Indiana University Athletics
Talking about Wisconsin
1/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - As the Hoosiers get ready to host No. 3/3 Wisconsin on Tuesday in Assembly Hall, here are some quotes from head coach Tom Crean and Associate Head Coach Steve McClain talking about the Badgers and what the Hoosiers learned from the win at Penn State on Saturday.
Indiana head coach Tom Crean
Opening Statement:
"We feel like we really learned a lot about our team over the last week. They really learned a lot about each other and we carried it into a win the other day against a very tough, hard-nosed Penn State team. It was one of those games where both teams played extremely hard and wanted to win the game. We just came out with the victory, we earned the victory at the end. I am proud of the resiliency that our guys show in the and in that game. Now it is a big week - in the sense of two home games. We play an outstanding team in Wisconsin, an outstanding program and one that is very, very tough preparation and a very efficient, smart, tough team. And then Northwestern, who is going to be coming in (on Saturday) after getting their first Big Ten win last night. They are another team that is extremely well-coached with Chris Collins and Brian James and that entire staff are capable of. We are excited for the week and excited to have our students back for the games this week."
On Will Sheehey's impact on Saturday in the second half:
"I thought he was outstanding. He got hurt the other day in practice and missed the majority of that practice and the next day. It became a little bit of a walk-through type of situation, so it was going to come down to how he felt on Saturday, and being as close to 100 percent as he can be. Now, Will Sheehey's 100 percent and 100 percent for someone else are two totally different things. Obviously, he wouldn't be able to play if he wasn't cleared.
"Will just has a inner spirit that is hard to characterize. It's hard to quantify it, because he is so unique. He has a great fire about him and I thought he brought it. He was very passionate with his teammates and I thought it carried over. I thought our guys had a great week of building some real internal discipline, in terms of on the court, and that carried over into how we played. I think Will is a big part of that."
On what has allowed Wisconsin to score more this year:
"I don't know if the speed of the game is any different, when you look at the time of possession for each possession. It is still around 21 or 22 seconds over a period of time. But I do think the one thing that separates them on offense is they have always had the experienced players that they can put other people around those guys because they totally understand how they win and how they want to play. They have always put excellent shooters on the court. I think what you have now, and what is a little different to me, is that they are not an above-average passing team, they are a great passing team. Where they are so efficient, and where they have hurt us in the past and so many others, is when the game gets into rotation and you are constantly helping and over-helping or trying to stop the dribble or this or that, they are such a great passing team. They not only make the next pass, they make the pass after that and, if need be, the pass after that. The thing about them is that they are so efficient with the ball ... it's the old Pete Carrill `the quality of the shot is directly related to the quality of the pass' and that is exactly what you see with Wisconsin."
On his relationship with Bo Ryan over the years:
"I have great respect for him, I always have. I think what I respect about him is he is one of the great competitors around. And I think he is the kind of person that would compete in anything and want to win. I think you have to respect that. He has always been very gracious with me and I would hope he would feel, for the most part, that I have been with him. I have tremendous respect for that entire program. That is a team that, when you watch him coach and watch them play, you absolutely see his competitiveness and diligence - all of those attributes you would want to say that a great team looks like. I think you can start with Bo because that's what a great coach looks like."
Associate Head Coach Steve McClain
On what is different from Wisconsin this year:
"When you look at Wisconsin you are looking at a veteran basketball team. When you look at their better teams over the years, they have veterans. You are talking about five veterans in their starting lineup, so I don't know how much better they are than a year ago, until you see a team in person that is when you get a better feel. When you are in the Big Ten and put five veterans on the court, who have played in this league and been through the battles, you are going to have an opportunity to be as good as you can be and that is what they are right now. They are a very talented, tough team, that passes the ball, a team that shares the ball, a team that doesn't care who scores. They have a team that I think coach Bo Ryan likes to have."
On the different role this year for Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky:
"He had a tough injury, in fact that happened a year ago when they played here and he got hit in the eye, and that really set him back for the year. To see his development, there is no question he has developed into a very good 3-point shooter. He has developed into a very good post player. He can go over his left shoulder or right shoulder; it doesn't matter. He is a guy that they can really play through or play to. He has definitely made some big strides."
On what the team learned at Penn State that will help in this game:
"I think every time you have a team that is growing, and that's what we are, we are a growing, learning team. I think they saw the opportunity...I look at our game - Illinois was a great game and we fought and we didn't get the win. But we saw what life on the road was like. We came back against Michigan State, it was a tough game, and they are a veteran, talented team. Then you go to Penn State, and you are playing team that, if you listen to their coach, they felt like this was the game they had to get. So we knew we were walking into that environment. What I saw (from us) was a group of guys that really came together. We were down 13 or 14 points and we were really playing hard. Some shots weren't going in but we were playing the right way. That is what Coach Crean kept saying to them in the timeouts, `We are playing the right way, it will start happening for us' and then it did. Shots started going down and the ball was moving. I saw us really develop a toughness and an identity that we have to continue to build on. You can't get it one game and then lose it. But there is no question I saw a team that was really sharing the basketball and different guys were scoring, and as a result, we became very difficult to guard."
