Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Men's Basketball Practice Report, Jan. 19
1/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2006
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 13/11 (AP/Coaches) Indiana men's basketball team held an open practice on Thursday, Jan. 19, in preparation for its in-state showdown with rival Purdue and a half point in the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup. IU will host the Boilermakers on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2:35 p.m. in Bloomington. The game will be televised on ESPN-Plus and can also be heard on the IU Radio Network. Below are quotes following practice.
Senior forward Marco Killingsworth
On the Purdue rivalry:
MK: "I've played in big rivalry games before. You have to throw the records out. In those games, people play for respect. We have guys on our team from Indiana and it's a big game for them because a win brings respect."
Sophomore guard A.J. Ratliff
On his game:
AR: "I think I need to let my offense come to me. I need to get a few easy baskets or layups before I start shooting the three. I need to keep my defense up and let my offense follow."
On the Purdue rivalry:
AR: "It's going to be strange not seeing Coach (Gene) Keady down there. There may not be as much hollering down on the sidelines without him, but their defense is still going to be tough. Purdue bumps up its intensity for this game regardless of who is on the sidelines. It's not just another game. It's a Purdue-Indiana game. I think Coach Painter is going to get them ready and fired up for this game just like Gene Keady did."
"In high school, I came to both the IU-Purdue games that were here (at Assembly Hall). I remember Rod (Wilmont) hitting those two big shots at the end. That's what really set it off for me wanting to come here. It's incredible how the fans get up for the game. It's a great atmosphere."
Head coach Mike Davis
On Purdue:
MD: "They are going to do the same thing Illinois did and try to catch us off guard. Defensively, we need to come out and pay a lot of attention."
On the rebounding factor in the Illinois game:
MD: "We made a conscience effort to not expect your teammate to get it and go after each ball. We did that on Tuesday night in East Lansing. Marco (Killingsworth) had 12 rebounds against Illinois. Vaden had six, and if you put just those together that equals what we had against Michigan State. Everyone made a conscience effort to go for the basketball."
On the challenges of mixing up the lineups:
MD: "We have to play with what we have. We definitely want all of our guys to play, and we need them to play. The numbers are short now. We are deep. We can move guys around and play Ben (Allen) and (Sean) Kline."
On Roderick Wilmont:
MD: "He's playing hard, rebounding the ball and taking good shots. When we take a bad shot now, it really stands out. Lately, Rod has been taking better shots. He's playing with a lot of energy, and he is a good basketball player. His teammates have helped him a lot with shot selection. We are sharing the basketball more than in the past and taking good shots is contagious. Now, we have an inside player with Marco. Marco is creating open opportunities for his teammates so we don't have to settle for bad shots and can play off Marco."
