Toussaint Doesn't Let Mistakes Get To Him
Joe Toussaint has a variety of interests off the court.
Music. Art.
And cartoons.
"I'm kind of childish still," the Iowa freshman point guard said, smiling.
On the court, though, there is a maturity to Toussaint's game.
He gets it. He's a freshman.
"Freshmen don’t always have a good year," Toussaint said on Tuesday. "There’s always going to be ups and downs."
The roller-coaster — great play on one possession, a turnover on the next one — can frustrate a first-year player.
But Toussaint said he learned something a long time ago.
"Basketball is all mental, to be honest with you," he said. "It’s physical — you need to have skill. But it’s really all mental, to be honest with you. And I learned that when I started playing. If you miss a shot, you say the next one is going in. If you make a bad play, you just say, ‘Next play.’ Shrug it off. That’s how I always look at it."
That is something that coach Fran McCaffery appreciates.
"You're right, he doesn't hang his head, but he's not happy if he makes a mistake," McCaffery said. "He's a competitor, and he recognizes that he's capable of maybe doing something better in that case. He's just got to be able to get to the next play, and he's doing a pretty good job of that."
Toussaint has committed 36 turnovers this season, the most of any Hawkeye.
There have been times this season where graduate transfer Bakari Evelyn has been one to steady the Hawkeyes when Toussaint has struggled. But Toussaint has started the last seven games, and McCaffery said that's not going to change.
"The first thing is, you can say whatever you want say to him, but you keep him in the starting lineup and tell him you have confidence in him and watch film and point things out that he needs to do better," McCaffery said. "He's accepted it and trying to get better."
Asked how he has handled this season, Toussaint said, "I would say I’m handling it well. But I honestly don’t know if I am or not. I just have the same result to everything — I just get back in the gym. Whether I play well or play terrible or whether I play OK, there’s always room for improvement in every aspect of my game."
If things get too tough, Toussaint said he talks to his family for guidance. He also has a strong relationship with McCaffery, which is what drew Toussaint, who grew up in the Bronx, to Iowa.
"I talked to Coach daily, maybe 2-3 times a week," he said. "And it wasn’t just about basketball, either. He talked to me about life, school work. Talked to me about just being a better person. At the end of the day, my mom always told me (life) is always bigger than basketball. Basketball doesn’t define who you are. It’s just what you do."
"I think when it was all said and done, we were really trying to find somebody in that position that would complement the other pieces that we had," McCaffery said. "We really felt like he was the perfect fit for that, so we made that known to him.
"I think he wanted to play at the highest level, felt like he could, and little by little, more high-level programs got involved. When he came out here and visited, he really fell in love with it. He essentially committed on his visit."
Toussaint said his life hasn't changed going from New York to Iowa.
"In New York, I rarely went out," he said. "I just played basketball, stayed home all of the time. I do that here now — just basketball and stay in my dorm room."
Toussaint will start against Rutgers in Wednesday's game. The New Jersey school didn't recruit Toussaint.
It's motivation, he said, but he always has the same motivation.
"I always play with a chip on my shoulder," Toussaint said.
And if he doesn't play well, Toussaint knows it's just part of the game. Deal with it, and move on.
"Just holding (the frustration) in isn’t good," Toussaint said.
