Here's What Mike Woodson Said After Indiana's 84-62 Loss at Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Indiana coach Mike Woodson met with the media for six minutes after the Hoosiers' 84-62 loss to Kansas on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. Here's what he had to say, with the full video attached and the transcript of his interview.
QUESTION: "What's the level of concern when you see another one of these games where it just feels like the guys aren't sharp enough from the jump, and aren't connected the way you need them to be early in games?''
MIKE WOODSON: "It hurts because I thought this week's practices were very competitive and we did a lot of things to prepare for this game. It hurts not having X out on the floor, that hurts too, but the damage was already done. When I look at the teams like Xavier and Carolina, the two teams that we beat, and the three teams we lost to with Rutgers and Arizona and the early game today, we just weren't in the game. That ain't how I want to play, and somehow I've got to get this team to understand that when we're playing top-notch teams, you've got to give yourself a chance. You can't come in here and throw the ball away 23 times and expect to beat this team because they're a hell of of a team.''
Q: "The first 16 minutes it seemed like you guys struggled to get the ball to Trayce, struggled to make some basic passes, guards didn't necessary block out. There were a lot of things that were observable. What led to all of that?''
WOODSON: "It was the turnovers. We got the ball to Trayce a few times and he was able to get it out and we got some good looks early. Miller's first shot was wide open. But guys, you can't turn the ball over. I mean 23 times against a good team, that's 23 times you don't get the opportunity to score the ball. And they came in bunches. That's something we've got to clean up because we're not a big turnover team. We came into the game averaging I think about 12 turnovers a game, which is comfortable. We've just got to regroup. We've got two games coming up that we've got to prepare for, and then we start into the Big Ten. I'm telling the guys now that we can win at home, but we've got to figure out a way to win on the road if we want to be a great team.''
Q: "These past two games, how much concern level is there for what you guys need to do to be able to compete with the elite this year?''
WOODSON: "There's always concern any time you lose a game, no matter who you play. I'm trying to get us to understand that when we play an elite team like Kansas, you need to be on your job. You have to compete for 40 minutes. You're not going to just walk in here and think they're going to give you a game. So I'm disappointed in that regard because I didn't get them ready to play. I felt good about this game coming in and from a statistical standpoint, we were dead-ass even across the board. But they stepped up and did what they needed to do to secure the win.''
Q: "Mike, you were disappointed in the defense last week. Today they had 84 points and (18) baskets at the rim ...''
WOODSON: "Again, a lot of that is contributed to our turnovers. We basically just gifted them points. It's hard to overcome that, man. It's something we've got to clean up.''
Q: "When things are going wrong, where do they need to kind of find their feet? Is it defense?"
WOODSON: "Listen guys, you're not going to win on the road when you give up 84 points, or whatever we gave up. You've got to have a defensive mentality. You're just not going to win on the road giving up that many points because you've got to score damn near 90 points to beat teams, and a lot of college teams aren't built that way. It starts on the defensive and offensively you can't gift buckets, and that's what we did tonight.''
Q: "Mike, what do you think the root cause of the turnovers were today?''
WOODSON: "Well, you've got to give them credit. They were out pressuring and we were just floating passes like it was OK. It wasn't OK. It turned into points for them and a big lead that we had to try to overcome, which we couldn't.''
Q: "Mike, what do you know about X and how serious is his injury? How much do you know?"
WOODSON: "We don't know yet, but he couldn't play the second half so it doesn't look good. We've got to go back and get him evaluated and see how we are.''
Q: "In a day like today where Trayce isn't getting a ton of opportunities to score, how does that affect what you're able to do?''
WOODSON: ''Guys, he ain't going to get a lot. If I'm going to coach against this team, I'm going to double him, too. He's not going to get a lot of touches when they're taking the ball out of his hands. Guys around him just have to step up and be able to make shots and make plays around him. There's nothing scientific about it. When they're double-teaming your best player, somebody else needs to step up and make plays.''
Q: "After the Arizona game, X said he felt like he was happy with the energy and the effort they gave in the Arizona game. Were you happy with the energy and effort today?"
WOODSON: "No, I wasn't happy (with the energy level), not at all. That team came to compete and we didn't. We did not show up tonight, and that bothers me a little bit.''
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- KANSAS DEFENSE 'BEST IT'S BEEN: Kansas turned 23 Indiana turnovers into 28 points and held the Hoosiers to 37.7 percent shooting. Coach Bill Self said the Jayhawks' defense was the best it's been this season, leading to an 84-62 win over No. 14 Indiana on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. CLICK HERE
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