Tuesday's Champions Classic in Indianapolis showcased some of the best young talent college basketball has to offer—No. 4 Duke and No. 1 Kentucky trotted out multiple lineups of McDonald's All-Americans, and No. 5 Kansas and No. 19 Michigan State each feature teams loaded with former top recruits.
But there was also a lot of star power on the sidelines at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Four of the game's most successful and more charismatic coaches—Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo, Bill Self and John Calipari—brought their teams to the site of this year's Final Four looking to test them against peer powerhouses, and each left with a better understanding of what work needs to be done.
Below are some of the more humorous sound-bytes from the coaches' postgame press conferences Tuesday:
Bill Self, Kansas:
As he took a sip of water after losing to Kentucky by 32 points: "I was hoping this was going to be vodka."
On the Jayhawks' dismal 19 percent shooting performance: “No matter how bad we shot it in the first half, we proved we could shoot it a hell of a lot worse in the second. Anybody that said there’s no way they’re going to shoot 24 percent, they were right—we shot 13.”
On what he needs to figure out moving forward: “My biggest concern is, 'Who are our best players right now?' I don’t know, I don’t think anybody knows."
Tom Izzo, Michigan State:
On the performance of 6-foot-6 Justise Winslow: "I thought Winslow played pretty well, [but] sometimes we had [bad] matchups on him [that could've been exploited more]. [6-foot-3 guard] Bryn Forbes….If you don’t know, that’s not a good matchup."
On what went wrong against Duke: "You’re frustrated when you have a gameplan and you get beat on the things that were numbers one, two and three on the gameplan. That bothers a coach."
John Calipari, Kentucky:
During his walk to the podium after a 32-point win: "No, we're not that good. Next question."
On the next steps for his team: "I'm giving them off the rest of today and tomorrow....and then we've got three games in five days again."
On Kentucky's offensive scheme with a roster including seven players standing 6-foot-8 or taller: "I've not been a post-up coach, I'm not someone to throw the ball into the post every time—I can't stand it. But with these guys, that's who we are."
On the future of his platoon system: "I told these guys, 'It's not communism.' If someone deserves to play more, they will play more."
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke:
When there was no moderator to call on journalists to ask questions: "Is there anybody—am I running it? I'll point to somebody then....This is my West Point background, I'm in charge right now."
On trusting his players: "I have a lot confidence in all of them, they're never hesitant to shoot...especially Quinn [Cook, seated next to Krzyzewski at the podium.]"
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