Indiana vs. Morehead State: Mike Woodson postgame press conference highlights

Indiana men’s basketball head coach Mike Woodson addressed the media following the Hoosiers’ 88-53 win over Morehead State.

Here’s what he had to say:

Q: On Jalen Hood-Schifino and Xavier Johnson

Woodson: “Again, a lot was that was because X got in foul trouble. In the St. Francis and Marion game, X was carrying the blunt of the second unit. I kind of want X in with the second unit because he’s been around a lot longer than Fino. I think he can run our ball club, so the fact that he got in foul trouble early, you know, it gave Fino a chance to play more minutes with the second unit, which he can play with any unit. Both of them can. So I have no problems there. I mean, I feel comfortable now because through the four and a half, five month stretch we’ve given Tamar Bates and Galloway an opportunity to handle the ball a lot. So you can even play them two together. I feel good about our perimeter play and who plays what — any position really.”

Q: On shooting threes

Woodson: “Make no mistake about it, our strength — and this is no knock against them — we were a bigger team. Our strength is playing inside out. I mean, it’s no secret. I’m not trying to hide that. And they doubled some and we were able to get the ball out to some of our guys to make shots, and Miller made a couple in transition, which we were capable of doing that as well. So, I mean, I thought it was a solid game. You put up 88 points, I just don’t like the fact that we’re missing free throws. That’s really bothering me as a coach.”

Q: On Indiana’s defense

Woodson: “ Well, you hold them to 24 points the second half, I say defensively we did a solid job. I thought our switching, we got burned a couple times, but for the most part I thought our switching was on par. And we rebounded the ball a little bit better. We got to get better in that area, too, man, because this was a close game. I don’t know what the rebounding was, but it was fairly close. I know they were up I think one at halftime, so we got to get better. Come out with — I got to get our guards helping our bigs rebound.”

Q: On Malik Reneau

Woodson: “He’s been solid ever since he put on the uniform. It’s kind of nice to see, man. I told you, the freshman, him and Jalen, they don’t play like freshmen. They act like they belong. Kaleb came in who hadn’t played really much, came in and was solid when he got if the game. CJ has been solid through the Marion and St. Francis run. So I got a lot of pieces. I just got to figure it out as we go along from a coaching standpoint based on who is playing and how they’re playing.”

Q: On Indiana’s depth

Woodson: “Well, we are deeper this season than we were last season. Again, everybody was new last year. I was new. Those guys last season were trying to figure me out, and the guys that came back kind of know who I am now. Now it’s just getting the four freshmen up to speed. Again, I like everything about our freshmen because they are competitive. They compete. They like to compete. We’re longer. More athletic than we were last season. That helps in the college game, I think.”