Indiana University Athletics
Davis Teleconference (12/2)
12/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
December 3, 2004
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Head Coach Mike Davis and freshman forward D.J. White took questions from the media on Dec. 2.HEAD COACH Mike Davis
On overall assessment of the team's season so far:
"I just think, right now, we are so young. It is hard to have anything concrete with this team. We are starting two freshmen and a sophomore. I thought the first two games we played well defensively. Against North Carolina, it was the same thing. Our effort and intensity was good, but it has been hard to execute offensively. We are just trying to get better day by day."
On whether the offensive problems are shots not falling or not taking good shots:
"It is a combination of both the ball not going in and also not setting screens to get good shots. We are young and have a tendency to sit around and wait for things to happen. We need to screen and come off screens ready to shoot. We need to do a combination of things that we are not doing. We are just standing around, watching, and hoping someone will hit a shot."
On his biggest concern in facing Connecticut:
"They are so physical. They had 57 rebounds and 19 blocked shots the other night. That was pretty impressive."
On the physicality of Connecticut's frontline:
"Four of those guys are big time players. They have four or five guys they can throw at you. It is going to be a challenge."
On Indiana's difficult non-conference schedule:
"It has been that way every year for us. Sometimes, with a lack of name recognition, people don't think we have had a tough schedule. My first year as interim coach, we had the fifth-toughest schedule in the country. My second year, it was the toughest. Last year, we played at Vanderbilt right before playing Xavier. Then, we played Wake Forest, Missouri, Notre Dame, Butler and then played Kentucky. We had to focus intensely on all of those games. Only one guy that started that year had averaged over six points a game. Being so young this year, we don't have time to grow up. It is jump in the fire and play hard."
On Bracey Wright
"He didn't have the help or supporting cast to really play well last year. This year, we have some guys with talent. Offensively, he can shoot the ball with anyone in the country. UConn has some guys that can shoot the ball well. Bracey is also a guy that can really shoot the ball well."
On how the team is doing physically:
"We are fine. We had some guys that had to play a lot of minutes last night. We are just a bit sore."
On why Errek Suhr did not play against North Carolina:
"It was my decision. I just didn't think the match-ups were really good last night for him to play."
FRESHMAN FORWARD D.J. White
On Connecticut's frontline:
"It's going to be a big test for us. I am looking forward to the match-up and seeing what we can do against them. If we just go in, play strong on the inside and keep them off the glass, we will be fine."
On guarding North Carolina's Sean May:
"It was a big test for me last night to guard Sean May. It helped me a lot going into this game Saturday."
On the difficult non-conference schedule:
"We have a tough schedule. We just have to take it game-by-game and prepare for each team. All we can do is just play hard."
On whether it is tough playing at Indiana:
"We have a lot of pressure on us as we try to rebuild. It is a matter of us focusing and getting the job done."
On the biggest difference between high school and college basketball:
"The speed of the game is a lot different than high school. Coach has been getting on me to keep pace with the college game. That has been the biggest difference for me."
Players Mentioned
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