store. And then, you know, when we started winning and we went to that first Final Four, first NCAA Tournament, actually, in '98 and then the Final Four in '99, it was a dream come true. And I said Mariucci has been with me at most of them, and we used to sit in my room and say can you believe this is happening to us? And that's a cool thing.

I say to the day I die that I want everybody I touch to get to do what I do. And that is to live what you dreamed about and you talked about. Probably some of this stuff when I'm done I'll say superseded my expectations. But as long as I'm in it, I think I'll keep my expectations higher than what I was dreaming and see if I can reach them myself.

So, you know, I wish my dad was alive. I wish Jud was alive because I think they would both enjoy this kind of setting. And Jud, time after time, would pull for me, would talk to me. I had seen Gene Keady in the stands pulling for Matt Painter. I hope I become one of those coaches that really puts a lot into the people that take over for me like those guys did for us, because that's pretty cool, in this day and age where half the people will be mad if the guy that followed them succeeded.

So I've been blessed. And I've been -- the dreams that I had have been superseded and yet I think I'm going to pick some new dreams and see if I can go a little farther.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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