Radio Show: Woodson, Players Discuss Purdue Win, Look Ahead to Rutgers

Indiana coach Mike Woodson, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson joined play-by-play broadcaster Don Fischer on the 'Inside Indiana Basketball' radio show on Monday night to discuss the Hoosiers' win over No. 1 Purdue and preview Tuesday's matchup against No. 24 Rutgers.

Jack Ankony | Feb 7, 2023

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Mike Woodson appeared on his weekly radio show "Inside Indiana Basketball" on Monday night alongside play-by-play announcer Don Fischer, and they were joined by Hoosiers Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson.

They discussed Indiana's win over No. 1 Purdue, previewed Tuesday's game against Rutgers, talked about Indiana's emerging freshmen and plenty more. Here are the highlights.

On 79-74 win over No. 1 Purdue...

Woodson: “It was a big win. It was a big rebound from our road game that we didn’t play well. To come home and prepare and get ready to play the best teaming the country on your floor in front of your fan base, it was an exciting night. I thought our players answered the bell loud and clear."
Woodson: “You go in the locker room up 15 holding that team to 35 you’ve done something right."
Woodson: “I knew [Purdue] wouldn’t quit. Painter had them ready in the second half, and they hit us with everything they had but we withstood it."
Woodson: “We had to make plays down the stretch to secure the win. I thought Jalen’s two big buckets, [Trey Galloway's] two free throws and he hit a little leaner in the lane, and then Race’s free throws, then we got key stops down the stretch to secure the win. It was a total team effort."
Woodson: "Miller had a big steal. Race had a big steal in the corner. We made big stops when we had to."
Jackson-Davis: “Them coming into Assembly Hall and being the No. 1 team in the country, you’ve got to play with a chip on your shoulder … We knew if we cold take away their other pieces we could win, and that’s what we did going down the stretch."
Thompson: “I’ve grown into the rivalry a little bit and going into last year I hadn’t beaten them.
Woodson: “The best games we’ve played and the games we’ve won, our defense was clicking …We’ve got all these pieces that can score the ball."
Jackson-Davis: “The day before Purdue, I was dragging a little bit and then coach [Yasir Rosemond] came up to me and was like, ‘This team goes as you go,’ and I looked over to him and said ‘Coach, I got you. We’re going be ready for tomorrow.' Then we came out on fire, really. I know the team feeds off me, and when I play with a lot of energy, they’re going to follow."

On playing against Purdue center Zach Edey...

Woodson: "I thought we did a good job. I kind of like our guy [Trayce Jackson-Davis] too. But no, he’s a load. I never look at the scoreboard when it comes to looking at the stats. I think Trayce had 25 and [Edey] had 23 at one point, and I was like, 'Damn where did the 23 come from,' and it was a lot of offensive rebounds and put-backs. In the second half he was just unstoppable."
Woodson: "We couldn’t get help there fast enough because he was basically just turning and dropping it in the bucket."
Woodson: "Trayce fought him, did what he had to do on the offensive end and made a lot of great defensive plays with the five blocks he had."
Woodson: "We tried to make every catch tough. We had Trayce and Malik fight as much as they could on the big fella before he caught the ball."
Woodson: "I thought we started to wear down a little bit toward the latter part of the game … I was like, 'Hey we gotta reach down and we gotta find something because we were dragging.'"
Thompson: "[Edey] is probably going to get his. He’s one of the best players in the country, so we said if we could take those other pieces away we’d have a good chance of winning the game and that’s what we did."

On Indiana's improved 3-point shooting...

Indiana is second in the Big Ten with a 38.1 3-point shooting percentage. Woodson said, “It’s been a huge factor. Last year we got a lot of good looks from the 3-point line, and we just couldn’t make them. This summer, the work these guys put in this summer to put us in position ... That’s just from a lot of work, putting in the time and feeling good about letting it go."

On Jalen Hood-Schifino...

Woodson: “You’re going to have some ups and downs when you play, and he’s a freshman still trying to figure it out. I think we put so much pressure on him by the fans and media because we’ve seen him do a lot of good things for our ball club and you expect that every game … He made buckets downs he stretch [against Purdue] that were just huge."

On the freshman class...

Woodson: “[Malik Reneau] was on a roller coaster for a while, and a lot of it was just because he wasn’t playing hard enough. I’ve been on him a lot in practice about treating practice just like a game. It’s a notch more when you get to the real game. … He’s starting to figure that part out because he’s playing hard."
Jackson-Davis: "In the early parts of the season, coach Woody would be like ‘We can’t wait on you. We gotta go, pick it up,’ and I haven’t heard him say that in about two months, so that just shows the growth they’ve had
Jackson-Davis: "Kaleb [Banks] has been really solid the last few games. I know after I’m gone and Race is gone, those four dudes will carry to the program to a high standard."
Woodson: “[Banks] has been patient with me because I hadn’t played him a whole lot, and he’s just kept quiet and he’s working his butt off in practice. I feel good now about when I put him in the game."

On Tuesday's game against Rutgers...

Woodson: “I thought last season here we played them well and we controlled the game, and we let it get away at the end and they hit a big shot at the end to bring it home for their ball club. They play hard. They do a lot fo things defensively, and we’re just going to have to commit for 40 minutes
Woodson: "Just be ourselves. I feel good about the way we’re playing as of late."
Woodson: "There’s a lot of things that have been said in terms of they think they’re the better team and they’ve shown that and they’ve won and we’ve got to fix that somehow starting [Tuesday].”

On blocking shots...

Jackson-Davis: "[Coach Armond Hill] over here, he always calls me 'launching pad,' so that’s something coach Woodson kind of unlocked for my game. I knew I always had potential for blocking shots, but they usually wanted me weak-side rebounding so being able to time shots and my teammates trusting me if they get beat."

On players-only meeting before Wisconsin game...

Jackson-Davis: “It was kind of just asking what we wanted out of the season, really. Then we came into Wisconsin and we knew it was going to be dirty, it was going tone a hard fought game and they were going to muddy it up, so that’s when I think our defense clicked."
Jackson-Davis: "That was another team i had never beaten so going in and getting that win build out confidence."

On Race Thompson's knee injury...

Thompson: “That threw me off a little bit, but still working my way back into form and feeling better every day ... It’s getting better every day, getting treatment every day, but yeah it just takes time with a sprained MCL."
Jackson-Davis: "You're playing and the’s one of my best friends on and off the court, and you see him go down and not knowing the circumstances of the injury, just seeing him holding his knee and crying and thinking that his season is over, it’s hard to get back into the game."
Jackson-Davis: "Then you’ve got [Jordan] Geronimo coming into the game, and Kris [Murray] is a great player and he had seven points maybe at that time and him coming out and having 30. I don’t even blame Geronimo for that because he wasn’t necessarily ready to be put into that position, but it’s hard. I feel like that’s one we could have gotten back, but at the same time I feel like players stepping up and growing has really helped our team get to where it is now."

On Trayce Jackson-Davis' injury recovery...

Jackson-Davis: “For the first time all year, I’m healthy. At the beginning of the year I had some issues with my hands, and my back spasms started in December. Then taking a few weeks off was huge for me in helping me recover."

On their athletic backgrounds...

Thompson: "[My dad played running back at Minnesota.] My mom played volleyball at Iowa, my sister played volleyball at Wisconsin, my other sister played volleyball at San Diego State, and my brother payed football at Minnesota, so definitely a sports-oriented family.
Jackson-Davis: “My brother is a quarterback and committed [to Indiana] in January, so that’s good for him and I’m glad he’s home. He’s definitely ready to get to work, ready to get started, he loves Coach Allen and he’s a competitor and wants to win badly ... My sister played volleyball at Norfolk state, then my stepdad played in the NFL for the Rams and the Chiefs, and then obviously my dad played basketball for the Pacers, the Blazers [the Pistons and the Warriors.]"

On the team's relationship with each other...

Thompson: “I know in the past we’ve had kind of cliquey teams, but the past two years with coach Woodson, it hasn’t been like that at all. Everybody is pretty tight."
Jackson-Davis: “Team dinners, going places. I’ll tell you the funniest person on the team is Tamar Bates and it’s not close. He’s just one of a kind. He’s different. Miller [Kopp] is up there too. Miller is a funny guy.”
Jackson-Davis: “The first thing [Bates] said in the locker room after we got that win [over Michigan State], he said we got two wins that day." Bates' daughter Leilani won the halftime baby race that day.

On Xavier Johnson's injury...

Thompson: "He’s definitely chomping at the bit. He’s at practice every day getting shots up, and he’s definitely feeling better every day, probably better than the doctors think he’s feeling. He’s definitely been positive his whole recovery, encouraging us before every game and taking to us. It’s like having an extra coach on the sideline. He’s a point guard so he sees the game different .. I think with his recovery he’ll be back hopefully soon."

On academics, community work...

Jackson-Davis: “[My major] is sports marketing and management. I think the biggest thing for me is whenever I get done playing is still being around sports. Sports agency and stuff of that matter where I can still be around basketball like a sports agent."
Thompson: “I graduated in sociology and health, and this year I didn’t really want to do grad school. I was kind of done with school, and I’m just taking filler classes so I can remain eligible. That’s the honest truth right there. I don’t really know what I want to do with my major. I know I want to go into like real estate and helping non-profits. My dad runs a non-profit, so I’ve been around that my whole life and that’s something I really enjoy doing. My dad’s non-profit is for at-risk youth, so kids who are kind of going down the wrong path in the inner city and try to take them in and give them a mentor, get them going down a path, get them not running around the streets and get them doing things they enjoy."
Jackson-Davis: “Stop the Violence Indianapolis where we spoke to three basketball teams all around inner city Indianapolis about gun violence and making good decisions .. It really touched me, and I know it touched Race."

On the upcoming Rutgers game...

Jackson-Davis: “Coach woody always says, 'You can’t get too high, and you can’t get too low,' so I think that’s big for us … [Rutgers] has tendencies that we’ve got to take away, and they’re a really good team,"
Jackson-Davis: "They’re the only other team that’s beaten Purdue.
Jackson-Davis: Assembly Hall is a great environment, but we’ve got to play great basketball to win."
Thompson: “They’re just a hard-nosed basketball team, and they like to make it a rough game. We’ve just go to bring the energy and try to be tough on defense."

On the toughest opponents they've played against...

Jackson-Davis: “From a physical standpoint, Zach Edey and Kofi Cockburn. Then from a skill standpoint, I’d have to say Luka Garza, and I’m not saying that those guys don’t have skill, but just the way that Luka plays was unbelievable. I would say those three guys were really tough covers."
Thompson: "Luka Garza, just the way he he never stopped. He could shoot the ball, he could put it o the floor a little bit and then him posting up it was like a non-stop battle. He was physical. He wasn’t the best athlete, but he’s doing his thing now with the Timberwolves."