Indiana University Athletics
Talking About Penn State
2/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2014
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Tom Crean talks about Wednesday's game against Penn State. The Hoosiers defeated Penn State in University Park earlier this season, 79-76. The game on Wednesday will start a 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
On the differences with Penn State and how they have worked transfers into the game:
"I think it doesn't matter what their record is, they play with tremendous confidence. They play with a real edge. They get to the basket. They make free-throws and they are defending better. You can't look at this team and judge them on percentages, you have to judge them on ability and their ability to create havoc on offense and defense, this is still a team that has the same people that we played against at the beginning of the Big Ten season and they are that much more experienced now. If there is one guy who is continuing to flourish people would think it is Tim Frazier and D.J. Newbill and they are, but Brandon Taylor is playing extremely well for them also."
On the progression of Jeremy Hollowell and Troy Williams the last few weeks:
"On the practice part, Troy has had some very good weeks, Jeremy has had some good days. As Jeremy turns those days into weeks I think it's going to be even better for him. When he goes in with a defensive mindset being aggressive on both ends of the floor, with rebounding and attacking the basket, good things happen for him and he went in with that approach the other day. The more he is consistent in practice with that approach the more he can carry it over into games. Troy just continues to get better and better. We are going through the learning process. The learning curve with three freshman and Evan Gordon being, new to us and all those things, they are still new to this league. They have to continue to get that understanding of what it takes in the league and what it takes to be locked into every possession. When you have young guys you have to live with the mistakes as you get to the successes. I think in the case of Troy, he is practicing hard and now there is more of an efficiency with him and I see that carrying over in games as long as he continues to have the same approach."
More on Penn State:
"They have a lot of confidence. They have gone on the road and won - they won at Ohio State, which we all know is a very difficult task. They have great energy and I have always thought that (Penn State head coach Pat Chambers) always has them extremely competitive, playing hard and doing tough things well like getting 50-50 loose balls. They are very good on the break and with their half court offense. They are very, very good at pull-up jumpers and getting to the rim. And they lead the league in 3-point attempts. They are doing a pretty good job of getting to the line.
"Defensively, they will sag off players. So we are going to have to be creative offensively because they will do some serious sagging off players. We have to make sure the ball is moving and our bodies are moving consistently during the game, and that we are taking care of the ball. They, like so many others, do a great job of turning live-ball turnovers into baskets."
"Penn State is a hard team to play against. They play tough, smart basketball and like to control the pace. Pat Chambers has built that culture with energy and toughness and they're very talented."
On using confidence of winning at Penn State earlier this season moving forward:
"I would think so. I hope so. The bottom line is that we are in all of these close games and that is one that we closed out. That win probably helped us at home as well. It is something that we will always have in our bag, all of these close games. We have to continue, whether at home or on the road, to know that we are capable. It just comes down to everyone doing their job. Don't try to do more and don't try to do less. Just do your job and what it calls for at that particular time."
On Kevin Yogi Ferrell leading the Big Ten in scoring in conference games:
"He is a tremendous worker and a tremendous player. We have so many guys that spend extra time in the gym. Today, we lifted, practiced and watched more film than we normally watch and there were still guys in the gym after all that was done. Yogi is one of those guys. He continues to work at it at a very high level. He wants to be a great player and he really wants to be a great leader.
"He got a lot of attention for the defensive job he did against Michigan and he has been playing excellent defense since he got here. He was a stellar defender for us as a freshman. When you work that hard and play that hard and when you want to win that bad, you can't help but get better and better. And that's exactly what he is doing.
"But is it a surprise? It probably means that we need some other guys to make more shots. But is it a bad thing? No, it's not a bad thing at all as long as we are moving the ball the way we need to."
On Noah Vonleh leading the Big Ten in rebounding:
"And if he's not the leader in 3-point shooting, he is one of the leaders. I know you get coaches like (Tom Izzo) that say "Put him down on the block" but he's leading the league in 3-point shooting so we might want to find a way to get him a few more 3-pointers. We are getting better.
"We are so close. There are so many corners that you have to turn to be a good basketball team. So we have turned and we want to make sure that we don't lose sight of that. Some we haven't turned yet. The bottom line is that the more confident these guys get from the experiences they go through and the understanding of it, the better they will be. The more awareness of what these situations entail and how locked in they have to be, the more the confidence will come."
