Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson met with the media after the Hoosiers' thrilling 65-64 win over Michigan State on Sunday. Here is the full video of his postgame press conference, plus the written transcript.
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00:00 Mike, I guess right here, just talking about the game specifically.
00:07 I know you have other experienced guys on the floor, but what do you feel like as a team, you kind of had to work through once Trey goes down, kind of losing one of your key sort of facilitators there.
00:16 And basically, what do you think your team found in that last maybe seven, eight minutes in terms of pulling together at both ends of the floor?
00:22 Well, I didn't really have to go back to the bench much. I was determined tonight to play the seniors because it was their night.
00:30 So, X and Lil was going to stay in there no matter what.
00:35 You know, we shuffled Gabe in and out.
00:38 I don't even know if Walker saw the floor in the second half.
00:42 He might have saw it for a few, but it's tough losing a key player.
00:47 I mean, that's a part of sports, but we hung in there.
00:53 That's all I can tell you.
00:54 We got the big stop that we needed coming down the home stretch and got the rebound to secure the win.
01:01 Mason, Dr. Alex.
01:03 Mike, obviously Khalil has been a pretty big contributor for you guys, but especially down the stretch here as of late.
01:08 What's kind of been the key to unlocking his game?
01:11 I know he had another big performance today.
01:13 All I can tell you guys after that first month, he's been a totally different player.
01:19 And, you know, I've got to give tribute to my coaching staff and how they've worked.
01:26 And we've pushed him as a unit and his teammates believe in him.
01:31 I believe in him.
01:32 And he's been phenomenal.
01:34 He's just been playing unbelievable, man, which is kind of nice to see.
01:38 Alex in front for Jack.
01:40 Coach, Anthony and Trey obviously in their speeches came out with their full support of you.
01:46 What does that mean to you to hear from two guys like that so forcefully in public?
01:51 I'm not surprised at all.
01:53 It means a lot.
01:55 You know, we've been through the battles together.
01:59 And yeah, Lil hadn't played a whole lot, but he's played some this year and he's played well for us.
02:07 And for him to tell the Hoosier Nations that he's coming back along with Galloway,
02:14 that means a lot to me as a coach.
02:16 Jack, on your left for Jeff.
02:18 Yeah, Mike, when Michigan State kind of made their run and ended up taking the lead,
02:21 what was kind of your message to the team to stick with it and I guess not let them, you know, pull it out?
02:26 Well, you know, I thought we would play through it.
02:30 But I think when they went up five, they hit a three and went up five or six.
02:35 Then I took the time out and I just expressed, "Hey, you know, you seniors, this is your last go around, man.
02:45 Relax, we okay."
02:48 And we came out, we scored a bucket, and then we were able to take the lead.
02:56 And it was back and forth, but we made the plays that we needed to make to secure it.
03:01 Jeff, on your right for Mike.
03:03 I know Galloway got hurt today, but I wanted to get your thoughts on just what he has meant to you guys
03:08 as a senior, as a leader, points, assists, just everything he's given to you guys as a senior.
03:15 It means a lot.
03:16 You know, as a senior, that's what I expect you to do.
03:19 You know, I mean, you go through four years with the program, you grow.
03:26 You're supposed to grow every year.
03:28 And if you don't grow, then I haven't done a great job in coaching.
03:32 And he's grown and he's helped us a lot this year in so many ways
03:40 because we haven't had Xavier Johnson, the other senior.
03:44 So I don't know what his status is right now.
03:49 He's being evaluated, so we'll have a better feel of where he is tomorrow.
03:56 But I give a lot of credit to the guys in that locker room who kept fighting.
04:00 It's tough playing Izzo's teams, man.
04:03 Izzo can coach his ass off, and their teams, they just play hard.
04:09 They force you to have to play for 40 minutes, and that's what happened tonight.
04:14 Mike, second row right, Daniel.
04:16 Yeah, Coach, last week you had the news about your job and recruiting,
04:19 and then meanwhile you guys are on a four-game winning streak and look like an NCAA team.
04:23 What has it been like for you personally to kind of manage
04:26 through those two different things going on at the same time?
04:28 There should never be any questions about my job based on what I've done here
04:32 since I've stepped foot in Indiana as a coach.
04:36 So I'm not even going to entertain questions about it
04:39 because there shouldn't be anything out there floating around about my job.
04:45 I've done my job, and I'm going to continue to do it.
04:49 Daniel, on your right, George.
04:51 Trey and Leal afterwards saying they're returning for next year.
04:54 The last few days, what have you kind of said to them?
04:57 What have they said to you, and what's their return mean for next year?
05:01 Well, I mean, for them to say they're coming back, hell,
05:05 we've got to continue to build our basketball team.
05:08 I don't know who's going to be here, where we've got to go and get players.
05:13 I mean, that's the world we live in with the portal
05:16 and what's going on in college sports.
05:18 So I can't address none of that, and I can't tell them who's going to be their teammates.
05:26 I just don't know. I don't know that yet.
05:28 So this summer will be very pivotal and important for our program and moving forward.
05:33 I mean, that's what college basketball presents every summer.
05:38 Mike, obviously you've won all the games you can win during a regular season,
05:43 finishing 10-10, and of course if you win the Big Ten tournament,
05:46 you're going to get in the NCAA tournament, but would you think that three wins
05:49 would get you in? This is a chance to plug your program.
05:52 I don't know. You know, listen, we're playing as good as any team in the country right now
05:57 based on how we've played these last four games, but we've got to take it a game at a time.
06:02 I'll never jump ahead.
06:06 I don't know who we'll face the first game of the Big Ten tournament,
06:10 but it's one game at a time and see where it leads us.
06:13 pizzas.