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Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
Never well I’m very proud of my team uh my my my team my staff uh I thought we’d put a pretty good scouting report together um Chris is excellent coach um he’s done a hell of a job there in a short period of time uh they had one of
Those days where they didn’t make some shots and uh we’ve been there before thank God these two guys made a bunch of shots but the game was one with the rebounding and both of them had some great offensive rebounds and I I really believe that’s where the game was W
Along with some of the shots they made so uh it was an Old School win for us the Cleaves and Smiths and Petersons and you know raymont and all the guys from the past would have been proud because it was a it was a tough rugged game and
Um we haven’t been bringing that all the time this year and I thought we did a hell of a job of it okay questions ra your hand let’s get the handheld mic to you let’s that’s for the yeah who who you are who you’re with and we’re first
Going to have the questions initially for Tyson and Jaden and then we’ll Circle back with Coach who has the first question Jim compon Spartan mag.com Tyson uh the rebounding effort that ISO was talking about can you talk about how the players had talked about collectively I assume collectively
Making that happen against a very good rebounding team yourself with some big ons as well the rebounding effort uh the guards had to come back and help uh that was the big part uh big we knew they were going to be battling boxing out trying to keep them off the glass so we
Just had to come and clean it up uh you know just staying focused you know not losing a man as a shot goes up just making sure you hit somebody next question third row Jeremy granison ESPN Charlotte for Jaden Akin uh your shot was falling early allowed you to
Kind of drive a little more open up to the basket and then you get a big dunk there can you talk about that play but also getting your offense through the flow of the game as well oh yeah I feel like early I just uh took good shots my
First shot was a open three and I hit it and that kind of got me going and then from there uh the play you talk him out oh he kind of closed out hard um and I just hit him with a pump f um and went Baseline just tried to finish
Um but my team you know I I credit my team a lot cuz they just tell me to keep shooting no matter if I’m making or missing just keep shooting and staying confident so so I did other questions for Tyson Jaden middle of the room uh Hunter Bailey with the highway
49 podcast just want to ask both players what you thought of the environment today obviously first game of the tournament I’m sorry I was interrupting I’m sorry oh the environment yeah the environment atmosphere was really good um our our fans show it out as they
Always do heard a lot of um go green go white chants uh throughout the arena U you know it’s March so you know it’s always going to be a great atmosphere third row to our right uh for the players Steve Reed from the Associated Press um I just wonder in
Having the coach sitting next to you who has had so much success in the first round 20 and five I mean what type of an influence is that you know when you guys take the court for for a game like that knowing a game like this knowing you’re
Going to be well prepared uh I think he does a good job with the preseason just you know purposely making us play games on one day prep uh you know quick turnarounds with games so I think that’s why we come in uh we know how to lock in
Mentally uh and just follow the Scouting Report Jaden uh yeah like Tyson said I mean coach has been in a situation he always talks about um experience is the you know best thing to have and he has a lot of that in this tournament so uh we got
All the faith in him uh to put us in a position and then we just got to go out and do what we do fourth row to our right uh this can be for either of yall that want to answer but when coach talks about this being an old school game and
Then the legends that have played here and how they’d be proud of a performance like that Michigan state has had so many legendary performances in this tournament that can be pressure I assume or it could be sort of an inspiration that that uh allows that to happen year
In and year out how do you guys sort of internalize that ahead of games like this uh that’s kind of our motto you know just being physical uh you know doing the dirty work uh so it’s not like we Reinventing anything new you just got
To do it do it better than we bet yeah Jim compon spartanmag.com Tyson and Jaden on guarding hubard explosive sto uh scorer can you talk about um the awareness that you guys had to have in terms of guarding him and how you feel you did as a team defensively as the game wore
On uh I go I think uh you know just trying to make every catch uh you know be there on every catch every shot contested you know uh first half he got it going and then we kind of second half just uh locked in more uh and contested
Every shot he took U make sure they were further out uh not letting him get any easy ones and I I think he only scored one more basket second half you know just everyone uh helping each other uh making sure we sto their main player
Jaden um I mean yeah we knew the type of scorer that he was um we just really have to make had to make it tough on them you know I mean scorers going to score the ball they going to find a way to get some points but if you know you
Hold them below their average or hold them below their field goal percentages then I feel like that’s a win for our team and feel like we made it kind of tough for them okay last question for the two student athletes Tom Shanahan Spartan M Jaden and Tyson they slapped
That press on you early and got a couple of turnovers then after that you guys seem to handle it you always found the third guy open was that similar to an earlier press this year or or just preparation before the tournament uh we always go over press Breakers uh
You know we call it special teams so just being prepared um just knowing where you’re supposed to be the turnovers we kind of got um you know just relaxed a little too much so we just had to make sure we stayed focused you know make the right
Reads Jaden oh yeah like tyon said I mean we go over press Breakers basically before every game if a team has pressed and it doesn’t have to be like they press all game just at all so I feel like we’ve been well prepared for that
Uh it just took us a little bit to get settled in then we start uh breaking it okay thanks guys great job head back locker room and we’ll take questions for Coach is up first one front row to our right Jeff leson ww jane Detroit coach uh you’ve seen this
Movie before low seed entering the tournament make a little noise things turn around quickly this performance by your team what does it mean to you in terms of that well you know I thought this was one of the better first game performances of a team that you know
Deservingly so was seated a little lower I I I thought we brought everything from the from the get-go you know we moved the ball well we shot the ball well we rebounded the ball we were up 16 to 10 at a half time the only thing I was
Disappointed in it was sloppy I mean I give them a lot of credit but Malik AJ made some sloppy turnover spin dribble in the lane things like that and they got some buckets off that and and then you know that first half we were up I
Think 13 or 12 and Trey struggled there a little bit he he threw some great lobs he just threw them too high both those might have been dunks and instead um that’s where Hubert uh you know got fast break open three fast break layup and
All of a sudden he gets going and when he gets going it’s scary because I’ve seen him light up some teams that I have a lot of respect for right aisle Sean wsor Detroit Free Press time um you’ve talked a few times about Jaden aens sometimes if he misses a couple of
Shots is it affecting him on the other end that that that was perhaps as locked in as he’s been on both ends and in a bit did did you did you feel that coming yeah I told him I sent him a text really really really early this morning I mean
Kid’s been under a lot but he just keeps working I mean he’s in there every day and I said you know as good a kid you are good a student you are you should go go into this game you deserve to be good you know you deserve it you you you’ve
Done what we do as coaches you know we lose a game we go back and work harder and that’s what he did and I think it was his best game three-dimensionally he defended it he rebounded it he shot it and he even passed it some uh so maybe four
Dimensionally it was no question Jay nens is best game uh here at Michigan State and it could have come at a better time a couple big time rebounds and so I’m I’m really happy for him he he Des deserves what he got to our left John Tre wccb Charlotte coach yesterday you
Called making your 26th straight tournament quote neat how would you describe your 56th tournament win phenomenal exciting um you know I don’t know you know I I I think those are some of the things you do when you retire you know it’s Jay Wright told me a couple
Weeks ago you worry about those things after you’re done and uh for me I’m just I’m ecstatic that you know I kept saying all year this team was good enough and I was proving me wrong just because of the mistakes we made and uh and ironically
We had the most turnovers we had all year 16 I mean we’ve done a great job we’ve been under 10 we think we’re averaging eight and I think they deserve some credit I mean this guy Chris is a hell of a coach I mean if you watch
Their film and watch some of the teams they dismantled he’s a hell of a coach and today wasn’t their day I don’t know if Jeff was hurt somebody said he was limping a little bit he’s a hell of a player and uh the best rebounding team I’ve seen since ourselves way back in
The day but I I’m just uh I’m happy that my staff put together a hell of a deal and players followed it and uh why we don’t lock in all the time again that falls on me but today we did from start to finish even what mistakes
We made left aisle Jeremy Gran ESPN and Charlotte coach you started out strong they were able to weather the storm or you weathered the storm a little bit can you just talk about what you’re saying in those huddles or whatever to kind of keep that team resiliency to be a yeah
You know I was pretty good for me in the huddles um but uh you know I just thought we had that stretch where Trey and and tre’s been playing great he’s been maybe my most important and he hits a big three but those two lobs and then
A turnover and they they picked up seven points so quick and make your head spin and uh and that’s because Hubert is such a good player uh so you know we weathered that storm and when they cut it to I think five I don’t know what
They got it down to they get it to four or five whatever six whatever it was um and then we made some good plays too so um in the huddles guys were focused and you can tell when guys are focused you know I don’t I think I got some seniors
Don’t want to go home yet and they played like it last question front row Matty Soko had nine rebounds I think according to the box score um his ability to give you some of that rebounding strength that was required to win this game yeah you know it’s it’s
Been hard when you think of Jaden or you think of mty and um and I know people people like to pick aart things you do and and that kid’s been through a lot you know in his life and uh this year with some deaths in his
Family and but I thought that the best he played was against Purdue when he just looked like a monster rebounder that I had recruited he hadn’t been that way all year and that’s one of the things we talked about him we did not think we could win this game without him
Doing what he did and sure enough I didn’t realize he had nine rebounds so that’s even more impressive so everybody’s got a job to do as bill belich says and uh his job is to rebound and defend and um he did that at a very very high level okay thanks coach thank
You yeah you’re stuck with me and I’m stuck with you and that’s not a bad I you’re do with the cool
