Indiana University Athletics
Mike Davis Teleconference Transcript
12/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2005
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head men's basketball coach Mike Davis sat down for a teleconference prior to the Hoosiers' rivalry affair with Kentucky. Both teams enter the Saturday, Dec. 10, contest ranked in the top 20. The No. 16/18 (coaches/AP) Hoosiers are 4-2 on the season, while the No. 15/15 Wildcats are 6-2. The game is slated for 3:45 p.m. at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Here is the complete transcript from the teleconference.
On what Indiana needs to do differently against Kentucky compared to the Indiana State Game:
MD: "We didn't play with a lot of intensity. We played like we thought we could win the game at any time. We watched the film as a team Wednesday, and it was just that. It was not the passion and energy we need to win games like that. We had our chances. We got the ball inside and probably took more contested shots than we have taken this year. We had plenty of opportunities. Then, down the stretch of the game, we just didn't execute score and clock. There were 27 seconds left when we had the ball. We came down, shot a three and didn't really need a three. We got the rebound back and panicked like there were two seconds on the clock and there was 12 seconds. We didn't keep our poise. It all led back to the intensity of the game."
On being surprised with the lack of intensity:
MD: "It surprised me, but we have a lot of guys that can play. When you start playing a lot of guys, some guys, I wouldn't say are selfish because we don't have a selfish team, focus on themselves instead of the team. This is the toughest time to be a really good team when you have a lot of good players. We just have to continue to create an atmosphere where they enjoy pulling for each other and everyone is on the same page."
On Kentucky's inside game and on Joe Crawford being back:
MD: "(Joe) Crawford is an excellent outside shooter and an excellent player. He was one of the best players in the country coming out of high school. With him, (Ramel) Bradley, (Patrick) Sparks, (Ravi) Moss and (Rajon) Rando, they have really good guards. I think their guards are probably the strength of their team. Their inside guys, like (Rekalin) Sims, can make plays. Sims can really shoot the basketball. It is going to be a tough game. They have had some moments where they haven't played with the intensity that Coach Smith wants them to play with. They are a very good basketball team. You don't come in ranked No. 15 in the nation by just being an average basketball team. They are very good. It is going to be a game where we have to play our best in order to win."
On the difference Randolph Morris makes for Kentucky:
MD: "Anytime you have an inside presence like him, he is just a big time physical specimen. Being a sophomore, I know how much D.J. White has improved from his freshman year to his sophomore year, and Morris would definitely make them a top five team."
On Ben Allen getting big minutes:
MD: "He played over 23 minutes the last couple of games. Those are good minutes for a freshman. We will have to play it according to how he plays it as far as fouls go. He has really cleaned that up. If he cannot foul and keep himself on the floor, I think over 20 minutes is pretty good for a freshman the last two games. He has been really good for us. He has made some shots. Now we just have to get Marco (Killingsworth) going inside. We go as Marco goes. We haven't had the type of scoring from him the last couple of games that we have needed to create more opportunities for our out shooters."
On playing Marco and Ben more in the same lineup:
MD: "We used them some the other night. It is all a matter of who is tired and who is fouling. We couldn't use (Sean) Kline at all the other night because he was hurt. Ben is playing great. He is playing the way I envisioned him playing. We just have to get Marco rolling again. Teams are double and triple teaming team. Some nights he isn't going to be able to score 20 points, but when he gets his opportunities, he needs to take advantage of them because we go as he goes."
On how important Marco Killingsworth is to IU:
MD: "He is important because he can really take control of the game. He can force teams to play him with two or three guys. That is when he has to kick the ball out quicker than what he has been doing, so our guys can get open shots. We went back to the film; some times they had five guys in the paint surrounding him. That is how they were able to block his shot. A lot of times it wasn't the guys guarding him that blocked his shot, it was the guy coming from behind and inside. He is a very good basketball player. We need him to carry us from an inside presence standpoint and kick the ball out to our open guards. We are a very good shooting team when we shoot uncontested shots."
On Marco Killingsworth handling seven-foot players inside:
MD: "I don't think anyone can guard him one-on-one. He is pretty good one-on-one. I think you have to bring somebody to try and contain him. Shelden Williams is the best defensive player in the country at that position. To play him one-on-one no matter how big you are is definitely in his favor."
On substituting Errek Suhr for Ben Allen with 1:45 remaining in the Indiana State game:
MD: "It was a defensive sub. We needed to make a stop and (Tyson Schnitker) was really hurting us. With 40 seconds left, we cut it to one. Everything is right where we want it. What you wanted to do in that situation is play the percentages and go down and make a stop. You are still going to have seven to eight seconds left to make a play. Unfortunately, we missed a defensive assignment and gave up a layup. They missed the free throw and there were 28 seconds left, we didn't get a timeout. We got possession of the basketball and I wanted to push the ball up the floor and get a time out. Earl (Calloway) thought he had something. Errek Suhr has been making shots. He took a good one and the guy did a great job of contesting it and blocking it. Then once we got it back, Marco took another three. I was trying to get a timeout, but that was the one we needed to get a timeout on so we could have gone a different way. We wanted to go for the stop because they had really been hurting us driving and kicking."
On the gap between the majors and mid-majors narrowing:
MD: "I think this is going to be last year that it is close like that. The next couple of years, you will have so many big time players coming in. You will have guys that won't go to the pros because they can't go pro for that year. You are talking about some major impact players. When you can practice with all your team from start to end. There are some teams who are use to their systems that will be way ahead of everyone that normally at this time would not be that far along. It is definitely going to be that way this year. You look around the country, San Francisco beat Texas Tech, and Northwestern State beat Oklahoma State. Anybody can beat you. I don't see a team that is so talented that you can say they are going to win every game. That is why it is important to come out and play with intensity. We didn't do that against Indiana State. We came out like we could turn it on when we wanted to. We were up 11 points and gave up three or four uncontested shots then we forced some shots. We kind of fell apart. We can't play like that. We have to play with the same intensity and effort that we played in during the previous games we have had."
On feeling like getting the monkey off his back by possibly beating Kentucky:
MD: "We are not going to base our season on whether we beat Kentucky or not if our season is completed. We just try to get better every game. We have definitely picked up on some things that we need to improve on over our last game and last week. We are not based on getting it off our back because we want to play for a championship. That is our goal, and we just want to get better every game."
On people harping on the fact that he hasn't beaten Kentucky:
MD: "People harp on a lot of things. It is where you are in March and that is what we are trying to focus on. We are not even thinking about it. There are a lot of teams that haven't beaten teams. You don't base your season on it unless it is the last game of your season."
On the drop off in intensity being a result of guys reading their press clippings:
MD: "You hope not, but this is the first time a lot of these guys have ever enjoyed this type of notoriety. We came out and there wasn't the energy that we had played with in the previous games. There hadn't been a game yet that whether it was good or bad that you didn't walk out and say Indiana played hard. It is an exciting time for them. We just have to stay on top of them that they have to play every game with the same passion and intensity."
On the team coming back down to earth:
MD: "We are not going to let Tuesday's game effect Saturday's game. That is the most important thing. We took Wednesday off because we watched film. We have to bring energy. You can tell a lot about your team from how they react to things that are going on the floor form a team standpoint."
On Marco Killingsworth facing adversity and him responding to it:
MD: "Marco didn't have a great game against Eastern Michigan. They did some things to try and take things away from him and so did Indiana State. Duke just took away our threes. When other teams have tried to take away Marco, we have gotten 14 or 16 open three-point makes. That is the way we have to play. It isn't important that he scores 25 points. It is important that when he gets his opportunity one-on-one, he converts them. He also has to understand that we have open guys on the perimeter spaced out ready to shoot the basketball and we have to get it to them."
On what has caused some of the turnovers:
MD: "Our turnovers are unforced turnovers. We are dribbling the ball too fast and throwing to people who are not looking at you. We have talked about our turnovers from day one about how they are unforced. You don't want turnovers, but you also don't want casual play. We had 22 the other night against a team that doesn't even pressure. It is just something that we have to clean up and correct. Marco had seven and both our point guards had four apiece. It is hard to overcome that and still we were in a position to win the game despite the turnovers. We just can't play that way. We have addressed it in practice and in meetings. We just have to take care of the basketball."
On the key to getting assist numbers up:
MD: "Making the open passes, our assist numbers were way up when we were throwing the ball out and making the extra pass. A lot of times when you have successful, guys have a tendency to forget why you are successful. We looked at the film and showed how their teammates are open. It didn't matter who made the points in the first couple of games and that is something we need to get back to. I think we will do that."
On the players still feeling each other out:
MD: "We are definitely in that process because of all the new guys. We know what our game plan is and what our system is. That is why you have to play according to that. Everyone is playing us different. The first couple of games, they doubled Marco and we hit threes. Then we played Duke and they took away our threes and let Marco do his thing. The last couple of games, they have really taken Marco out of the game with zones and double teams out of the zone. When they did play man, they triple teamed him and that is when he has to get it out quick. We are new to each other, but they should understand the system and play what the defense is giving you instead of what you think you can do. "
On how IU will respond with what they learned in the first five minutes against Duke going into Kentucky:
MD: "We just have to play basketball. We have seniors on this team and practice every day. I know it is an adjustment sometimes to get us to certain crowds or certain places. The crowd is not going to score for you. They can give you energy, but if you are on the road playing against a crowd, you really should cheer for your teammates then. We just have to play. There is no panic setting in. We just have to play basketball. There isn't any panic if there is no panic within us and we are not panicking."
On whether it will be reassuring for Marco Killingsworth playing against Kentucky, a team he has played against before:
MD: "The thing that Marco has to do and we have to do as a team is no matter who we play against, we have to watch the film and know the game plan. We don't know if Kentucky is going to man us, double us or zone us. We have a system in place where if they do those things then we can take advantage of it. We don't want them to think a whole lot. We want them to play with a lot of intensity and play as a team."
