University of Minnesota Athletics
B1G Press Conference Quotes: Head Coach John Anderson
5/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 24, 2016 
Minnesota Head Coach John Anderson
Opening statement…
"You have a group of coaches, outstanding leaders and outstanding teams here, so it is going to be a very competitive Big Ten Tournament. I'm the old man in the conference, but it's been fun. I enjoyed to watch the growth of our conference, in terms of the quality of play, the facilities, the great coaches we have today. Every weekend is a battle. There are no easy weekends and it's a real tribute to the conference and the leadership of the conference, the athletic directors, our conference commissioner Jim Delaney and his staff on the emphasis we've made here to improve Big Ten baseball. It's been fun to be a part of its growth and the competitiveness in the league. It's going to continue to grow, in my opinion, and get better and it's been fun to compete with so many great programs in our conference."
On 2016 season…
"Last year, obviously, was a big disappointment for our program. I think the players that returned immediately after the season was over with the Big Ten Tournament we had over at Target Field, being absent did not sit very well with the players themselves. I think the minute the season was over, they decided they were going to try and find a different way. I tried to help them with the template and give them some direction for things that needed to change and they've bought in. Honestly, the players themselves, the seniors in our program, really led our turnaround from last to this year. We're a year older and when you're a year older, you have more experience. I think the players have taken the information they had in front of them and learned from the prior years playing Division I baseball and tried to apply it and improve their skill level. I think we're better at almost every position that we were a year ago. It also starts with you gotta have some talent, but more importantly, I think we've gotten the most out of that talent because of the culture the guys have put together and the emphasis they made on really trying to set a standard [at Minnesota] and the expectation they had for every player in our program and hold them accountable. I think we've gotten a lot out of this team."
On facing Iowa…
"We opened the [Big Ten] season with Iowa back in Minneapolis. It seems like an eternity ago. It's hard to remember what all happened back then, but I know this, Rick [Heller's] team was in the NCAA Tournament last year. He lost some talented players, but he's done an outstanding job in getting his team back [to the Big Ten Tournament]. I don't think there's a big difference between the first team and the eighth team. This tournament is one pitch, one play, one call. We know [the Hawkeyes] will be well coached. They play the game at an extremely high level, so I'm just going to try to focus more on our team and what we need to do to try and play a competitive baseball game. We know we're going to be challenged by Iowa. We're going to have to play nine innings and hopefully we can come out on top. It's going to be a competitive game and we are looking forward to the challenge."
On offensive outburst…
"I think the players have done a great job in re-authoring swings and learn how to hit. I think the hitters today have made the adjustment. There's more offense in our game today because the players have improved their fundamentals and their technique. There's been more growth in the development of our hitters. I think the players have done a good job of developing better swings."
On playing in Omaha…
"[Omaha] is a college baseball area and community. They're used to coming out and watching good baseball and supporting teams in the College World Series that aren't from the area. It's a community that is used to hosting and supporting college baseball. They have an unbelievable venue here. I think, more importantly, you have a community here that understands the game and like to watch good college baseball."
Opening statement…
"You have a group of coaches, outstanding leaders and outstanding teams here, so it is going to be a very competitive Big Ten Tournament. I'm the old man in the conference, but it's been fun. I enjoyed to watch the growth of our conference, in terms of the quality of play, the facilities, the great coaches we have today. Every weekend is a battle. There are no easy weekends and it's a real tribute to the conference and the leadership of the conference, the athletic directors, our conference commissioner Jim Delaney and his staff on the emphasis we've made here to improve Big Ten baseball. It's been fun to be a part of its growth and the competitiveness in the league. It's going to continue to grow, in my opinion, and get better and it's been fun to compete with so many great programs in our conference."
On 2016 season…
"Last year, obviously, was a big disappointment for our program. I think the players that returned immediately after the season was over with the Big Ten Tournament we had over at Target Field, being absent did not sit very well with the players themselves. I think the minute the season was over, they decided they were going to try and find a different way. I tried to help them with the template and give them some direction for things that needed to change and they've bought in. Honestly, the players themselves, the seniors in our program, really led our turnaround from last to this year. We're a year older and when you're a year older, you have more experience. I think the players have taken the information they had in front of them and learned from the prior years playing Division I baseball and tried to apply it and improve their skill level. I think we're better at almost every position that we were a year ago. It also starts with you gotta have some talent, but more importantly, I think we've gotten the most out of that talent because of the culture the guys have put together and the emphasis they made on really trying to set a standard [at Minnesota] and the expectation they had for every player in our program and hold them accountable. I think we've gotten a lot out of this team."
On facing Iowa…
"We opened the [Big Ten] season with Iowa back in Minneapolis. It seems like an eternity ago. It's hard to remember what all happened back then, but I know this, Rick [Heller's] team was in the NCAA Tournament last year. He lost some talented players, but he's done an outstanding job in getting his team back [to the Big Ten Tournament]. I don't think there's a big difference between the first team and the eighth team. This tournament is one pitch, one play, one call. We know [the Hawkeyes] will be well coached. They play the game at an extremely high level, so I'm just going to try to focus more on our team and what we need to do to try and play a competitive baseball game. We know we're going to be challenged by Iowa. We're going to have to play nine innings and hopefully we can come out on top. It's going to be a competitive game and we are looking forward to the challenge."
On offensive outburst…
"I think the players have done a great job in re-authoring swings and learn how to hit. I think the hitters today have made the adjustment. There's more offense in our game today because the players have improved their fundamentals and their technique. There's been more growth in the development of our hitters. I think the players have done a good job of developing better swings."
On playing in Omaha…
"[Omaha] is a college baseball area and community. They're used to coming out and watching good baseball and supporting teams in the College World Series that aren't from the area. It's a community that is used to hosting and supporting college baseball. They have an unbelievable venue here. I think, more importantly, you have a community here that understands the game and like to watch good college baseball."
Highlights: Gophers 6, Omaha 4
Sunday, March 08
Highlights: Gophers 3, SDSU 2
Saturday, March 07
Highlights: Gophers 10, UNLV 0
Friday, March 06
Highlights: Gophers 6, Milwaukee 2
Wednesday, March 04