Indiana University Athletics
Indiana vs. Indianapolis: Postgame Quotes
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2006
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Indiana Head Coach Kelvin Sampson
Opening statement:
"I think you saw tonight how important the point of attack is. Earl
has been battling a 102 degree temperature all week, he just didn't
have a lot of energy tonight, and you could tell that. Look at the
difference in our team with Earl at the point of attack defensively on
Sunday versus tonight. I just thought we started off the game flat,
and that was disappointing. In between, there were a lot of good
things I saw. When you have a group like this and we're still trying
to figure things out, you are going to have some head scratching
possessions occasionally. I thought once we started running and
pushing the pace, and just getting the ball out and going, that is when
Armon (Bassett) is at his best. Armon is a playmaker, he can pass, he
didn't shoot the ball well tonight, but he had 10 assists and two
turnovers. That's kind of what he does best. D.J. (White) has just
got to get comfortable. You can tell he is not comfortable. That is
why I played him extended minutes tonight. He just has to get back in
the groove and get his timing back, and get his rhythm and get his
confidence going."
On what to take from the exhibitions games:
"One of the things you noticed tonight is that Lance probably fits into
the starting line up a little better. When Ben (Allen) and D.J.
(White) are on the floor at the same time, they guard the same
position. One of them was guarding a 6'4" guy and those are hard match
ups. I remember playing these exhibition games at Oklahoma, and we
would go out there against some 6'5" guys that play on the perimeter,
and those are tough match ups. Ben and D.J. defend better when they
are guarding 6'9" guys instead of 6'4" three point shooters. That team
came in here ready to play. Coach Sturgeon had their team ready to
play tonight. I thought we played in spurts tonight. There was a spurt
in the second half defensively that I thought we were outstanding. But
it's about getting your best defensive team on the floor. When you are
rotating guys, and you are playing a lot of different lineups, you are
just trying to figure things out. I'm not going to be experimenting
Monday. I'm going to play guys that are going to help us win. Lance
(Stemler) has a high basketball IQ. He really understands. When Lance
is in the game our stuff really flows. But Ben (Allen) is not a 4 man,
he's a five. He's 6'11" 260 pounds. D.J. defensively is a five.
Neither one of those guys guard out on the floor very well, but they
both guard the post pretty good. That is what we are learning. It
would be nice if I could bring Lance off the bench. When he's in the
game, we have a guy who can make a shot or make a pass, just like Armon
(Bassett). Armon may not be as good defensively as Rod (Wilmont) or
A.J. (Ratliff). Armon has more things he can do to help us on offense.
He can pass, he can push it up the court, and he's a good shooter.
Somewhere between the other night and tonight, he's capable of being a
40 percent point shooter. You try to figure out who can play well
together. That is what you get out of exhibition games. I thought I
got a lot out of the exhibition games, and I think our team did too.
You are not looking at exhibition games as a big picture, because if
you do, what are you looking for? You are looking for little scenerios
within the big picture. Like look at Lance playing with D.J. Lance is
probably better playing with D.J. then Ben is because of the way they
play defensively. That team had five guards out there. Who were Ben
and D.J. going to guard. Then if you put Lance in there, it looks kind
of normal. He can defend a perimeter or post guys. I saw enough good
things that I hope we have two really good days of preparation and get
ready to play Lafayette on Monday."
On being unhappy with the defensive performance:
"I probably am never happy with it. You know the toughest thing for
freshman to do is defend the screen. We worked really hard this week,
and we looked good tonight against out of bounds plays. The best
screener that I have ever seen is John Stockton. On our team it's
Errek Suhr, he is a great screener. So we worked with Eric screening
D.J. (White) a lot this week on out of bounds plays, and he got
better. We actually got a five count and almost had two more. We had
another chance at another five count, and Armon (Bassett) runs right
into the middle of the screen. That's a freshman, he will get better
at that as he goes."
On playing in the preseason NIT:
"We are excited about going to play in Indianapolis. When the NCAA
bought the NIT, they went to this regional system, like they do in the
tournament. Instead of having the game at certain campuses, everything
is regional this year. I think that is good. One year when we played
in the Preseason NIT, we hosted the first game, then had to turn around
and go on the road for the second game. You'd like to host them, but
you have to be fair. It's good when you can have this tournament at a
regional site. It's good for the fans too."
Indiana Player Quotes
Junior forward D.J. White
On how he feels after two exhibition games:
"I feel good just like coach said, there are areas I need to work on.
I'm just going to continue to come to practice every day and try and
get my confidence level back. On the offensive end, it's about
realizing when to shoot the ball and when the double team is coming."
Senior guard Errek Suhr
On the start of the season in the Dick's Sporting Goods Season Tip-off NIT:
"I think that its been a long summer, and a lot different with getting
used to a new program and a new coach. We are really excited about
getting better, and this team has a lot of work to do because you can
still tell we are learning how to play hard. That's something that
Coach Sampson has done a great job with, getting us to be a team that's
ready to go out there. That's what we are excited about. We are excited
to win games and get going, do what we have been working on and show
what I think will be a tough team."
Senior guard Rod Wilmont
On the teams play:
"Just as Coach said, we have to get better in every game. We cannot
take any steps back and we have to play better, play through things. We
need to continue to work hard in practice."
On what the team can achieve with more practice: "We have to get better with loose balls because if we don't we are going run the shuttle. We don't want to have to do that. If you see the ball on the floor, everybody has to go after it. We call it a 50-50 ball, and we have to get everyone of them."
