Opening Statement

I'd like to begin by thanking our crowd, our students, our fans, everyone in Crisler tonight. What an amazing environment to play college basketball game in. The energy, the enthusiasm, and we always try to do our part to keep everyone on their toes until the very, very end. So I credit our guys as well, but just really happy for our group. They stayed the course. There were some times throughout the game that we generated great looks. We generated shots at the rim, and they weren't dropping. The easy thing to do is to drop your head and get in your own feelings. I thought they stayed together, they stayed poised, they kept battling, they kept working. Our assistant coaches did an unbelievable job with the scout, with the curveballs we were able to throw. We used everything in the arsenal to try to slow down Braden and Trey and those guys. Man, it's a good basketball team. We can't have any more respect for a program than we do Purdue, their staff, their players, everyone associated with it. They built something that's incredibly special. It's kind of the gold standard. There's a couple of those in our league, but they're a gold standard in our profession. So just proud and happy for our guys to get out of here with a win.

On Rubin Jones' performance

I thought he was everywhere. His quickness, his anticipation. I don't want to say I feel bad for Michigan fans, but we haven't seen the real Reuben Jones. I mean, he's an irritant, he's a pest on defense, and he's a really good shooter. And tonight, I thought he had two open looks that once again, they're in the air, they're lined up perfectly, and they just hit the back of the rim. It's just kind of how it unfolds sometimes, but he's really, really finding his way. Same thing with Roddy Galye, extremely proud of Roddy. I thought first half he kept us within striking distance. He made, I don't even want to, I don't want to talk about his offense because his defense was equally as good, and he was active just like Reuben was. And then LJ Cason, for him to come in and give us the jolt that he got, he got us a couple free throws when we were struggling to score. His activity in the zone, he had several deflections. I thought he played like a veteran player. So just hats off to the staff and our entire roster. They played a heck of a game today, tonight.

On the play of the bench

Yeah, well, to be honest, Will Tschetter and Roddy Gayle, they're not reserves. I think we really have seven unquestionable starters. And then obviously Pip and LJ as freshmen, they're trying to impact winning and find ways to help the group. Sam Walters has had some family things going on. So he sat tonight, but we've been at our best early in the year, especially offensively, Sam's had a big role. So just like Rubin, just like LJ, Sam's going to have a real impact on some of these games and we're going to need them all. It doesn't get any easier. As the games get heightened, we need more people, more guys to step up and make plays because that's ultimately what it's about.

On slowing down Braden Smith

Well, you have to pick your poison. I thought his ability to hit the roll man on the pick and roll, get a shooter shots was an A plus. I mean, he's incredible. His stamina, I kept looking at him thinking this guy's got to be getting somewhat tired or somewhat fatigued and he didn't. I mean, the last two shots he made, the plays in between, and that's the thing about programs like Purdue and what we're striving to get to. It doesn't matter that he scored those 26 minutes because he was doing everything else and it's about winning and it's about doing it together when you're able to compete at a championship level like they have.

On how the win impacts the ultimate goal

Well, I mean, obviously you're competing against another team that's at the top of the standings. So if you drop this one, you don't have to hope there's someone else. You control your own destiny. We play the teams at the top now. We had five of our last eight at home. So I guess four of seven now at home. And so to win a championship, you have to take care of home and you have to go on the road and then be able to find ways to win. And we've done that up to this point, but we've got some tough games in front of us. But this is exciting to be in mid-February playing extremely meaningful games, competing for a championship with programs, coaches, and players that are at the top of college basketball.

On his emotions after the game

You know, we have the closed caption television. So last game I had it on and usually if I'm watching our guys warm up, if we miss two shots in a row, it makes my anxiety worse or whatever the case that goes with coaching. And so I try not to watch the warmups other than to go watch the other team and just see how they look. And so it's closed caption. So I saw our guys do that and the staff come. Well, then we've done it before as we've left the court right before the game. I'm sorry to get long-winded. And then as we were going through, we asked them to go through and thank them again. I think that could be a heck of a tradition for us because those students on top of us, they have a big impact. But our guys started doing it before they came back for our last huddle, going through the student section, just kind of dabbing them. So it's, you know, that's the great, one of the many great things about our guys. They're humble, normal guys. They're college students here in Michigan. They're not siloed over here in the athletic side. So they appreciate it and it makes the games and the environment so much better. So we appreciate the students.

On what he did to challenge Vlad Goldin down the stretch

Well, I mean, I'm not taking any credit for the way Vlad played. He performed at an extremely high level down the stretch. Those rebounds, his level of determination. Vlad and I, we go way, way back. So there's times when Vlad doesn't like me and I don't like him, but the love is real and we both are fighting for the same thing and that's to compete for championships.

On battling back against Purdue

Yeah, you know, I thought our first shot defense was excellent and there was a couple 50-50 basketballs that went out of bounds and they were able to get those extra possessions back. So when you let a team like Purdue get three and four shots early in the game, they're probably going to make one. So we weren't that discouraged because our first shot defense was so good, but we had to claw back in. I think when we cut it to four, that's when I, me personally, I felt like we've settled in. Now it's time to play ball. Coach, over here.

On what parts of physicality he emphasizes

Yeah, especially blocking out, putting your chest on drivers, just being handsy, being active where they're never comfortable. And to be honest, like it's, it's partly, it's, it's, I'm partly to blame. All summer, I underestimated the physicality of the Big Ten. We played Northwestern in NCAA Tournament last year and they out-physicaled us. And so we didn't work the way we needed to all summer, all fall. And credit to our guys, they've adjusted, they've adapted, and Will Tschetter's a big part of it. And so when Will was cracking guys in practice and they were getting upset, I should have been saying, no, no, that's the way it's going to be. Will's doing this because that's what winning is going to take in this conference. And so, you know, we have humility in our program when, when something's not working or something's not going well, it's, it's about all of us putting our heads together and finding the right way for this group to get it done. And, and man, our guys play with great physicality. I think the last 12 to 15 minutes, there were several possessions where I thought, man, we're finally, we're the hammer on some of these possessions as opposed to being the nail.

On Danny Wolf's impact

Yeah, I thought his defense was incredible. I thought he got, he got switched on to Braden Smith several times. We, we played so many defenses and he blocked a three. He was active around the rim. With him and Vlad down there, when they're really playing with great aggression, they come up with so many of those rebounds that just kind of fall in no man's land. But I thought Danny did what Danny does. He made big, big drives, big rebounds, but most importantly, I thought defensively, he really impacted this game.

On whether he's allowed to be proud of the progress the team made

Absolutely not. I'm proud of the way our guys are battling and staying the course. And it looks like they're still enjoying each other. They're enjoying this, this process of competing and not knowing what's in front of us, but just putting one foot in front of the other. But as far as our record, where we are and I would, you know, they're not giving out championship trophies, February 12th or whatever it is tomorrow. So no, but, but yeah, I, I'm proud that our guys are still improving collectively and individually.

On settling the team down after the early turnovers

A couple of them, once again, I don't want to dwell on the turnovers. Namari went back cut, they stepped in front of him and he tried to stop and there was some incidental contact. So there was one of them, there were a few around the rim. I think Roddy Gayle had a dump that they stuck their hand in and I'm not sure if it went out on Roddy, but that's, that's a turnover. And when we're playing good ball, man, I'm not going to dwell on it. Stuff happens in basketball. So I do think there were probably four or five possessions in the first half when we were rushed and we were frantic and those are the turnovers we can't live with. But there were, you know, for us to, I think we had two in the second half against a team that's extremely disruptive, especially over the last five or six weeks. You know, it's a credit to our guys, but I thought we, I thought we did a nice job of getting to the second and third side quicker than we have lately, because Purdue loads, they load to one side of the ball. I mean, they did, there's discipline and, and I guess structured defensively as, as any team in our league. And so if we're going to try to attack the first side, which we did in the first half, and we played too much one-on-one, but I think our guys did, they trusted what we needed to do and, and got it to the next side and make plays. Coach, we've got one more in the TV room.

On how he's seen the team progress since the Purdue loss

You know, yes. And, and as a staff, we were constantly evaluating substance and character. And when you get knocked down like we did, I mean, it was a big game, nationally televised. A lot of eyeballs were on that watching Michigan basketball and, and we're proud of what we've created and what we're doing. And so for us to perform like that, me, them, everyone, no, we weren't happy. So when things like that happen, you usually go one of two different directions. And, and even after that, we didn't play our best, but we weren't discouraged. We weren't, we weren't blaming each other. I thought we had great personal accountability and we just kept fighting and battling and Purdue had the same thing happen. Auburn gave it to them early in the year and they responded. And then Penn State in early December did the same thing and they responded. So, you know, hopefully we're trending like those programs where when you get knocked down, you bounce back up, dust yourself off and keep, keep fighting.

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