2012-2013 Season

Video & Quotes: John Beilein discusses win over Purdue

John Beilein met with media during his post-game press conference after Michigan’s 80-75 win over Purdue in West Lafayette. You can watch using the embedded media player below or read selected notes and quotes after the jump.


Opening statement: “I think I said to our press last week that one of the keys to winning on the road is at least get off to a good start. I thought we really played well in the first half. We missed a ton of really easy shots, that is all just part of the game, I guess. Still, being down four, I thought we played a really good first half. Did not expect what we saw in the first five to ten minutes of the second half. Matt (Painter) did a coverage on our ball screen that blew us apart for a little bit. Once we regrouped, we became much better at what we had to do. Really, I applaud my coaching staff and my team for staying united and helping everybody get through that. We had some guys come up big today. Really big.”

  • On Trey Burke in the second half: “As the game went on and it got down to crunch time, he was excellent. They did a really good job of keeping him from getting the ball in the start of that second half, and that threw us for a loop and we had to get used to that, as well. Once we made some adjustments we were much better at scoring.”
  • On Nik Stauskas: “We had to do that to give Trey a rest — Tim’s in foul trouble — give Trey a rest, so we played through him a little bit more. There were some things they shut right down for us and we had to go to a completely different package than what we had planned in the second half. So we decided to play more through Nik and they responded.”
  • On the Big Ten season coming down to the final game: “There’s seven really good teams in this conference, and then you go right behind those teams and Iowa and Purdue and the others are right there. … whoever plays best over this last weekend is going to have the championship.”
  • On whether he thought Michigan would be in this position after losing to Penn State: “It was very much like when we lost to these guys last year. That taught us so much. You can be down, but there’s still an opportunity. … And now, with one more game, we’re in that position.”
  • On Trey Burke running the show: “He’s running the show for us. He’s taking care of it. So as a result, nothing surprises me. Here’s what I know every day: He’s going to play hard, and he’s going to play as smart as he can.”
  • On his message to the team going into the final weekend: “A lot of people have worked hard all year. Just thinking, somebody’s going to win this thing. Why can’t it be us? Nobody’s worked harder than us. Everybody’s worked hard, so why can’t it be us? Let’s just go for it.”
  • Is Trey Burke the best player in college basketball? “I say this to everybody who asks me. I really don’t watch a lot of college basketball that’s not Big Ten basketball, and it’s not like I watch video I can slow down and watch. … There’s a lot of people who have watched him play who have seen the other guys and believe he is. And they’re very smart people. I know I’m so fortunate to be able to coach him — not just the points, not just the assists, but his attitude and his demeanor and his poise is something to rarely have.”

Video by Dustin Johnston, transcribed by Joe Stapleton.

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