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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2010Devoe JohnsonTubby SmithLawrence WestbrookINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Minnesota – 72 THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening comment from Coach Smith. COACH SMITH: Well, we're just really pleased to get the win. That was a very hard-fought, physical game. But you expect that in tournament play, and I guess very well-coached and well-disciplined Tom Izzo team. We haven't had much luck against them, but we were finally able to pull out a win, and we made some great plays down the stretch to get the win. Q. You came in here with that attitude about respect. Can you just talk about how that affected the way you played, especially late against a team like Michigan State? LAWRENCE WESTBROOK: Well, the only thing you can control is your effort and your enthusiasm, so we just used our shirts with respect just to play hard. It was just a team thing. We kept it between ourselves, but anybody wants to earn respect in anything they do, so we're just going to play hard, and if we do that we have enough talent to compete with anybody. Q. Devoe, can you tell me what you saw Michigan State do different tonight than what you saw them do the previous two games where they got the win? DEVOE JOHNSON: Well, I think Michigan State still executed very well. They got the ball inside to Raymar Morgan. He was having a good game. I think we just came up with some big plays down the stretch, we rebounded the ball down the stretch, and we just closed the game a lot better than we did last game. Q. Can you talk about just the leadership amongst you guys just down the stretch? What were you telling your teammates to make sure that they didn't falter like they did so many times this year late in the game? LAWRENCE WESTBROOK: You know, coach is there to lead us through that way. I mean, we're out on the court playing, but like I said, there's really nothing that -- you can tell the younger guys what to do, but everybody has been playing basketball for all their lives. Ralph, Justin, Rodney, they're young, but they've been playing ball. So if they were in the game they would know what to do. You just have confidence in your teammates that they're going to make the right plays, and I think everybody has confidence in each other and that's what got us over the hump. We trusted each other and we got each other's backs tonight. Q. Devoe, zero points in the first half. You really came on strong in the second half, eight points in overtime, I believe. Talk about just taking the team on your shoulders, especially in overtime. DEVOE JOHNSON: Well, I just got some shots to fall in the first half, some of my shots. I didn't get that much shots, and some of the shots weren't falling. As soon as they started falling, I was able to help our team get the victory. Q. Devoe, what made you ready to hit those shots? DEVOE JOHNSON: I just think I was just very composed and just wanted -- I was just very excited to win the game. I wasn't trying to put it in my hands, I was just trying to get the shots. I was in the zone to the point where I wasn't really thinking too much, I was just playing basketball. Q. Just talk about obviously the NCAA Tournament at-large bid and how much that was sort of a motive for you going into this game. LAWRENCE WESTBROOK: Yeah, you know, we all watch ESPN and we all see who's on the bubble and stuff like that. We've been in there talking and we know for us to get in there we have to get quality wins. Just with the respect thing, with that motivation behind us, it just pushes you to play harder. I think this is my first time that I ever beat Michigan State, so everybody collectively just gave 100 percent effort to go towards our résumé for the tournament. Q. What does this do for you guys moving forward? Obviously you want to get to the title game and win it because that is the automatic bid, and that opportunity is still there for you. DEVOE JOHNSON: Well, that sends us to the semis and we're going to have to play a good Purdue team tomorrow and we're going to have to come to play. We just have to keep playing aggressive like we did today and keep playing with confidence and the excitement that we did today. Q. Starting off in overtime, you guys had the ball, missed a three, Raymar Morgan put in an and-one and the momentum was on Michigan State's side. What caused you guys to keep your composure through the rest of overtime? LAWRENCE WESTBROOK: I think that was the difference between this game and the previous two. We just stuck with it. We didn't put our heads down or anything, it was just on to the next play. When we did that, it gave everybody confidence. I think Devoe might have hit a three to tie the game up, and from then on it was zero-zero, we were just fighting from there. Q. Lawrence, you kind of touched on this, but you saw so many things that were uncharacteristic of a Michigan State team, nearly getting in fights, getting beat so bad on defense, some of these guys are hacking really hard. You see them committing turnovers, shooting poorly. What do you think you guys did to contribute to that? LAWRENCE WESTBROOK: Yeah, I mean, they're a good team, but I think it's more to our credit, the way we played. We're no slouches, either. If they miss shots, we played good defense. We boxed out hard, and we rebounded as well. We did some things we could have did better, too. But they're a great team. But I think I just want to give my teammates all the credit because we really came together as a team today and played hard. Q. Obviously you guys came close against Purdue and Michigan State, one-point losses. Now that you guys have beaten Michigan State and finally gotten over that hump, what is this team capable of? And have you finally kind of realized the talent that's here and not the talent that you guys are missing? DEVOE JOHNSON: Well, I think the sky's the limit for us. As long as we stay focused and follow what the coaches say and just play our game and play with confidence, I think the sky's the limit. I think we've got just as much talent as any team in the Big Ten and in the country, so I think the sky's the limit for sure. Q. Lawrence, can you talk a little bit about your play the last couple days going up against some of the Big Ten's best guards, what kind of what your attitude was coming in? LAWRENCE WESTBROOK: Yeah, I'm just a competitor, and however coach asks me to play, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to play hard and give my team a spark on defense. I really like playing against guys like that because it pushes me and it shows I can do another side of my game. I look forward to the challenge, so hopefully I can do the same thing with whoever coach puts me on when we play Purdue. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Smith? Q. Something that Devoe said just there leads me to what I'm saying, having as much talent as a lot of teams out there. Why is it that one week we look at you guys and you're world beaters and then other times we're looking at you and you've got that record in the conference that you have. What do you think is the contributing factor there overall? COACH SMITH: Well, it's in the eyes of the beholder. If that's what you're seeing, that's not what I'm seeing. That's your opinion. I didn't see up and down. I saw close losses where we didn't make plays. We lose to Miami on the road, a tough team. We lose to a team like Texas A&M by one. I'm answering your question. We lost about six games by about one point, two of them in overtime. So we haven't been far off. I've been trying to stay positive and tell those guys, don't listen to the garbage, don't listen to the static, don't listen to the people that disrespect you. Concentrate on what we have to get done, and we'll be fine. We've had a lot of distractions this year, and that's been the whole -- but I've been so proud of these kids the way they've stayed focused and been able to do what they've been able to do and get as many wins that we've gotten. You're right, we're as talented as anybody when we play the right way. I think every coach in America feels that way about their team, especially when they get to this level. If you don't feel that way, you're not going to win any games. I've got as much confidence in this team as in any team I've ever coached. Guys like Devoe, Westbrook, you're not going to find any guys with bigger hearts and mentally tougher than these two guys. Like Devoe said, the sky's the limit. Q. With Blake struggling to really get any shots in the second half and overtime, could you talk about how Devoe was able to step up, especially offensively, and really carry this team in overtime? COACH SMITH: Yeah, because he was struggling. He really had his shot blocked about four or five times, and he kept trying to drive to the basket. But he's a clutch performer, and one of the things he gives us at the point guard spot now that our previous point guard didn't have is to be ability to knock down the three-point shot. He's got that mentality that he -- he's going to keep shooting. Same way with Wes [Lawrence Westbrook] and Blake, because I have confidence in them, and that's why they're in the game. So we struggled tonight. We really struggled shooting the ball until we got to the overtime where we shot 75 percent. We made shots. But I like that our guys showed the toughness that we had to and handled the physicality that we had to deal with throughout the game. Q. Michigan State plays a very physical brand of basketball. Could you just elaborate and talk about how your team matched that physicality today unlike times in the past? COACH SMITH: Well, I thought when you get on a stage like this and it is for a tournament -- we probably have a lot more to play for than they did. Certainly without Chris Allen, they've got -- we all have our issues that we have to deal with within our own programs. But I thought our guys in the end, you know, they talk about finishing the play, and that's one of the things we have -- sometimes you can sense when guys mature and they grow up, and that's what we did. I don't know if I answered your question. My mind was wandering there. It's getting late, and I'm tired and ready to get to bed. Q. How has Devoe kind of embraced this role more and more as the season has gone on of being the leader out there at the end of the games? COACH SMITH: Well, he's a pretty talkative guy, and one of the things we talk about is being serious-minded, and I think it's taken him a while because he is a very happy-go-lucky kid and he is a very excitable kid, and the players really love him. We've got a close-knit group of kids, and they get along great. But again, sometimes guys will try to do -- because he wants to win so bad, you have to sometimes -- I thought that's how he got his three-point shots. We were trying to do some things, and we took the ball out of his hands, let him come off some screens, and he was much more comfortable. And that's what he brings, and that's how he developed into the leader, because he can do a lot of different things. As I said before, he can score off the dribble, he can get to the free-throw line and make his free throws, and now he complements that with his ability to get the ball to his teammates because he's been primarily a shooting guard his whole life. He's evolved into it because the players have accepted it. Guys like Justin make him work every day in practice so that's how you get better. That's how he's developed into the point guard that he is now. Q. Are you concerned going forward from here for the first time this year you're going to play three games and three games you're concerned with how your players are going to react to that? COACH SMITH: Well, we played three games in, what was it -- no, we didn't. In Anaheim? But you know, some guys logged some long minutes, Devoe and Blake. But otherwise we've got good balance in the minutes played. They know we've got a lot to play for, and a lot is riding on tomorrow night's game and every game. So we try to get our guys to understand to play at your level, not worry about -- just give the greatest effort you can give, the best effort, and that's what we got tonight, and that's how I'll look at it tomorrow. We won't concern ourselves with three days -- they're high right now. I know they're pretty pumped up and their adrenaline is flowing right now. We've got to get them to bed and get them some rest and get some fluids in them and get focused for a very good Purdue team. Q. You've had some tough losses going back to Tim Bograkos hitting that shot at Rupp Arena. How does it feel for you personally getting off the mat at Michigan State? COACH SMITH: You're right, we've had a lot of tough losses over the years. It feels great. It feels good, but it's one game. We've had our battles against Michigan State. Tonight to do it here when it's such an important -- for us, the magnitude of the game, I think it's huge for our confidence, our team, and for my confidence, as well, that we finally beat the Michigan State Spartans. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. End of FastScripts |
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