Yasir Rosemond Recaps Indiana's Win Over Michigan, Previews Big Ten Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana associate head coach Yasir Rosemond filled in for Mike Woodson on the 'Inside Indiana Basketball' radio show with Don Fischer on Monday night.

Rosemond discussed what went right and what went wrong during Indiana's overtime win against Michigan on Senior Night, and he looked ahead to the Big Ten Tournament, which begins on Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago.

On Indiana's 75-73 win over Michigan...

Rosemond: I think it was like a 25-2 run or something like that. They were playing well, and we weren't playing well. I mean, we just went through one of those lulls, you guys have been around us the whole year. We just weren't executing, and give Michigan credit, they were playing good defense. They got hot. Bufkin got going. They were a desperate team, but we were also desperate, too, as you can tell during the game. Obviously we could have folded, and we probably would be sitting here talking about playing when, Wednesday? Thursday? They were trying to play their way into the tournament, but they were playing well. They were kicking our butts on the boards. Obviously, again, Bufkin started playing well. Juwan does a good job. They've got a good team. They're a talented team, they're a young team, and we just couldn't get anything going. I think Trayce missed a couple bunnies there. We missed a couple wide-open shots, took a couple questionable shots, but our guys just fought through.

They fought together, and we ended up in the second half kind of revving it up defensively. We make our name on defense. That's what we do, we guard. We've been a really good defensive team this year most of the time. Obviously we've had a couple times where we couldn't get the bell answered defensively, but we hang our hats on defense. Our defense started to create some shots for us, started to create some opportunities for us. We got a couple fast breaks. Tamar came in, he played some great minutes. Miller hit a big three. I think when our other guys get going, obviously Trayce is going to do what he does. He's done it all year, he's been great all year. When we have those other guys, when they make shots, it gives them confidence, too. Obviously we know Trayce is going to get 20 and 10. He wakes up in the morning, eats a bowl of cereal and gets 20 and 10. That's just him, it's been that way since he's been here. But when they are able to – Miller had been off. I think he was a little jacked up, excited. He got a three, Tamar made a three, our bench played a couple good minutes. Malik played some good minutes. Kaleb played some good minutes, he's been pretty good defensively.

So we fought through, man, and Race came up at the end. I know he missed the free throws, but his defensive presence really helps us. I think he was a little bit nervous when he got up to the line. He had been shooting the ball from the free throw line [Don Fischer said Thompson shot 81 percent from the free throw line in Big Ten play] he had been shooting it well, but it's a lot of pressure when you get up there on those free throws. They're still kids even though he's older. He's a little bit older, man, he's a young adult. I'll just say he's a young adult. But we fought through, and our defense, again, came through for us and we were able to get a win, which, to be honest with you, that's probably one of the first times when I've been coaching that I've really kind of been nervous. I really was, because I wanted it so bad for the guys. I think we were 1-6 in the last seven years on Senior Night, and you always want to win on Senior Night for the seniors, and that's what I was really thinking about. I was thinking about, man, I do not want these guys to have to go out here after losing the game – and obviously you go out and support, always going to support the seniors and you'd have still been there, but it's tough to go out there after a loss and talk about the years. It's a lot better talking about it after a win."

On Race Thompson's performance against Michigan...

Rosemond: He said he told the group in the huddle he said, 'We can't lose this game. We're not going to lose this game.' Race has been a staple for us for two years since I've been here, man. I don't think people realize how many injuries he's played through. I mean, he's hurt. He was hurt at the end of last year. He's hurt now. He played with a back brace on. His knee is not all the way healthy. He give you everything he's got, and that's why sometimes, you know, we hear it and people talk about, 'Why do we still have him in the lineup?' He's just a staple for us. He helps stabilize our team. He helps Trayce in so many ways. He helps our team in so many ways, so we feel comfortable having him on the floor even when he's not playing great offensively and he may not be playing as good as we think he can play, but he gives you that. He knows all the plays. He knows all the other team's plays. Hell, he knows everything we do. He pretty much knows how we're thinking, so he's just one of those guys that you feel better when he's in the game. That's not a knock on those guys coming off the bench. That's just, as a coach, sometimes you have to feel comfortable and you've got to know that guys are going to do the right things, be in the right place and he's usually in the right place, right time and that's how he came up with those steals because defensively he's just, hell, he knows everything that's going on."

On the upcoming Big Ten Tournament...

Rosemond: [Woodson] wants to win it. He wants to win it, and that's all he talks about is winning the Big Ten, winning the Big Ten, trying to hang a banner. That's what he talks about all the time. I think our guys will be prepared. I think a lot of coaches, even some of those guys that are still coaching now or were coaching in the past, they all hated it. Because when I was in the Pac-12 coach, it was actually the Pac-10, Lute Olson hated it. I think Mike Krzyzewski hated it. Obviously the part of the Big Ten Tournament that I don't like about it is we're the last game. So we're usually the last game on Sunday, and then Selection Sunday and then you figure out where you go. So you never really get the proper rest that helps you for the NCAA Tournament. So I think that's where my issue is, but if it's game going to be played, we're trying to win it. Obviously it's a championship, it's a chance to get a championship, so we're going to go out here and we're going to try to win a championship."

On dealing with not knowing first opponent until Thursday night...

Rosemond: Well, we all have scouts. I think I have Minnesota, which I may be the lucky one, but who knows. Kenya [Hunter] has Nebraska, and Brian [Walsh] has Maryland. So we just watch their last five games, kind of figure out you know, no one is not running much new. We may run stuff new because coach is one of those offensive guys, he's just always coming up with stuff. But you know, most of this time of the year you kind of know a team's patterns and it's really about your guys going out there, executing what you've done in the past, execute defensively and just having the legs and having the energy. It's funny I keep talking about energy, but with kids nowadays – and I hate to say this because I was a kid and I don't know how the previous generation looked at us. They probably looked at us the same way – it's hard sometimes to get them motivated. It's not because they don't want to play. It's just they have so many things that they think about. It's just unbelievable the amount, and I think I talked about this the last time, but they have so many things. So you're always trying to get them focused, focused on the task. We've got these games, you need to rest. Put your phone down, go to sleep. Sometimes these guys are looking at their phones at three in the morning. Coach even, at the beginning of the year, do we need to take their phones? Coach won't let them talk on their phones when we're at dinner, just trying to get these guys to understand the magnitude of these games. You have an opportunity here to do something special for your group if we win the Big Ten Tournament, if we get to the NCAA Tournament, if we make a run in the NCAA Tournament. Those moments are special. You'll never forget those moments, so we try to find ways to motivate, try to find ways to get these guys because we don't have a very competitive generation. We really don't. You get an award for everything. You get an award for last place nowadays, which when I grew up, if you're not first you're last. That's not how it is now, so you're just trying to find different ways to motivate these guys. Coach is like, 'We're trying to win the Big Ten Tournament,' so if we lose this first game he's going to be mad at all of us."

On Indiana's 75-73 win over Michigan...

On Race Thompson's performance against Michigan...

On the upcoming Big Ten Tournament...

On dealing with not knowing first opponent until Thursday night...

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