What Mike Woodson Said After Indiana's Win Against No. 18 Wisconsin

Here's what Indiana head coach Mike Woodson had to say following the Hoosiers' 63-45 win over No. 18 Wisconsin inside the Hall. Read his full transcript, or just watch the attached video of the press conference.

Haley Jordan | Jan 14, 2023

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Hoosiers snapped their three-game losing streak and defeated No. 18 Wisconsin 63-45 Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Read head coach Mike Woodson's full post game transcript, or just watch the attached video of his entire press conference.

QUESTION: How much of what went on the last couple days, in terms of watching things and accountability, played into today?

MIKE WOODSON: It's been a lot of film work. There's been a lot of practice. A lot of yelling and screaming and trying to get things accomplished in practice. I thought our guys answered the bell tonight. Our backs were somewhat against the wall, and losing three in a row is not fun for anybody. But you know, our guys still had good spirits coming into practice, and it was a nice carry over to today.We played Indiana defense the way I think we should be playing.

Q: As far as your defense, it looked like it went away from the slot positioning and played guys straight up and helped bring off track --

WOODSON: No, that's not true. It's what they ran offensively. They ran a bunch of staggers. They had a bunch of pin-aways. They ran what they call chin actions, where they cut and move and slice off of people. So there's no nail there. We had other people in position if there was break downs on the basketball, but for the most part, there were not pick-and-rolls. There were some but not like what we faced here as of late. I'll never get away from the nail slot and rim, so that's what we do.

Q: Your defense specifically on Chucky Hepburn, what Jalen did, your thoughts on that?

WOODSON: Again, it was a total team effort. He played the whole night in a crowd. He saw bodies when he was coming off (screens). I thought our bigs were excellent when they were up on the pick-and-rolls. We got burned a few times where guards got downhill and made plays, but for the most part we were solid for 40 minutes.

Q: What does it say that even when shots weren't falling, defense is what they concerned themselves with, especially the first half into the second half?

WOODSON: It's a great question because I know defense wins basketball games and I've been around enough games where neither team could score the basketball and it's a dogfight. You know, everybody is scratching and scraping and trying to get a bucket and can't get it and that's how it was the first half. I don't mind games like that. I told our guys at halftime that the defense was solid and if we can just find some offense to get a cushion, we'd be just fine. I thought we started the second half on a bang. We were great. I think it was an 18-2 run when we started.

Q: Jordan Geronimo in a dogfight kind of game gives you that energy that you want off the bench. Can you illustrate the good things he did today and what it meant?

WOODSON: Gallo? I mean, you said Gallo, right? Oh, Geronimo started for us. I thought he played so within himself tonight. It wasn't even funny. He did a lot of good things defensively. He rebounded the ball. He finished around the rim and we're going to need that. He didn't have to guard anyone that was so much bigger than him. We got cross-matched a couple of times where the big fella took advantage of him on the block. Other than that we were able to keep our match-ups with Trayce and Malik, and when Logan came in, I thought he gave us some positive minutes. It was just a great total team effort.

Q: Staying on the topic of Geronimo, when he's playing the way he is, what does that allow you to bring as a team that you might not be able to do otherwise?

WOODSON: It's great but it can't just be Geronimo. Everybody has to bring energy. I thought everybody that played tonight, they were touching the offensive man, putting heat on the basketball. We were in great position to help and recover. There was a lot of good things from a defensive standpoint that's been missing. You know, we've just got to build on this game and continue to grow.

Q: Wisconsin seems to want to run teams off the three-point line and take away the paint and give you the mid-range two. Seems like Jalen excelled in that area today. How important was that aspect of his game?

WOODSON: It was great. He's been good at that pretty much all season. We took eight threes is all we took and we try to put emphasis on getting the ball inside, which we did that as well.

But Jalen made his mid-range shots. But make no mistake about it, it was our defense that got us in position, defending and rebounding the ball.

Q: What impresses you most about Jalen's mindset, just the way he goes about preparing things and getting ready?

WOODSON: Well, I'm new at this, guys, and I can only go back to when I was a freshman. He's a little ahead of the game in terms of he's not your typical freshman. He plays like he's been in college a few years. You know, that's a sign of the fact that he's gifted and he's been blessed with the talent and he works. You know, he puts himself in that position to be good.

So, I'm not surprised. I saw it his last year at Montverde when he played, he was the same way, just steady. It's been a nice carryover coming to Indiana wearing that uniform for us.

Q: I know it was a team effort defensively but back on Jordan Geronimo, what was it that made the switch and the change, because he had been making mistakes on the court but tonight he played extraordinarily well and everything seemed to come together for him.

WOODSON: Well, he looked comfortable. You know, as a coach, when I'm challenging players, sometimes it makes them a little uneasy and get that. But at the end of the day, they have to understand that I'm in their corner and I need them to perform at a high level. It ain't personal, but it's culture; what I call it. I thought he was more relaxed tonight and he did a lot of positive things on both ends of the floor. I just hope he can just grow from this game and continue to play that well.

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