I must say that this is a very fun event to cover, and it is nice that I get to come back tomorrow. It would have really sucked to drive down here only to watch MSU lose and then have to drive back in the morning. If MSU can beat Wisconsin tomorrow (which I think that they will), we will get a chance to watch the selection show here in Indy. That is a break from tradition for me, but it would be a cool one.
Anyway, I was just hanging out in the media work area, which is part of a large room where they hold the post-game press conference. I "overheard" a few interesting things.
First, during the postgame of the Wisconsin/UCLA game, the Badger players were asked:
"For John, Kamari, and John, I'd like to hear from each of you. What did you learn from the last experience playing the Spartans two weeks ago in East Lansing? What did you guys learn from that
experience that you can take into tomorrow's game?"
To which they answered:
"JOHN TONJE: I think one of the things is just how physical they are and how they're trying to get to the offensive rebounds. They cycle a lot of guys. I think they go 10, 11 deep in their roster. We're just going to have to be ready to compete, and it's going to be as simple as that.
KAMARI McGEE: I would say not to get jump shot happy. A lot of shots went down today. I feel like we didn't go in the paint enough at their place. I feel like we can really eat inside and find guys and spread. That's where we can get our 3s from inside out. If we just attack the paint more than we did in the last game, we'll have better results.
JOHN BLACKWELL: I just think down the stretch, we've just got to execute a little bit better. I know you're on the road and it's a tough environment, but you've just got to execute better as a point guard to do that. I think we didn't do that there. We're careless with the ball and gave them a few more possessions. Then the effort plays. They had more effort plays than us. We can't give up that many offensive rebounds if we're going to win the game."
Greg Gard also wrapped with some nice words about MSU:
"I know Michigan State, we've had battles for a quarter century. I've got great respect for Tom and his program. Looking forward to tomorrow."
Anyway, I was just hanging out in the media work area, which is part of a large room where they hold the post-game press conference. I "overheard" a few interesting things.
First, during the postgame of the Wisconsin/UCLA game, the Badger players were asked:
"For John, Kamari, and John, I'd like to hear from each of you. What did you learn from the last experience playing the Spartans two weeks ago in East Lansing? What did you guys learn from that
experience that you can take into tomorrow's game?"
To which they answered:
"JOHN TONJE: I think one of the things is just how physical they are and how they're trying to get to the offensive rebounds. They cycle a lot of guys. I think they go 10, 11 deep in their roster. We're just going to have to be ready to compete, and it's going to be as simple as that.
KAMARI McGEE: I would say not to get jump shot happy. A lot of shots went down today. I feel like we didn't go in the paint enough at their place. I feel like we can really eat inside and find guys and spread. That's where we can get our 3s from inside out. If we just attack the paint more than we did in the last game, we'll have better results.
JOHN BLACKWELL: I just think down the stretch, we've just got to execute a little bit better. I know you're on the road and it's a tough environment, but you've just got to execute better as a point guard to do that. I think we didn't do that there. We're careless with the ball and gave them a few more possessions. Then the effort plays. They had more effort plays than us. We can't give up that many offensive rebounds if we're going to win the game."
Greg Gard also wrapped with some nice words about MSU:
"I know Michigan State, we've had battles for a quarter century. I've got great respect for Tom and his program. Looking forward to tomorrow."
