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NCAA MEN'S REGIONALS SEMIFINALS & FINALS: NEW YORK


March 30, 2014


Gary Harris

Tom Izzo

Adreian Payne


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Connecticut      – 60
Michigan State – 54


THE MODERATOR:  We'll go ahead and get started with an opening statement from Coach and then take questions for the student‑athletes.
COACH TOM IZZO:   Well, disappointment and congratulations.  I think Kevin's team played so hard, and they got off to that great start and we looked like we were walking in quicksand there fore a little while.
We came back and did a lot of good things.  Went on a big run of our own, but the biggest key to the whole day is we turned the ball over.  I think in the first half 12 of their 21 points were on turnovers or second shots.  And that doesn't happen to us that often.  And then in the second half to have a nine‑point lead and we just did not execute.  And give them credit, they did.  And there was some close calls and we were out of it.
So to be honest with you, we got what we deserved all year long.  This team battled and did everything they could do, and unfortunately we did not bring our "A" game today, and we got what we deserved today.  I tried to tell these guys that, when you get to the Tournament, you got to bring it every second.  And today Connecticut did and we just kind of weren't as good as we have been.  But we have had a hell of a year and I'm going to congratulate them and also congratulate us on an incredible year under the circumstances.
THE MODERATOR:  Questions for the student‑athletes, please.

Q.  Adreian, tough question, but this streak today, how often did it go through your mind and just what are you feeling after that streak comes to an end like that?
ADREIAN PAYNE:  As the game got closer and closer to ending, it was on my mind a lot, every huddle.  And for us losing, and Keith and I, and not to make it is disappointing.

Q.  For both, it's not unusual to lose a game when you have a high number of turnovers, but have you ever seen a game like this or experienced a game like this where the turnovers just seemed so bizarre, just sort of out‑of‑body experiences where Keith's dropping an inbound pass, and just sort of really weird turnovers like that?
GARY HARRIS:  It's tough, especially in a game like this.  Those turnovers definitely cost us.  We just have to be better from top to bottom, and we just can't let those things happen.
ADREIAN PAYNE:  Like Gary said, every possession counted and we didn't capitalize on them.

Q.  Adreian, was it something they were doing?  It seemed like you guys were settling for a lot of threes.  I think you took 29 threes.  Was that something you guys, I don't know, wanted to do or was that something they were forcing you into?  Did you feel like you got away from your game plan?
ADREIAN PAYNE:  They definitely tried to force me out and to take jump shots.  It was just, they did a great job in the post of sending backside help.  So it was kind of hard to get the ball down low.

Q.  Gary, Coach Izzo talked about you wanting your shot, being more aggressive.  Can you talk about your performance today.  And then also if you'll comment on the streak.  You said that that was a priority for you to protect that for the seniors.
GARY HARRIS:  As far as the streak‑wise, it's tough because not only did it's going to be the seniors who didn't make it, but we're part of the team that didn't make it.  So we're just as much as at fault as them.  So when a streak like that ends, it's always tough.
But as far as the shot‑wise, I was able to get some good looks.  Denzel did a good job of finding me early in transition.  AP set great screens.  My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball.

Q.  For both of you, how shocked are you by this?  You sort of seem stunned.
GARY HARRIS:  The season's over.  I mean, going to play in the Final Four that's what we have been talking about since the beginning, and to get this close and be up in the second half by nine points, it's tough right now.  But we didn't do the things necessary for us to win, so it's all on us.
ADREIAN PAYNE:  Same thing he said.  It's tough being up going into the second half and then losing the lead and then losing the game.  And being my senior year, it's tough to go out like this, when we were so close to achieving our goal.

Q.  Gary, you said yesterday that you hadn't made any decisions yet.  Do you know when you'll make a decision or have you made a decision if you'll return for your junior year?
GARY HARRIS:  It's the last thing on my mind right now, honestly.  I'm just still in shock about the loss.  So that's definitely the last thing on my mind right now.

Q.  Gary, talk about what makes Napier so hard to deal with.
GARY HARRIS:  His will to win.  You could just see it.  He wasn't going to let his team lose.  He was the one making the big plays for them at the end of the stretch, and that's why he's such a great player is just because you could just see by playing against him, he's a winner and he willed his team to victory.

Q.  Adreian, how long is it going to take before you can reflect on way you improved these four years?  The three‑point shots, I think you have taken four through 87 games, shot over 40 percent.  Is it going to be a while before you can feel good about that stuff or is there any sense of satisfaction with your career at this point?
ADREIAN PAYNE:  Right now I haven't even thought about that.  Right now that hasn't even crossed my mind.  But I have grown a lot here and I owe a lot to Coach Izzo and his coaching staff.

Q.  For both players, obviously UCONN had a lot of people in the stands, as they were making their run, did you kind of sense that they were getting things rolling and this was very much like a UCONN home game?
GARY HARRIS:  They definitely had a great crowd.  But I feel like we had a huge crowd as well, because when we made our run, I felt like we were getting things rolling.  But basketball is a game of runs and they made their run at the end and their support was phenomenal.
ADREIAN PAYNE:  We knew coming into this game that they were going to have a big crowd, so it was something we were prepared for.  And I just want to thank Spartan Nation for coming out and supporting us like they did.
THE MODERATOR:  All right.  We'll excuse you to the locker room and take questions for Coach.

Q.  Tom, there was a moment at the end where right after Keith fouled out where you kind of rubbed him on the head and said something, kind of a tender moment there.  Could you share what you said to him in that moment?
COACH TOM IZZO:  Well, I told him I didn't think he fouled him, if you want the truth.  There was, you look at these stats and they're mind‑boggling in some ways.  And I just thanked him for his four years.  He's been through a lot this year and never got back to the guy he was in the first half, but not at all his fault and I just felt for him.

Q.  You made a lot of Final Fours, when you consider all the adversity you went through this year and what the seniors went through, how important was this one?
COACH TOM IZZO:  Well, you know, I don't know, there's so many things that are first.  Your first time is always the best.  But considering what we went through, both back home and throughout the year, this would have been as important as any one I've been in, just because I think we went through the most and it's just disappointing.
I got a lot of my friends here and some of them are now in TV or media, and I said they always talk about turnovers, whether it's a Super Bowl or what the sport is, and I just, I can't get over these stats.  We didn't shoot great either, 40 percent, 37, 87, but they shot 34 and 22, got outrebounded; you should win 99.9 percent of those games.  And we lost easy.  And it was because of turnovers and "turnovers for touchdowns" as I call them.
Give them credit, they got to the line a lot.  It's been a problem, and they made 21‑22.  You got to give them a lot of credit.  They made a lot of big free throws.

Q.  You saw Shabazz play at the start of last season, and obviously saw him today.  Talk about how far he's come as a player in the two years that he's kind of bracketed these wins over you guys.
COACH TOM IZZO:  Well, he thought he was pretty good last year.  So I think he's grown.  But I think Gary said it better, he makes plays, hard to cover, he's smart, he knows when to pump fake, he knows when to jump into you, he knows when you back off, when to shoot it.  He still does a pretty good job passing the ball.  I think a very intelligent player.  And very good player.  He plays better defense than I thought and you think he's grown in that area maybe as much as any.

Q.  You talked about the turnovers, but have you seen as many sort of weird ones as you saw in this game?  And how much tougher of a pill is it to swallow when you're having ones like that?
COACH TOM IZZO:  Well, I thought your question was the best one of the day, because what did you say?  You used a better word than "weird".

Q.  "Out of body".
COACH TOM IZZO:  "Out of body", I like that better because "weird" does not explain how ridiculous some of those were.  And we looked tired to me.  Maybe the whole season wore on us.  It's been an interesting year for the Spartans.  There were some out‑of‑body experiences.  Denzel's layup, Keith's.  I mean, it just ‑‑ I can't explain it.  I know it wasn't anything they did on purpose, but it looked like we were a little bit fatigued.  We sure tried to do things the right way.  We did not practice very hard.  We did all the things, but that was the difference in the game, there's no question about it.

Q.  Can you talk about the decision to stick with Keith.  You went with him.  I think you pronounced you were going to do that a month and a half ago, and just keeping him in there today over Trice.
COACH TOM IZZO:  Well, I did Trav in there but they were really pressuring him and he struggled in that respect.  And then I wanted to play them both together, and we weren't rebounding the ball.  Branden really struggled today.  And that made a little bit of a difference, because just I couldn't put in Kenny as much because defensively there was some issues.  Keith got us in our offense a little bit better, but I probably would have liked to have played Trav a little more with Keith, and maybe that's something.
But I'm not going to second guess those things when we had 16 of the most out‑of‑body turnovers known to mankind, to be honest.  And I give them credit on the ones they caused, but I mean, you know, we get two at the end, Dawson's got the ball, and it just gets thrown away we're down two with a minute, two minutes left.  We hold them twice and they get an offensive rebound once; we get a rebound and we turn it over.  I mean, you're just not going to win games like that.  I learned that every year.

Q.  After you guys got down 12‑2 I think you outscored them by 19 points over the next 20 minutes.  What adjustments were made to make that happen?  It looked like you were getting good shots before their defense was getting set, first of all.  Secondly with Dawson's tough game, did the height and shot‑blocking ability have anything to do with that?
COACH TOM IZZO:  I didn't think it had anything to do with him.  He didn't get any blocked.  It was AP that I thought, I thought it was a wrestling match in there.  I don't know what you guys thought it was.  I thought they had two centers, and I give Kevin credit, they just brought them at him.  That was the most physical that we have dealt with all year, I thought.  And that's exactly what I would have done, too, because they have two centers and either one are interchangeable, but that didn't affect Dawson any.
I just felt like he was struggling a little bit and we made some assignment ‑‑ we just didn't cover things like we wanted to.  Maybe one more day would have been good, and we missed some switches that I think were right there.  But the reason we went on that run is we quit turning the damn ball over, and we quit giving up offensive rebounds and we did run.  And we got some open shots.
But we took some bad shoots, too.  I mean, nobody take anything away from them, but we did not play very well for how we play.  Bad shots, out‑of‑body turnovers, offensive rebounds that they got, and that's how they got that big lead.  I thought he did a great job of having his team ready, and I did a poor job of having mine ready.

Q.  Following up on what you said about their two centers, how rare is it for you to wind up with just six points in the paint?  And is that because of the type of defense that they played?
COACH TOM IZZO:  Yeah, it really was.  Like I said, I thought that was the most physical game.  I mean, Payne, it was, it was physical.  Then we just chose that because they did a good job doubling, too, and that's why I would have liked to have played Kaminski a little bit more, because then they double and we got a three‑point shooter out there.  But he struggles to guard certain people.  And Daniels I didn't need him going off.
So you know, I don't regret anything as far as even Napier, I mean he's 6‑for‑14.  I thought first half we did a great job on him.  They draw fouls; they do a good job of it.  And Giffey goes 2‑for‑10 and Daniels 4‑for‑10, Boatright 3‑for‑9.  I mean, 34 percent, 22 from the three, you win.  You don't win if you foul too much and they make them, and you don't win if you turn the ball over.
If I think that 34‑‑ I would like to know how many layups off our turnovers they had.  In the half‑court defense we might have played better than I even thought, if you really look at it.
But I like what Kevin did, he learned from Jim; his teams play the same way, hard, tough.  You can tell it's part of their DNA over there.  And I just, I'm really impressed, really happy for him.  Like I said, I don't feel as bad as I should because I think we got what we deserved today.  I think for the most part throughout this whole year we did.  And that meant a lot of wins.  29 wins with a lot of adverse circumstances.

Q.  You mentioned words like "weary" and "running in quicksand" and "one day would have been better", "one more day".  Do you think your team was tired after playing Friday night post midnight?
COACH TOM IZZO:  Well, yeah.  I mean, I think that we had a weird year, and then we had a little bit of a different ‑‑ playing until Sunday in the Big‑10 Tournament and then traveling out West and you know, it is what it is.
But I don't think that's any excuse why you turn the ball over like we did.  A guy grabbing it out of our hands.  We just didn't seem as mentally into the game, and you got to be.  And I mean, it's not easy to do that.  I understand the reasons why.
But those things, so they got two hours on us, big deal.  It is hard on those late nights.  It was really hard because we didn't get back until like 1:30 in the morning.  But hey, they got back at 11:30, big deal.  Two hours.  No big deal.

Q.  You've kind of played off that streak all year and put it in the hands of your seniors, not wanting to pressure them with all the injuries.  But now that that feat's over with, what would you say about what you accomplished and moving forward?
COACH TOM IZZO:  You know, that streak doesn't mean anything to me, as dumb as it sounds.  Sometimes you got lucky.  There were teams that we went to a Final Four with that weren't as good as some teams we didn't.
Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you know streaks are made to be broken.  It wasn't going to go forever, but it is the players' team, not the coach's team.  It's the coach's program but the players' team.
You're right, I didn't put a lot of emphasis on it all year.  I don't think they did.  We were so discombobulated half the year.  That's like "out of body", by the way, kind of big words that I don't know what the hell they mean, but.  We hardly ever talked about it.  When I had other teams it was like breakfast morning, noon and night we talked about it, they did.
But this team has been through so much stuff this year that‑‑ sad but, you know, you look at Appling and Payne, Sweet 16, Sweet 16, Elite8s.  I look at Billy Donovan's team finally getting there after three Elite8s.  Sometimes you got to pay the price of the process and sometimes ‑‑ the reason I called timeout with six seconds left, it wasn't so that the UCONN fans could really enjoy it a little longer.  I just told our underclassmen and that, that I didn't think ‑‑ we had a couple stretches where we didn't bring it, but we did and I don't want to‑‑ don't trademark the line, but out‑of‑body experiences, a couple times I came out of the huddle and I was shaking my head, like I haven't seen this before.
Sometimes that happens with pressure.  Sometimes it happens with fatigue, and I just wanted our team to capture the moment and learn from it, so next year we can be better at what we do.
THE MODERATOR:  All right.  Thank you, Coach.
COACH TOM IZZO:  Thank you, and thank you New York people.  You guys were great.  I thought the arena was great and good luck to UCONN.  Thanks.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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