March 9, 2006
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MICHIGAN STATE
Head Coach Tom Izzo
Opening statement:
"I'd like to start out by saying that Matt Painter did a heck of a job. He is a good young protégé with having Bruce Weber and Gene Keady in his blood. I thought we played well in stretches and yet did not make the decisions necessary when we were up by eight at one point and 12 at another point. I think we can play a lot better, but in clutch times each one of these guys came through for different reasons. But we're going to have to play a lot better if we're going to find a way to beat Illinois."
On the definition of Spartan basketball:
"It's hopefully getting our fastbreak going which we did a few times. But I don't think we're as tough a team as we have been over the years and sometimes that is just personalities. It doesn't mean we don't have some tough, competitive people; Shannon Brown being one of them. We aren't as physically or mentally tough, and that is why (Matt) Trannon is so valuable to us. He brings that toughness to this team. But for some reason we seem to be taking some plays off. I was telling Maurice Ager the whole night he has to rebound more for us.
"I will say playing on the first day of the tournament is different. It's the first time we've played in it. It's not the big crowd. It's not this or that, but we found a way to win and that's what you have to do when it's one and done time. But we have to get a lot better in the next 25 hours."
On establishing an inside presence:
"It seems like a lot of teams have not shot the ball well in these pro arenas. We did want to go inside more and take it off the bounce a little more, which I thought Ager did a good job of early, as well as Shannon (Brown). It was more by design, but Purdue did a good job defending as well."
On Purdue:
"Paul Davis said it best when he said (Gary) Ware is one of the more improved players in the league, but I think the whole team is. (Chris) Lutz has also been much improved, so I think part of it is the job they did too."
Paul Davis
On his injury:
"(The play) opened up that previous cut I had. I was going in and an elbow caught me and that was it from there. I'm just glad that I can still see and everything because it stopped swelling up."
On offensive effort in second half:
"There are one or two shots I passed up that I could have taken. Right away when I got the ball, (Purdue) was coming to double and what we wanted to do was get it out and reverse it quickly. We knew coming in they would be doubling hard. I think it's more on me, if (the double team) comes I have to get it out quickly and try to take advantage of the opportunity."
On Gary Ware:
"Out of any player in the league, he's one of the most improved. We came over with a couple of double teams and got better on just getting the ball up on the glass and it's been going in. He's playing aggressively. We wanted to try to contain him and keep him off the block; that was our game plan."
Shannon Brown
On second-half adjustments:
"(Coach Tom Izzo) told me I had to be more aggressive on defense. I was relaxing a little bit, letting my man run around. I wasn't talking to my teammates and he told me I had to a better job of that."
On playing Illinois for the third time:
"This game is very important, not just for me but for the team. We have to come out and play Spartan basketball. The coaches are going to do all they can to get us prepared. Tomorrow is going to be a fight."
On Matt Trannon:
"He brings a lot of energy. He was out there scrapping, broken jaw and all. He didn't back down, he was out there diving around and going over tables for loose balls."
PURDUE
Head Coach Matt Painter
On the game:
"We had a great effort tonight. Our guys were ready to go. For us, we had a pretty good stretch in February with a couple big wins over Michigan and Wisconsin. Our effort and intensity really picked up during that stretch and it continued, outside of one game on the road, throughout the course of the rest of the season. We struggled shooting the basketball in the last four or five games, which is too bad because I think these guys really worked hard to improve. You saw tonight from the effort. If we could have made a couple more plays and gotten right in the thick of things, that it could have come down to a possession by possession game. I am proud of these guys who have continued to work hard and fight through everything we have had to go through this year."
On Gary Ware's foul trouble:
"It was the game plan, us going through Gary from an offensive standpoint. I thought he was great against Indiana, going against Killingsworth, especially when he slowed down and took his time. He scored 25 points the other night and now he turns around and scores another 20 in 21 minutes. We wish that it had been 35 minutes because we were trying to go through him every possession to try and draw the double-team, then kick it out to get good shots, or have him go through the double-team and score."
On his first season:
"I'm pleased with the effort from our seniors, and I'm pleased that our players didn't give in to the adversities. They kept fighting, and that's what I'm pleased with but nobody likes to lose."
On next season:
"You are always optimistic when you finish the spring and look at the positives like what you have returning and the new incoming class. We have to get better at preparation. We have to get better at working harder every single day. We've made improvements, but it's not the games where we have to get better. We have to get better in practice, so we can play better in the games."
Matt Kiefer
On the game:
"We turned the ball over a lot in the last six minutes of the game and we didn't make any good shots, which let Michigan State get the ball on the break. They (Michigan State) did what they needed to do. Coach (Matt Painter) said we had to play our halves strong and we didn't do that."
On his legacy at Purdue:
"Hopefully we started something with the players and the fact that this is the coaches' first year with Purdue. We showed the players the day-to-day operations of the team. Hopefully those teammates coming back next year have learned from us."
On his range of emotions:
"It stinks and it's sad because I know my basketball career is over with Purdue. That is the most profound feeling right now. It was a pleasure playing with my teammates, Coach Painter, all the assistant coaches, and the whole Purdue athletic program. It's a great honor to be captain and it's great that Coach thinks of me that way."
Bryant Dillon
On the game:
"We took some bad shots that were the crucial during the last part of the first half and the beginning of the second half. They gained momentum."
On his legacy at Purdue:
"Hopefully we set the tone for the players this year and the incoming players for next year. I am hoping that this year's players will come back next year and continue to work even harder to help start the new era and have good things happen in the future."
Gary Ware
On his legacy at Purdue:
"The fact that we practiced everyday and we practiced hard -- we left that with the players."
