Penn State Men's Basketball
Student-Athlete Postgame Press Conference
vs. Cornell - December 29, 2019
Izaiah Brockington | Guard | Sophomore
Q. What does it mean for you to go back to Philadelphia and play at The Palestra as a Nittany Lion?
A: It means the world to me. Just having so much history in that building from high school and just knowing how special that place was back then and being able to come back when I'm in college playing for my school and having everyone that I know come back and to see them in the crowd, it means the world to me. It's a really great feeling to be able to go back home and play.
Q. It seemed like there were a lot of steals and a lot of run outs tonight. What did of the way you guys were playing defensively to lead into your offense today?
A: I feel like we were really active with our hands and just trying to create discomfort, create chaos – controlled chaos – on the defensive end. Once we get the steal, I feel like we're one of the fastest teams in the Big Ten and in the country. I feel like we can turn defense to offense really quickly.
Q. What is it about the BJC that has been able to give you guys that boost to continue to play so well here?
A: The fans. The fan support has been amazing. I'm hearing that the numbers are as high as they've ever been, and we have to continue to keep that up. We really appreciate the fans giving us a boost as affecting the other team.
Q. Over break, what did you do to prepare yourself for the Big Ten season coming up?
A: Everybody went back and we were spending time with our families, but we were all made sure to get our own workouts in, get our own lifts and conditioning in. Coming back and practicing, Coach [Chambers] was adamant about, "We can't come back and start slow." He reminded us what the big picture was. We really have to execute versus this team. We have to do everything that we need to do and ultimately prepare for the Big Ten season to begin.
Q. What's the craziest thing you've seen Mike [Watkins] do physically?
A: I've seen him in summer workouts, we're out there doing track work, and he'll be near the front in sprints and everything. That's crazy enough, but then our trainers will tell us to run 400 meters all the way around the track and he'll win. He'll be that fast, because he's just so long and athletic. He's really a freak of nature.