NCAA Men's 1st and 2nd Rounds: Des Moines Wednesday, March 20, 2019 Des Moines, Iowa Tom Izzo CASSIUS WINSTON: Definitely. They're going to play Matt McQuaid their best, you know? They're going to fight the whole time and we gotta be ready, you know? We can't be Cassius Winston lackadaisical, anything like that. We've got to come out Michigan State Spartans and play with energy and come out and play with heart.

THE MODERATOR: We welcome student-athletes THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen. from Michigan State, Cassius Winston and Matt McQuaid. Questions for our student-athletes? We would like to welcome Michigan State head Coach, Tom Izzo. Coach, welcome to Des Moines. Q. Matt, you came here four years ago a skinny kid who can could shoot the ball and basically all we TOM IZZO: You made it sound impressive. I wish I felt thought you could shoot ball and now you're one that way. Thanks for having us. It's been great so far. of the most feared defenders in the Big Ten. Every We got in yesterday and looking forward to the game. time you put on that uniform now it could be your Bradley, any team that starts out 0-5 in the league and last. What's going through your head? Describe finds a way to win 10 out of 12, win their tournament, your feelings? beat a team that was in a Final Four last year and had MATT McQUAID: I definitely have more of a sense of a lot of players back in Loyola, got guards that can urgency, you know? I love playing with this group. I shoot it. Brown and Kennell can shoot it from long love my teammates. They're like my brothers, you range and that's always the worry against a lower seed know, close group. I'm going into every day trying to against a higher seed is a three-point shot. I've seen cherish every minute, every second I have with these nights where they've made a ton of them from long, guys and just taking it one day at a time. long rage, we're going to have to do a good job of defending that. They want to run. We want to run. Q. You guys getting Bradley as a 15-seed. What We're adjusting without Kyle. He was 18, 20 minutes a have you seen on film in the last couple of days of game, and he will be not with us. He's with us, but dragging a damn boot around instead of tennis shoes. the way they play? So just the way it is. MATT McQUAID: They got a lot of really good shooters, and they're solid in the paint. They run their I think, in general, when you get to this time of year, I offense really well. They even get out in transition. know from my career every team is here for a reason, They've got a lot of tough match-ups and run their because they have had some type of success and the offense really well. excitement of getting into a NCAA Tournament will make teams better. I know it will do that to our team CASSIUS WINSTON: Like Matt said, they're a solid and I'm sure it will do that to their team. team. They don't have a lot of flaws, good guard play, good inside play. So this is a really good team and we've got to play to the best of our abilities to beat 'em. Q. Tom, in 2007 you brought your team to Peoria to play against Bradley. The all-time attendance Q. Bradley is a team that was down 18 in their record in that game for Carver Arena, which still conference tournament and battled back to win. stands. What do you remember about that night? How do you deal with a team that doesn't go away It was a close ball game. What do you remember even if they're down? about it? MATT McQUAID: They're definitely a relentless team. TOM IZZO: I told Jimmy how stupid I was. Why would I They finished their conference strong. We just gotta be come there to do that? You know, and I don't mean ready and come out with a sense of urgency, knowing that insultingly, I mean I know what kind of team they they're not going to quit the whole game and staying on were. I remember going to a luncheon that day and our toes until the end of forty minutes is up. there were 400 or 500 people at the luncheon, and I was like, God, what did I get my hands into. It was a great atmosphere. Peoria has had great basketball for

Rev #1 by #189 at 2019-03-20 19:30:00 GMT page 1 of 3 100 years it seems like. I remember when it was TOM IZZO: That was a weird year, you know? The stocked with high school players, kind of like our Flint. year started 5-4. We had gotten beat by I think Central There has been some fall off maybe because of Michigan and U of D, and I think they were talking companies leaving and going and staying, but it's about firing me seriously and then we went on a run always been great. and won the next 18 of 22 and it was my first NCAA Tournament as a head coach and we played Eastern My college coach and Stan Albeck who was at Michigan and they were really good. We won that and Northern Michigan I used to hear about Bradley forever had to play Princeton and we started kind of what I do back in those days. Rabid fans, great city, and Brian now, 20-minute segments, get up, 20 minute segments has done a very good job with this team. You know, I on Princeton, have breakfast, another 20 minutes on think they're building it back to where it needs to be. Princeton. I understood the attention span, and that was pre-Twitter. Now we have four-minute meetings, Q. This is a little bit of a homecoming for Jack and it's changed a little bit since Twitter has evolved. Hoiberg, and I know he's in the locker room. What has he been like for the guys in the locker room But we found a way to beat them and that first memory even though he's only been there a couple of years I have about that weekend is right before the end of the now? half. Princeton was notorious for backdoor plays and TOM IZZO: I love Jack Hoiberg. I was a walk-on in we ran one on them and found a way to beat them and college and things turned out for me okay at a Division then went down and North Carolina took care of us. It II school. Different level, but it looked like Jack was was great start and I think anytime your first game in going to go play golf. But I don't know what made this tournament, although sometimes it still feels like Fred, his mom Carol, come over and I think there were my first game in the tournament, I just have a better a couple of guys on his staff at Michigan State and he idea of how to get the hotel and the tickets and came over and wanted to be a walk-on. I hope it was a everything. But the excitement of the tournament, I great thing for him, but if you know Jack Hoiberg at all, don't think it's ever changed for me. I love March. I as a worker, as a student, he's making himself as a love the tournament. I love the way it goes. I love player. Like a lot of guys, he is too small for this, too playing in games and I love watching other games. I slow for that. He has been one of the best scout team don't know what the second half of that was, but the players we've had. We talked about it and redshirted first half was I got a lot of memories of that and I don't him for the first year and I think he's a kid I questioned have to look 'em up. But I appreciate them still to this whether he could play at this level early on. I told his day, 22 years later. dad a couple of years ago I think he can play at this level. And what's he like in the locker room? Last year Q. Kind of following up on that a little bit, to what he got along with everybody and those were the super extent do you do the job of telling some of your stars. This year I don't have as many super stars, but kids in the program who are about to experience he gets along with everybody again. I think it's his this one and done atmosphere for the first time. background, his mom, his dad, and his homecoming. What part do you play in helping to explain to them He said he has a bunch of people coming. I couldn't what it's like versus how much you rely on veteran be more honored to coach a kid that does it in the players to tell their teammates that from a player classroom, on the court and off court and with the work perspective? ethic he's done it with. Jack is a special player. I bet TOM IZZO: I'm starting to realize more and more, you you if you asked our players they wouldn't say we don't know, as we all get older, we're in this weird profession like Jack Hoiberg, we love Jack Hoiberg. where our clientele are always 17 to 22. So I think it helps to have other people telling them, you know? I've Q. Coach, when you started this annual March been blessed at our place. We've been at one and habit in this event, I think it's '98 at Eastern done mode for about three weeks now, when you think Michigan and Princeton? about it. We had to win so many games to win the Big TOM IZZO: Good memory! Ten Can championship, and then Magic coming back to Steve Smith, and I would always ask them to talk to Q. I looked it up. our guys. Then I would ask the Tum Tums, Jaren TOM IZZO: Good honesty! With a bad memory! Jacksons, and Myles did a good job calling guys and (Laughter.) telling them how to deal with those pressures. Then you get in the Big Ten tournament and you've got to Q. I have a really good memory, but I looked it up. I win 3 and I think we have more practice now of being want to know what you remember from just this one and done and we haven't experienced what it point, the day before, maybe, or the week before means to lose and that's a good thing. But I try to tell that and maybe how you might critique that coach? my freshmen there are different pressures, the "my

Rev #1 by #189 at 2019-03-20 19:30:00 GMT page 2 of 3 bads" go out the door because one "my bad" and we're They signed up for that the day they signed up and the going home. goals and the rules have never changed. When we're down and out they don't change, and when we are So I try to explain it, but that's where Matt McQuaid really good they don't change. When we are not so and Kenny Goines are really helpful because he's been good they don't change. This year's team has been in the Final Four, and I think our guys know what's at consistent, if you look at our offense and defense, and stake. hopefully that will carry us through here and win a game tomorrow. Q. Tom, I wanted to ask you about the merits and the pitfalls of winning the conference tournament Q. Off track here, but Iowa State is just down the going into this because your teams have done it road, and they're going to play an Ohio State team both ways. I'm wondering if winning the you're familiar with. What should people around conference tournament can make guys maybe a here expect from that team? little complacent or overconfident going into the TOM IZZO: Ohio State is a very good team. They had first couple of rounds or whether maybe losing in a Wesson out for a while and early injuries, but Wesson conference tournament can scare your team in a is a monster. He got in foul trouble, he's 6'10", two productive way? whatever, but their guards are starting to play a little bit TOM IZZO: Coaches are great creatures of habit and if better. They had a fifth year kid in there. They're we lose I'm going to say that damn conference athletic. They guard pretty well. Chris is a very, very tournament and if we win I'm going to say that real good coach. So I think it will be an hell of a match-up good conference tournament gave us a boost. You've because I've got a chance to see Iowa State on TV and got to have an excuse if you're a head coach, so I play Shayok was hurt for a little while and he came back it both ways. But what I really believe, this is new and he made a difference. So they both lost guys and territory for me. Ninety percent of the tournament got 'em back. So it should be a heck of a game. games I think we played on Friday, 90% of the 22 Where is that game played at? games, I believe we have. I'm not proactive. We picked a year where we're on a Thursday and we won Q. Tulsa? the conference tournament. Is that harder? Of course TOM IZZO: Tulsa? It will be a good game. it's harder, but it also, there is momentum that you gain from that, you know? The one thing I don't have, and I THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. really don't worry about it much in my program. We play such a good schedule every year I've been there and usually we get the brains beat out of us by a couple of people. So that big ego, thinking we're better than we are, you know, Indiana who didn't make the tournament beat us twice. So we're not very cocky in that respect, but I think when you do win you do get a little confidence. I think because of the players that come back and explain to the guys what it is like. A lot of writers three years ago who got beat by Middle Tennessee thought we looked past them. We shot 50% from the field and 50% from the three. They just shot above us. They just played better than us. We got in foul trouble. We had an injury in that game to Kenny Goines, the match-up. They just beat us, and there wasn't been many times I've worried about us looking past the team or thinking we are better than somebody because that's something I try to do every single day of my life. Never forget where I came from and never forget those tragic losses, but never forget those exhilarating wins either. It's just all part of the deal. I don't believe we are going to be looking past anybody. I worry about fatigue because of the injuries and playing Sunday night and getting home at 11:30 and all the things we went through. But cocky or too confident, or go the other way, as you say, man, they came to this program to try to win a championship.

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