Defend the Block 408 - Oregon State Recap Transcript
10/16/2026 11:39:00 PM | MGoBlue Podcasts
Brian Boesch • 00:00
Yes, exhibitions should always come with disclaimers. And of course we and others have belabored the point about Cincinnati one hundred Michigan ninety eight from last season well, Michigan scored ninety eight in another exhibition on Friday night, and this might be a more subtle example of why exhibition should be taken with all of the grains of salt. But two of the brightest defensive minds in college basketball presided over a ninety eight to ninety three game where both teams shot better than fifty percent. Michigan's defense, like Oregon State's defense, is not where it needs to be at this point. That's okay. It's mid October. Where this will go, how it will develop, how this will help put the puzzle together a long time between now and then to figure all that out. I do think from the Michigan standpoint, a few things you can glean and that's number one Michigan's top four options are pretty darn good.
Brian Boesch • 00:54
Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney battled foul trouble in the first half. J.P. Estrella and Moustapha Thiam went up against big men and certainly legitimate size, several seven foot or thereabout players on the Beavers side of things. Yet Elliot Cadeau had twenty seven points which would have been eight points better than his career high, which he hit four times in the past, most recently on a Monday night in April. Trey McKenney had a little bit of an ankle issue down the stretch. He scored eighteen did foul out, but he was another bucket for Michigan. Moustapha Thiam with a double double throw in five assists and J.P. Estrella continues his way in a really smooth, easy fashion. Nine point seven rebounds. He's got a chance to be a really, really good player this season as well. Beyond that, it's going to be an interesting journey with no Roddy Gayle junior With Oscar Goodman still banged up with some of the natural inconsistencies of young players or players who have not played at this level before.
Brian Boesch • 01:56
Against Eastern Michigan it was Quinn Costello and Joseph Hartman who really shined and Costello played well again but wasn't as much of a focus because Oregon State did try to shade a little bit more toward him. It was Kenny Nolandd who didn't play all that well against Eastern Michigan who really stepped up. He was outstanding in the first half when both McKenney and Cadeau sat for the final eight plus minutes. We also saw a little bit more of Ricky Liburd and Jalen Reed, two young men who will be leaned upon but are battling back from injuries. It remains to be seen if indeed Michigan's top four guys and others can be what we all think they can be. And time will tell if Michigan's defense can get to the point that they will be not just a strength in the ball club, but one of the best units in college basketball like it was a season ago. But the last thing I'll say about Friday night, it was a competitive game.
Brian Boesch • 02:45
It was a down to the wire game. There was some real value from simply experiencing that against another team with a head coach that knows the program front and back. I don't know what this will mean in the grand scheme of things later on, but Michigan is a work in progress that can be a good and a mysterious thing. Let's break it down with Terry Mills, with Coach Boynton, with three players, Michigan two and O in the exhibition slate. More next on Defend the Block.
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Jeff Laurence • 03:13
We're talking Michigan basketball. Welcome to Defend the Block, where we'll take you inside the basketball programs with interviews, analysis and so much more. Now here's your host, Brian Boesch.
Brian Boesch • 03:27
We'll get into Terry's analysis, interviews from the locker room and all that. And obviously there's still plenty to discuss about this team, which we'll continue to do as we get closer and closer to the season. I wanted to take a moment to shout out Justin Joyner, who understandably got a ton of praise from Michigan, from the staff over the last couple of years. He truly was an integral part of what Michigan did in twenty five and in twenty six. It was cool to see him get a chance to receive his rings from Mike Boynton junior To get a nice round of applause from the stand. I, I think back to the Players era championship, Michigan and Gonzaga last November. And it wasn't really a Dusty May requirement. But the rest of the staff, some of the managers, grad assistants, divvied up the potential scouting assignments for that third game because of the way that tournament ran last year.
Brian Boesch • 04:20
It's different this coming November, but if you recall, it was okay record and then margin of victory or just margin if you were one and one or zero two. So there was at least ten teams realistically that Michigan could have faced in that championship game or just in that third game. But of course Michigan dominated the first couple and Justin Joyner was very clearly the choice for one and that was Gonzaga. He did great work against Gonzaga when he was at Saint Mary's and he poured a ton into that scouting report. He said to me after the game that whenever he thinks about how do we stop the best of the best in the country, he put it up against Gonzaga because at Saint Mary's for so long, not anymore. Now here in the pack twelve for Gonzaga and for Oregon State, you think about Gonzaga. You try to match Mark Few and surpass him. And the only team that can consistently hang with and beat Gonzaga over the last decade plus in that league, the West Coast Conference, was Saint Mary's So really neat to see what he's been able to do so far with Oregon State.
Brian Boesch • 05:31
I think he's built a roster that will compete in that Pac twelve. Obviously Gonzaga can and should be the favorite, but he is an impressive mind. The way he distilled that scouting report like so many others last season and the season before. Impressive to watch. It'll be fun to follow the Beavers and it's great that Coach Joiner gets a chance to take some hardware back with him to Corvallis. So wishing him and the Beavers all the very best. Let's talk about the matchup with Oregon State. We turn things over to Rob Joyce. He has Terry Mills for their post game thoughts.
Rob Joyce • 06:02
Terry, you know people ask why suddenly this new era we playing all these exhibitions. Well, you know, as valuable as practices, you're not valuable as practices, you're not getting that intensity, that challenge in practice that Michigan got tonight.
Terry Mills • 06:16
No, you're not. And I think that Kenny Noland said it best that these were great reps and they got real competitive coming down the stretch. So good to see that Michigan come out victorious on his end. You've seen that leadership from EC coming down the stretch and making it happen. Trey McKenney. And I think that's what we're going to see, you know, this season is that when the game gets tight, those guys can find a way to put their fingerprints all over this game and they did here today.
Rob Joyce • 06:42
Yeah, again, we're not going to make any sweeping conclusions. Especially you know, we've seen a lot from, from Trey and Elliot, but I mean Elliot in the first half he had one point and didn't have a field goal, had twenty six points in the second half, just the ability for him to flip that switch and kind of take over.
Terry Mills • 06:55
Yeah, well, one thing I've learned, and I hope everybody else has learned that just because he has two fouls in the first half or the first couple minutes that don't dictate what that young man is capable of doing because we've seen it time and time again and I wasn't really concerned. I love what Kenny Noland had did was stepped in there and when those guys got in file trouble. But I don't ever want to see that again. But I Tell you what, he flipped the switch. Guys got to talking a little bit, a little jawing, and I think that was right up EC's alley. Something that kind of lit his fuse.
Rob Joyce • 07:27
Another part of this exhibition that was, you know, you'll take it as a positive for Mike Boynton junior First half, Trey and Elliot played a combined seventeen minutes because they were in foul trouble. Opportunity and you know, fairly low-stakes environment. How do you play without those two? And you got to see a lot of different rotations, a lot of different guys getting it.
Terry Mills • 07:44
Yeah, well, you don't want to see that, but I mean, that does. That's a confidence builder to have those two guys set out in foul trouble. You don't want to see that during the course of the season because that could be disaster. But for other guys to kind of step up and actually go on a run, not just maintain. They went on a run and probably some of those guys helped get the biggest lead that Michigan had in this ball game. So much respect to the guys on the bench and the guys that stayed engaged and ready to go on top
Rob Joyce • 08:11
of the big two. Then you had Moustapha Thiama, double doubled, nineteen points, efficient. He was seven of eleven, had a couple of threes, ten boards, even at five assists. A complete effort from the newcomer.
Terry Mills • 08:21
Yeah, I mean, complete effort. I mean he showed the whole package, you know, with a couple behind the back passes and block shots and some dunks and put backs and I think he's. His talent is just off the charts and just can't wait to see this season get going and, you know, it's a lot to come. I mean, we still got some guys just still trying to find their way and can be very exciting and one
Rob Joyce • 08:42
more chance before the real thing happens. Should be. Tonight was awfully fun. Should be an awfully fun one Sunday in Grand Rapids against the Houston team. I mean, they're always threatening in April, let alone March.
Terry Mills • 08:51
Yes, yes, it is. And I mean, you know, Houston is going to be ready to go. They're going to be amped up and you know, you almost kind of got to look at this game as if it's going to count on your record like it did here today. These guys play winning loss matter in this ball game.
Rob Joyce • 09:06
Absolutely, Terry. Good stuff. We'll talk Sunday.
Terry Mills • 09:08
Thanks.
Brian Boesch • 09:09
Interview time. Let's catch up with the head coach,
Brian Boesch • 09:11
Mike Boynton junior I want to start just broadly from the standpoint of you can't simulate that game and what you guys got experience in down the stretch in a game in practice, right? Like getting that even though there's plenty to work on, that has to be valuable.
Mike Boynton Jr. • 09:24
Absolutely. And we try as much as we can to manufacture those situations, but there's nobody in the building. You know, there's not real nerves. There's not, you know, call go the wrong way and you got to respond to react. You know, Trey tweaks his ankle what kind of got him in and out. So it was, we got about everything we could want out of this game. Some good teaching tape to learn from in the negative aspect, some really positive things that we grew from Sunday to today, which was the goal and you know, playing against the team that we obviously have a lot of respect for.
Brian Boesch • 09:54
What sparked EC? It seemed like it was slow for him to get going and once he did, he ended up pouring in twenty seven points and was much more engaged.
Mike Boynton Jr. • 10:01
Obviously the foul trouble in the first half didn't help. I thought the two, at least one of his fouls was probably pretty tic tac y. But what he's got to do a better job of is adjusting to how the game's being called because we, we need him on the court. Obviously we made a little bit of an adjustment. Mustafa popped on almost every ball screen in the first half and then obviously his rolling and putting pressure on the rim opened up some lanes for Elliot to drive. Specifically because of the way they were guarding our shooters. They weren't leaving them. You know, Quinn got a bunch of good open looks the other day. Coach Joyner wasn't going to let him get a bunch of open looks today. So those guys playing defense off the ball the way they did open up some lanes, failing at the drive.
Brian Boesch • 10:39
So both Cadeau and Trey McKenney don't play in the final eight plus minutes because of foul trouble. I know it's not as simple as Kenny Noland, but it seemed like he really helped stabilize things. What'd you see from him throughout, but
Mike Boynton Jr. • 10:50
especially in the first half, he was tremendous. He played confidently, which is probably the most important thing. You got to go out there and play like you believe you belong. But he brought great energy, his defensive focus and ability to execute our gaps and get deflections. Contestant. And then again when he had lanes in the first half kind of like Elliot did, he took advantage and got to the rim and finished the front line.
Brian Boesch • 11:13
What you guys got a chance to see against some big men for Oregon State, they have several seven foot ish type players. Moustapha and J.P. How'd they handle all that? Especially Mustafa with a double double.
Mike Boynton Jr. • 11:23
Yeah, I thought he did a good job you know, I think he got a little bit too much to three point happy early in the game. I told him we want him shooting threes. It's going to help our defense if he's confident shooting out there and he can stretch the floor. But at the same time, he's got to find a great balance in putting pressure on the rim and getting to the offensive glass. More importantly for our team to have the most success offensively. But I thought he played again with real confidence. I thought he played with a great sense of understanding of what we were looking for. Some of those cuts that we had him being a passer in. And then I thought he did a pretty good job of trying to protect him when he was in there.
Brian Boesch • 11:57
Lastly, you have a really talented freshman class on this team. But. But maybe Malachi and his ability to find the basketball on defense might be the best individual school of any of your freshmen. And there are a lot of good ones. We saw Quinn shooting for him. How was he able to impact the game and how important was it? It was a short stint, but him getting out there with four hundred twenty ish to play in the second half,
Brian Boesch • 12:17
that has to be a huge value for him.
Mike Boynton Jr. • 12:19
Yeah, I mean, you know, teams evolve over the course of the year and obviously we're trying to search for our rotation and you know, Joe Hartman dealing with a little bit of an aggravated shoulder there, wasn't able to go. So when Trey tweaks his ankle there, you need another perimeter player in there. Specifically on the defensive end. The way they were trying to attack Quinn, you know, he's a guy who takes a lot of pride in that side of the ball and brings great value there for us.
Brian Boesch • 12:41
Coach, appreciate it.
Mike Boynton Jr. • 12:42
Thank you very much.
Brian Boesch • 12:44
We caught up with three players after the Michigan win over the Beavers. Right after the game, it was Kenny Noland stopping courtside. Kenny, let's talk about your first half. EC and Trey, pick up some fouls. You came on and you were awesome in that stretch. What was working for you?
Kenny Noland • 12:57
I mean, I feel like just trying to get everybody in the right spot and just kind of play my game a little bit. Coach B said, be myself, so that's all I'm trying to do.
Terry Mills • 13:04
Yeah, you talk about being plus fourteen. I mean, those are big time numbers to be able to perform that way with EC and them out. And I thought you did an excellent job. And what was discussed at halftime coming out, because, I mean, they hit you guys with a little flurry and you guys were able to respond.
Kenny Noland • 13:22
Yeah, I mean, I think EC Trey, both great leaders, and I think the talk was just about just kind of finishing what we did. So we had a big run. They came back on us a little bit, so kind of like trying to stay mentally locked in the whole time.
Brian Boesch • 13:33
How'd you guys find a way down the stretch? Both sides of the floor? It was a battle.
Kenny Noland • 13:37
Yeah, no doubt. I mean, definitely a lot of respect to their coach and I just think it was a. I don't know, just a team effort for. For us. And EC Obviously came down big for us in the stretch, so that was awesome.
Terry Mills • 13:48
Yeah, to me, down the stretch, it kind of didn't feel like an exhibition game. It kind of got real competitive, as if this was going to come on your record.
Kenny Noland • 13:55
Nah, no doubt it's going to be good. Good reps for it going forward for sure.
Brian Boesch • 13:59
Kenny, appreciate it, man.
Kenny Noland • 14:00
Congrats. Thank you.
Brian Boesch • 14:01
Now, let's hear from Michigan big man J.P. Estrella. You guys had to go up against
Brian Boesch • 14:05
a pretty big front line. How do you think you, Mustafa and some of the other bigs handled it?
J.P. Estrella • 14:09
I think we did pretty good. You know, we battle every day with each other in practice, so we're kind of already used to playing against size already. So, I mean, I feel like it's something that we're kind of used to and just something we took advantage of, especially because we think that we're the most athletic and just best, you know, bigs in the country.
Brian Boesch • 14:25
Offensively, when you've got Elliot Cadeau playing like he did in the second half, just how much does that help you and everybody else?
J.P. Estrella • 14:30
A ton. He just draws in so much. Whenever he drives, he just draws in so many people. That's why he gets so many of those kick out threes he gets in the paint. We get a good screen on him, gets wide open layups. I mean, he just does so much for us, so we gotta make sure that we do the same thing for him.
Brian Boesch • 14:43
Defensively. I know you guys will watch some of the film, but initial impressions of what you think maybe went wrong on some possessions and things you guys can learn from this experience.
J.P. Estrella • 14:50
Yeah, I think defensively our defensive rebound is probably something that we could have done a little better. And then fouling, I feel like those two areas are kind of like the biggest things that we kind of talked about after the game. I feel like once we get those two things cleaned up, I think, you know, honestly we did a pretty solid job around the board.
Brian Boesch • 15:04
Not all exhibitions are the same, but to get that type of an experience down the stretch, how valuable is that in what, mid October?
J.P. Estrella • 15:11
Super valuable. I mean, honestly, every game for us is super important. Just makes us get closer and closer every game, especially a game like that, I feel like it's super important to us, you know, physical team now we got another physical game coming up next. You know, we're all super excited about that. But, yeah, I mean, every game, honestly, is just another growing area for us, just continuous to get better.
Brian Boesch • 15:29
J.P., appreciate it, man.
Mike Boynton Jr. • 15:30
Congrats.
J.P. Estrella • 15:30
Thank you.
Brian Boesch • 15:31
Last but not least, here's freshman Quinn Costello.
Brian Boesch • 15:33
First off, for you, individually, we've seen that shot.
Brian Boesch • 15:36
Seemed like you had to get involved
Brian Boesch • 15:37
with maybe some areas other than just offense. How do you think you did?
Quinn Costello • 15:41
I think I did a decent job. Like, obviously, Coach Joiner, he knows who I am. The whole staff knows who I am. They watch film, I'm guessing. So they did. They did a much better job, like, kind of running me off the line, not letting me open easy ones. So, yeah, I tried to impact the game in other ways. Offensive, rebounding, cutting, screening, all that. So I think I did a solid
Brian Boesch • 16:02
job for you as a team offensively to put up almost one hundred. What was working for the collective?
Quinn Costello • 16:08
I think just playing to our strengths. Like, as I just said, they were hugging me tight, so just me staying space and giving Elliot and Trey space to operate in the middle of the floor just because they were so tight to the shooters in the corners. I think that worked a lot for us.
Brian Boesch • 16:25
When Mustafa's going like he was the presence he has, how does that help everybody else?
Quinn Costello • 16:31
I mean, just the gravity he has on offense and defense. Like, for example, on defense, like, if someone sees him in front of them, they're gonna. They're gonna. They're more. They're most likely gonna shoot a more timid shot than they were expecting. So just like that, the gravity he has and the effect he has on
Brian Boesch • 16:49
another team, again, I know you guys will study the film, but what can you glean right now, as you think about, from a defensive standpoint? Because they put up a lot of points. How can you learn from that experience?
Quinn Costello • 16:58
I think just communicating early and stopping the ball early in transition. Like, they got a lot of easy ones. They played super fast, and I don't think we did a great job of getting back and talking, matching up, stopping the ball in transition. So I think that's probably the big. And then also they had too many offensive rebounds, so we got to do better hitting and getting the ball.
Brian Boesch • 17:17
Quinn. Appreciate you, man.
Quinn Costello • 17:18
Yes sir.
Brian Boesch • 17:19
One more exhibition for the maze in blue. It's Houston up in Grand Rapids. Excited to get up there. Next Sunday, the twenty fifth for Michigan and Houston. And then it's the real deal. Oakland comes to town November second before the national championship game rematch against UConn on November sixth. Thanks to everybody who made this episode of Defend the Block possible and great to see Justin Joyner. Good luck to the Oregon State Beavers this season and beyond. All right, for everybody on the show, I'm Brian Boesch. Thanks for listening and Go Blue.
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Jeff Laurence • 17:49
Thanks for listening to today's edition of Defend the Block, part of our Michigan Athletics Podcast Network, MGO Blue Podcasts. The preceding has been a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
