Penn State Basketball
Head Coach Patrick Chambers Postgame Press Conference
vs. Michigan State – January 13, 2019
Patrick Chambers | Head Coach
Opening Statement
Michigan State is a really good team. They played really well even without two of their stars. I knew it was going to be difficult for us with this stretch that we have had. With Wisconsin, Nebraska and now this game, we have played a difficult schedule up to this point and hopefully we just continue to grow. It was nice to see Kyle McCloskey give us some minutes and I thought that he brought great toughness in the second half. I challenged our guys to win the second half and they did that. This is definitely a new experience for this group. We have young guys and we have older guys and we've got to bring it all together. We just haven't brought it all together yet. We will come back tomorrow at 3:15 and we will keep working on putting these pieces to the puzzle together. They are still dialed in to getting better because if they didn't then they wouldn't have won the second half. There are some things I am going to pull away from this as positive. Kyle McCloskey, we turned them over 17 times, I thought that Lamar Stevens played better in the second half and I thought that Josh Reaves played better in the second half as well. The good news/bad news is that there are 20 Big Ten games and we still have 14 to go. We can turn this ship around right away and that is what I plan on doing and that is what they plan on doing.
Q: Your freshman guards, [Myles] Dread and [Myreon] Jones (MJ), can you put your finger on why they are struggling shooting? Is it the proverbial freshman wall that they have run into?
A: Yes, maybe. They are shooting the ball well in practice and I don't think that they lights are too bright for them. I think that they are kids who have played on big time circuits. MJ dropped 18 points against Virginia Tech and Myles has dropped seven threes in a game before. I think at this point, in the middle of January, this is something that they never experienced before. Our nonconference was very difficult, very difficult. I think that we need to build their confidence more and that is my job. I am going to sit, spend time with them, and continue to work with them both mentally and physically.
Q: Your three-point shooting has been very low, especially in the Big Ten, is that a function of the teams that you are playing? Or are you guys just not hitting shots that you ought to be hitting?
A: A little bit of both. I think that we just played five out of six top 25 teams, and the sixth team was at Nebraska, which is probably the hardest venue to play at in the Big Ten, although we had seven threes at Nebraska, I thought that we played really well there. With Michigan State, they are who they are, and they are a top-10 team for a reason. But, there are open shots that we need to hit. We had a couple really good looks to stop the bleeding but they didn't go down, and I know from how hard these kids work that they are eventually going to start falling for us.
Q: Pat, no bench points today. In a game like this, is it possible to win a game, or any game, when you are not getting any contribution from the bench?
A: I look at Nebraska and I look at Michigan and their starting five, I think Michigan is number two and Nebraska is number six. Does it concern me? No, as long as the starting five are getting the job done. We had four guys in double figures tonight. It would be nice to get a little production from the bench but it is not the end all, be all.
Q: Specfially with Rasir Bolton, he only played six minutes today and didn't start, was there anything behind that? Or was it just the way the game was going?
A: I am trying to manage him right now and put him in the best position to be successful. We all struggle sometimes and I think like Mark was just saying, they have hit a little bit of that proverbial wall. Hopefully they bring some energy tomorrow and we keep getting better, they keep fighting and we all keep competing. That is what you are looking for from a freshman.
Q: Pat, you mentioned that the Nebraska game was the best that your offense has looked in a while, and you come in tonight and again you don't shoot the ball well. Do you think that tonight it was a shooting issue or was there something else that you can put your finger on?
A: I think Michigan State is really good defensively. I think that we had good shots but our legs might be a little tired. It has been a tough opening four games here since the New Year. That is what it is in the Big Ten so we just need to learn from this to get better.
Q: Your team hasn't seen the free throw line much out of the last two games. Is that something you guys are putting an emphasis and what is being done differently?
A: Absolutely, we want to get their 20 plus times a game. We want to shoot 70% from the free throw line and we're not getting there.
Q: What did you see from Myles Dread coming back in the second half after to appearing to be injured earlier on?
A: Kid's a warrior. Absolute warrior. Plays hard, he's tough. He's got a Big Ten body. He's ready to go. It was nice to see him give me the option to put him back in the game at that point.
Q: For the younger guys on your team, how can you take this game and turn into a positive as you move forward with Big Ten play?
A: It's all about our leadership. My leadership and the leadership of the veterans. Just to make sure we stay positive and we keep a growth mindset. As long as we come into work tomorrow, we watch film, and see the mistakes that we're making, and continue to get better, we're going to be in great shape. I got to keep it positive. Growth and learning. That's what it has to be.
Q: How would you describe the physicality of your team compared to Michigan State's performance, especially in the turn around in the second half?
A: The first four minutes was not the first four minutes I thought it was going to be, or the first six. I thought we were going to come out and really compete and Michigan State really took it to us. I think Coach [Tom] Izzo rallied them because they had two guys down. That's what they do. That's why I went to Kyle McCloskey. I went to an older group and pushed Josh [Reaves] at the one again because we need to play with some toughness, and we did. 32 to 31. I'll take that. Now we need to do it for 40 minutes.
Q: What made the decision to give Kyle McCloskey some minutes today and will he be a part of your game plans in the future?
A: He's been relentless in practice for over a month. I was thinking about using him at Duquesne. So he's been in my rotation, on my sheet, ready to go if I need him. Again, I want to give the sophomore and freshman every opportunity to play. To gain this experience, to get better. That's part of the process. That's part of building deep relationships with him. But Kyle has been non-stop every practice. Coming up to me, saying 'What else do I need to do,'. That's a kid who's two feet in and I knew today was going to be a challenge and he was ready to play. He knew every set, he knew every defense and he hasn't played all year. That's a kid who's bought in.
Q: Lamar [Stevens] hit his first three pointer since the Duquesne game back in December. What have you seen from him as far from shooting beyond the arch this year?
A: He needs to shoot the ball. He needs to shoot threes. Whether he misses them or makes them because defense is backing off on him. There really is no driving range for anybody. I told him today, shoot the basketball and live with results. He works on it, so keep working on it but now you have to shoot them in games. He made one today and hopefully that will springboard him to make some on Wednesday.
Q: You mentioned all the positive attributes to why Kyle [McCloskey] got minutes today. Is there a message that you are trying to send by rewarding him with minutes with hard work in practice?
A: Yeah we have to play tough and physical. If we're not going to score the ball, we're going to grind it out. That's not the way I want to play. I want to play fast, I want to score 70 plus points a game. We did that last year. We had a nice scoring average last year. Obviously it's not the same team, but I'm going to put guys out there who are going to compete at the highest of levels. I felt like Kyle did that, I felt like Lamar did that, I felt like Josh did that, I felt like Johnny did that. We had some guys do that and some guys need to do it more often and more consistently to give us a chance to win.
Q: Michigan State out-rebounded you guys by 13 tonight. Is that the case of out working your bigs?
A: Michigan State made more shots than us. That's why they're out-rebounding us. We are a little bit off. We did a better job of keeping them off the glass in the second half as far as offensive rebounds are concerned. We got to make some shots here. We are relying on our defense so much that it is going to bend or going to break. We need to make some shots and we need to play tough and physical too.