Indiana University Athletics
Big Ten Coaches Weekly Teleconference - Jan. 26
1/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2015
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BLOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Tom Crean joined the other Big Ten Conference men's basketball head coaches on the weekly teleconference Monday morning. Below is a transcript of what Coach Crean had to say.
Opening Statement:
“We play a very good Purdue team on Wednesday, and our focus is on that. But at the same time, we’ve got to continue to learn from our week. We did some really good things in our Maryland win and we turned back around against Ohio State and did some good things, but we didn’t do enough of them. Ohio State played very well and we’ve got to continue to understand how to get people out of their comfort zone, how to take away strengths of the other team and at the same time continue to play to our strengths. Part of it is the challenge of making sure we’re teaching these guys constantly what enables them to win and be successful and to keep moving on and moving forward. That’s what we’re going to do today as we get ready for Purdue.”
On Robert Johnson’s injury:
“I didn’t realize this until I saw it on film, which is really disappointing, but when he fell, there was actually what looked like red papers or a folder that was close enough to the court that he slipped on the baseline by the cheerleaders. It’s one of those inadvertent things that you hope never happens, but it did. We didn’t realize that at the time of the game, or at least I didn’t realize it until I saw it on the film.
“I think the best news for Robert is that he went back into the game. Now, I think we are going to have to monitor it in a very close way and hope that it doesn’t linger, but he was treating it last night and moving forward with that. It’s really going to be where we go and see what happens at the end of the day and see how he feels. I don’t think it’s going to be anything long lasting but there’s nothing that says it’s going to be okay for this game either. It’s too early to tell at this point.”
On early thoughts of Purdue’s two centers and Indiana’s size challenge:
“Well it’s obviously a major one. One is hard enough, but when you’re dealing with two of them and they can play through them and they can score and get points at the rim, that’s an issue. It’s not a situation where we can guard them, realistically, with one person the entire game. So we are working through that right now and we’ve obviously been talking about that to prepare for the game.
“We’re going to have to make sure that we don’t get away from what we want to do and at the same time, we’re going to have to be very good with pressuring the ball. They’ve got numerous guys that can hurt you from the perimeter. They’re a very well-balanced team, there’s no doubt about it. They play extremely hard and extremely competitive. Bottom line is that they play with a lot of movement. So if you get caught up in worrying about two things, they’ve got three or four other things that they could take advantage of.”
On how Stanford played and if he will be challenged moving forward if Rob needs some time:
“I am not sure it’s about that as much. Stan was solid in some areas but what he needs to do is quit turning the ball over. He’s got to be a more efficient defender. We just can’t have the turnovers at the rim or driving through the lane. We’ve got to keep simplifying the game. And when we try to do too much, that’s when the issues come. He’s capable of more.
“Certainly in a game against Purdue, who is really strong on the perimeter as well, it’s going to be important that he play better. We’re just going to focus on what the team needs to do today and not really get down to one or two individual type of things where they’ve got to do this or they’ve got to do that to prepare for the game. We’ve got to make sure that we get our team squared all the way around for how good Purdue is.”
On if other team’s big men are having trouble matching up with Indiana:
“I wouldn’t say that. I’d say that we are playing the way we need to play and other teams are playing the way they need to play. That’s the way it is for us. Collin is a very talented player that’s skilled and can do things at the basket and can certainly do things away from it. So, I don’t know if that’s an advantage, that’s just the way that we play. It’s working for us, but at the same time it wouldn’t work if you didn’t have a guy like Collin, who’s willing to get in the fight defensively and is willing to go down and bang and battle with people. That’s easier said than done, when it comes to what Purdue is doing, with how big and physical they are. It’s just who we are right now and who we continue to be. We’re going to figure out things defensively as we go on.”
