Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson, guard Myles Rice and center Langdon Hatton spoke with the media on Sunday following Indiana's non-conference win over Winthrop.
Below are their full Q&As, as well as full transcripts for each of their conversations--once they become available.
Q. Big picture, how much sense of urgency to get some big wins in January to get the resumé back to where you want it to be?
MIKE WOODSON: Every game is important moving forward. Can't look back. Every game is important. We've got Rutgers coming in. That's my only focus right now.
Q. With Malik, when he was in the game, he was effective but balloted foul trouble again. What do you tell him, you're shorthanded, does he have to pick his spots better as you saw him pick up those fouls, what was your message to him?
MIKE WOODSON: Kinds of flashbacks but thank God for Langdon. I thought he played his butt off. Gave him the game ball. Here is a guy who never complains. He works in practice. He came and gave us a big lift when we needed it. That's all about team. That goes a long way with me.
Q. What was the nature of Oumar's absence, and how much lead time did you have to prepare for it?
MIKE WOODSON: I'm not going to address that. But didn't have a lot of lead time. But that doesn't matter. You know, guys that are in uniform have got to play, and he didn't play tonight, and you know, we'll sit down tomorrow and address his situation and get ready for Rutgers.
Q. For as long as you've been around this game, do you think when a team starts missing shots, does it become contagious for other guys on the team?
MIKE WOODSON: I don't know. You know, shooting, it's a funny thing, man. They were all good looks. So I can't sit here and complain that they were bad shots.
They have just got to keep working, and eventually they will fall. That's how I think as a coach, the threes and the free throws. Because I thought the free throws beat us in the butt tonight.
But the positive behind tonight's game is that when they cut the lead to one, we didn't fold. We made the play that is we had to make. We went on a 7-0 run, and those are the things that I look at.
Q. Myles led with 18 points today. What's the key to get him going and have these performances a little bit more consistent through the season?
MIKE WOODSON: Well, we opened the floor up a little bit tonight. You know, I'm trying to get a mixture of posting the ball some and playing open court with the players that we do have.
That's why I think the 23s came in, and the looks that we had were really good. We've just got to mentally focus and make them. That would make life a lot better for me.
Q. Going forward, how concerned are you about the three-point shooting tonight versus games where you have shot well?
MIKE WOODSON: Well, again, you're always concerned about them. We're shooting them. And again, if they were bad threes, then I would really sit here and complain. But they were good threes, and I feel good about the guys that are shooting them.
So again, eventually, they are going to make them. That's how I think.
Q. A lot of misses from 3, but 14 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points. How happy are with you that performance on the offensive glass?
MIKE WOODSON: Again, we didn't do all the things right from a defensive standpoint. This team came in averaging 86 points, and they were one of the top teams in the country in getting to the free throw line. Hell, they have shot over 200-some more free throws than most opponents that they have played. And that's tough to overcome when you've got a team that forces you to foul. And we were in foul trouble. There's no doubt about it, they put our bigs in foul trouble.
But we were able to overcome it, and still rebound the ball. You know, big fella gave us a great lift in that regard and got some putbacks here and there. I thought it was a solid win but we have to now put this game behind us and start thinking about Rutgers.
Q. With Carlyle, I think he's 23 percent on the year from three. I know you're expecting him to be a big part of this team offensively. What have you seen maybe that's caused his struggles, and what can you do to get him going moving forward?
MIKE WOODSON: He's not the only one. I mean, at one point, you know, we were shooting 37 percent from the three-point line, shooting 78 from the free throw line. So life was pretty good.
So I know it's there. You know, we've just got to go back and find it, and it starts against Rutgers.
Q. Myles, obviously the three-point shots just weren't falling for you all as a team tonight. Does it almost snowball, get a little contagious when guys are missing shots? How hard is it to turn the tide when you have a game like this?
MYLES RICE: The threes that we got were really good looks. I think over 75, 80 percent of them were really good looks. But I mean, yeah, as a player, when you see one go in, I think it's the same way. Like you see one go in, you feel good.
But we've just got to get over that mental hurdle and keep shooting. Because like I said we getting good shots and I feel comfortable with everybody who took threes tonight, and like I said, it was really good shots. We've just got to hit them.
Q. Langdon, a classic case of your number gets called and you needed to be ready. Just tell me how much lead time you had to prepare for your role today and how you kind of were able to be successful in it?
LANGDON HATTON: So we knew Ballo would be questionable this morning. The coaches kind of let me know. Just treating practice every day as serious as you can just let's you be ready when your number is called.
Q. Especially in the beginning of the game, you were really just low guys on defense. What were you seeing in terms of space and the ability to make those drives right away?
MYLES RICE: I saw them pressuring me pretty much 75 percent of the length of the court. They were trying to pressure me at halfcourt, and to me, I found that like a little bit disrespectful just because of my speed and my quickness.
And I just saw my opportunities to attack whether they was trying to like stop me from going one way and I would just got other way. But any time anybody tries to pressure me full court, I feel like I have the advantage just because of my speed and my quickness.
Q. Langdon, Coach said he gave you the game ball. What did that mean to you to step in and be that reliable presence when you were down to just one big, really, with Malik in foul trouble? How much did today's mean to you?
LANGDON HATTON: Being from Indiana, it's just a dream to even be on the team. So when your number gets called and you get a play, it's like a dream come true. So it's pretty awesome. Just excited to be able to help the team out.
Q. Being a South Carolina native, you get up for these games against Winthrop and South Carolina, leading the way. Does it hit different for you? What does it mean to you since you've played so well against teams from your home start?
MYLES RICE: Well, I should have started this with my first answer. I just want to give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because he grants me the opportunity to go out here and play basketball.
But today is a special day in my family. It's my grandfather's birthday back in Aiken, South Carolina. I talked to him on Christmas, and then my birthday was the 27th, and I talked to him this morning.
So I just kind of like went out there and played for him a little bit more because it's his birthday.
But you know, playing against Winthrop, playing against South Carolina, it does have a little bit of good taste in my mouth because I've got a little bit bragging rights now. So it's always good to play against them.
Q. You've these long breaks between the last couple games. What's the focus of what you guys are working on when you have these long layoffs, and what are a couple things that you guys need to get better at as a team as you get ready for Big Ten play to start again?
MYLES RICE: I think on the offensive end, we are as talented and we have as much firepower as anybody in the country. But it doesn't take just one side of the floor. It takes the other side as well.
So we have to be playing better defense. We have to contain the ball more from the perimeter guys. And down low, we've just got to make it harder for those guys to catch the ball so that way we are not playing from the back side or giving them easy looks.
It's not just one collective thing or one person doing one thing. It's like we all have to do our jobs better, and that's on the defensive side for sure and we've also got to rebound better.
I think gradually we've been getting better and better. We have a lot of close games. Teams are trying to come in here and win, as well. And I mean we just, like I said, game-by-game, I feel like we're improving. And over this break in the last couple, I'd say, days, or even last two weeks, I think we have been taking the strides to put our emphasis on that and get better.
Q. You guys go into January without a quad one win or in the 60s or so in the net rankings. How much of a sense of urgency is there to get into January and build up that resumé a little bit more?
MYLES RICE: You've just got to focus on the next game. I mean, we can look at all the stats and the numbers can tell you everything.
But at the end of the day, if you win the game that's in front of you and you keep winning, that solves 99.9 percent of the problems. For us, it's just taking it day-by-day. We're not getting too caught up in the metrics, and like I said, we've got Rutgers next, and they are a really good team. Get back into Big Ten play and just focus for them.
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