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MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 1, 2012Michael BizoukasPaul LuskKyle WeemsST. LOUIS, MISSOURI COACH LUSK: Thank you, excited to be here. I think any postseason tournament provides an opportunity for all the teams competing, and that's certainly what we're excited about. We have an opportunity, and have a very difficult challenge with Evansville. We've played them two times and it's gone to overtime. But our guys are looking forward to the game and to the opportunity. Q. Paul, can you break down a couple of keys to the game? Do you think it will be what you need to do this time rather than the other two previous ones? COACH LUSK: Well, we've done a pretty nice job of guarding them. Last game we kept Colt and Denver in check until Denver got away from us the last play of the game, and obviously we were supposed to foul and it didn't happen. But nonetheless, we did a good job of guarding those guys, and you have to continue to do that. They're such good players. I've watched Colt Ryan since he was in the 8th grade when I was an assistant at Purdue. To see him mature and get better every year and become a great player, you see it happen right in front of your eyes. He's very difficult to deal with because he's got very good size. He sprints off screen and he can make shots. Can you say the same thing for Denver Holmes. Then Ned Cox is that other guy that scored against us last game. He can really get loose. So we're going to have to try to guard them. They run motion offense as well as anyone in our league, maybe in the country with the way they screen and cut and move the basketball. Then we're going to have to find a way to get some baskets to go down for us. We had 18 offensive rebounds last game, and I think we only converted three or four of them. So I have to kind of keep our motto. We have to guard them, challenge their shots. They're going to make some tough shots, and you've got to put the ball in the basket on the other end. Last game I didn't start Michael Bizoukas, and it showed in the statistical column for us. We had 24 turnovers. That's how important he is from a handling standpoint. So once again, we won't be able to turn the basketball over 24 times. We have been very good at that all year. We've been one of the league leaders of not turning it over, and we're going to have to do the same tomorrow. Q. Coach, could you talk about Kyle and what he's meant to your team this year? COACH LUSK: Well, Kyle's meant a lot to the team. He's meant a lot to the program. He's meant a lot to the institution. He's also mental a lot to the Missouri Valley. He's been a guy who opposing coaches, I would figure if you asked them, they'd probably feel like he's been here for 15 years. But he's done a very good job. It's been a different team and a different situation for all of us, but certainly Kyle. They had so much fire power last year and obviously you had to pick your poison with last year's team. Now this year Kyle is the center of attention, before new starters and a lot of new pieces, all of the defenses are scheming to stop him. But he's kept a positive attitude. I was very impressed with the way he played at Evansville. He didn't shoot it great, but he took great shots and got to the foul line. His shots are going to go for him. He's meant as much to Missouri State as any player that they've maybe ever had, and we're very fortunate to have him. There is nothing more that I would like to see for awful our guys, but certainly him because he's been there for five years, is to finish on a positive note and make a run here. I think that's what he's got his mindset to do. Q. I know he was one of the candidates for the Class Award. What he does in the classroom, is it as much as he does on the court? He seems like the perfect kind of student‑athlete that you can look for? COACH LUSK: To me that's more important than any basket you score or any charge you take, how you conduct yourself off the floor or off the field. He's a model citizen. He's a very, very good kid. He has a lot of substance. It was talked about earlier at the luncheon about him having the opportunity for the possibility last year with the coaching change to maybe test the waters and go somewhere else, but he didn't do that. He chose to stay, and we're very thankful for that. But I think he did that because of what he has inside. He's got a lot of substance. He's got a lot of character. Great family. He's been a joy to coach and work with, because it's been hard for him. He's had three different coaches, and that certainly couldn't be easy. But I'm proud of the way he conducts himself on and off the floor. Q. You and Doug have kind of got a little rivalry going the past two years. What did you say about him getting Player of the Year? Did you talk to him about that at all? KYLE WEEMS: I just congratulated him and let him know he was deserving. He works extremely hard. He works hard in the offseason and during games. He deserves it. I just congratulated him. Really just talking about any and everything. It was kind of nice to kind of get away and not be going up against him for once. But if we meet up down the line, we meet up. But he's a great guy and another great role model for this Missouri Valley Conference. He's a great player, and he deserves all the accolades that he's gotten so far. Q. Kyle, he mentioned transferring possibility last year. Could you just go through that again and talk about why you want to stay at Missouri State and finish up here? KYLE WEEMS: I didn't want to leave my teammates from last year. Even though a lot of them I didn't get to play a lot of minutes with because we were senior heavy last year. Besides Nathan Scheer. Then Coach Lusk, I felt like there was a reason why he got that job. I can remember leaving a banquet on campus and leaving it early to come over and meet with him. From that point o I just knew he was a perfect fit. I've had three head coaches in my career, but I've taken something from all of them. I just felt like he was the right guy to help me through my senior season, and then also just the community of Springfield.  I couldn't ask for anything better on and off the court there. They treat you with the utmost respect whether it's at Wal‑Mart, the grocery store or wherever it's at. It was a really nice experience as a college basketball player. Also Missouri State has done a lot for me. I just didn't want to leave them. Q. What do you want your legacy to be at Missouri State? KYLE WEEMS: I just want to be known as a winner. I felt like we did a good job last year and took some strides. Like coach said, it's tough hitting on all strides when we've really only been playing together and practicing for about six or seven months. It could take years. I think you're seeing that with Wichita now. Those guys are all seniors and playing the best basketball in the country. But just trying to get that chem chemistry right and being a winner, and getting the shot to get it going playing in the NCAA Tournament. Our teams are still alive then. I'm just going to keep fighting until that last buzzer sounds whenever that is. Q. Kyle, any advice you've given to your younger teammates that are here for the first time on what to expect? KYLE WEEMS: Just to treat it as four‑minute wars. It's something we've talked about the last couple years and we touched on it this year. We've played every four minutes, we tried to win every four minutes. There is no looking forward to the Creighton or the Drake and Bradley winners. There is none of that. You have a tough Evansville team that we lost two twice in overtime, and we need to show them the utmost respect and not overlook them. If we're fortunate enough to win that game, and we'll move on and worry about whoever we play next. But not worrying about the next day and who is in the crowd. Just leaving it all out there and fighting for not only your teammates and the coaching staffs who do a good job of putting us in position to be successful, but also our institution of Missouri month State. So just treating it four minutes at a time, and everything else will take care of itself. Q. How much does Kyle mean to your team? MICHAEL BIZOUKAS: Well, Kyle is one of our leaders on and off the court. He's always involved in everyone, even the red shirt freshmen that aren't playing this year. He's taken them under his wing and really supported them, always talking to guys, so basically his leadership. That's what he means to us. COACH LUSK: I think, obviously, Kyle has done a great job with that. He's been here the longest. You look at a kid like Michael Bizoukas who hasn't been here that long, but he's part of our family, and he's made an unbelievable transition here and fit in so well, he's a leader on the team and does everything the right way. He's a worker. He's got his degree. We are very fortunate to have him. As I said, I didn't start him last game, and that's on the coach because we tried to do some differently. That's how vital he is, because we don't have a lot of handlers, per se. And he's the one guy that has really come in in a matter of months and done a good job of running our basketball team with a lot of new faces, him being one. So very pleased with both of these guys up here and very happy for Mike that he's had this opportunity to come in and play, and play significant minutes and hopefully have a rewarding and enjoyable experience at Missouri State. Q. Mike, compare playing at Missouri State and coming here and playing a significant role. Compare those two situations? MICHAEL BIZOUKAS: Yeah, well, the Big East tournament, I'm pretty sure it's going to be just as competitive here. It's a do or die in the tournament setting. So if we're going to win a game in conference, one year we came in, and the first year, the Big East team, and we beat Cincinnati first round. So it's a tournament, I know anything can happen, so we're thankful for the opportunity and we're ready to go. Just in terms of the transition and the difference, everybody can play in college basketball. It's not a matter of the level or anything like that beating the high majors and everything like that, those labels don't mean anything in the end. You've got to come out and play hard every possession if you want to win. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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