Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Men's Basketball Practice Report, Jan. 13
1/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 9/8 (AP/Coaches) Indiana men's basketball team held an open practice on Friday, Jan. 13, in preparation for its third straight game against a ranked opponent. IU will host No. 7/6 Illinois on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN and can also be heard on the IU Radio Network. Below are quotes following practice.
Head Coach Mike Davis
On the Michigan State game:
MD: "We did a poor job defensively in the second half. We did a poor job defensively in the first half too, but they just missed some shots. It was going to be tough for us to win that game without Lewis (Monroe) and D.J. (White) in the lineup, but we still had a chance. We needed to play a lot better than we played. There were 10 possessions where we had the shot clock down under 10 seconds left and had a chance to make stops, and they were the ones that made the plays. They did a good job of keeping our defense rotating, and we did a poor job at some very simple things. I think some of that was from fatigue, and I think we were spent five minutes into the second half."
On playing Illinois next:
MD: "We will be at home this time, and we will have Lewis back. I thought that Earl did a great job stepping in for his first start. To have Lewis back and a chance to play Ben (Allen) a little more will be good. You have to take care of your home court because it is tough to win on the road. Dee Brown will try to step up and carry his team because he has done it before when they played Michigan State. We are going to have to play him hard and force him to make plays."
Junior Guard Earl Calloway
On playing against Dee Brown and his quickness:
EC: "I just need to focus on bumping up my game another level and be as quick as I can be. I just need to give him a little room, but not too much because he is also a good shooter. Keep a hand up and stay back enough that I can react when he drives to the basket."
On what he can build on from the Michigan State game:
EC: "I need to do a better job of running the team. Defensively, I need to rotate a little quicker and just get a better feel for the all around game. We always focus on defense first and offense second, so that is what comes naturally to me. I just have to come out mentally prepared and physically prepared for what Illinois brings to the table."
Senior Guard Marshall Strickland
On the team goals for the Illinois game:
MS: "We set different goals for every game. Every day we write down our defensive goal, to keep them under a certain amount of points. That's our goal every game with a different number for every game. We go out with our mindset and play to our scouting reports to stop or slow down different players."
On the importance of playing at home:
MS: "It's huge especially this year when the league is so competitive. Teams come in here and really take it to you and try to beat you. If you can take care of business at home, you can go on the road and have some fun and try to beat some really good teams."
On the Dee Brown and Earl Calloway matching up:
MS: "There's no telling what's going to happen, but it is going to be fun to watch. The thing about Dee is that he is quick, but he is a change of speed type of player, going from slow to fast. Earl is fast all the time. I think it is going to be interesting to watch."
