Indiana University Athletics
Tom Crean Previews Matchup vs. No. 22 Ohio State
1/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2015
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BLOMINGTON, Ind. - Read what head coach Tom Crean had to say as he previewed Saturday's game in Assembly Hall against No. 22 Ohio State.
Opening statement...
“As far as what we’ve learned from the (Michigan State) game and what we’ve learned in applying it this week, I think we really didn’t compete at the level you need to in any game, and especially with Michigan State on the road. But, we didn’t compete and we didn’t come in and do the things you have to do really well time and time again.
Much like I said the other night, we didn’t cut as hard as we needed to, we didn’t play with the purpose on offense, we didn’t have the quick ball movement like we needed, we didn’t have the screening that we needed. You’ve got to be able to play through the doldrums on both ends of the court. We didn’t have as good as transition defense, we just weren’t as active as need to be with them. We played hard, but we didn’t play with an incredible competitiveness. But the biggest takeaway I hope they take from that is that there were numerous chances inside of that game, including late in the second half. A couple things go right to get back in the game. We missed some layups, we missed some open shots. We missed more shots that were open - and they did a very good defensively, there’s no question about that - but we also missed open shots. We missed shots that we make and you can’t get your head down on that and unfortunately we did a little bit. But, with all that being said, there were still numerous times and we went through the film, we wanted to continue to show them that a stop here, a stop there, some combination of stops, some combinations of a couple things going in, one more pass, one more dribble, one less dribble - those type of things, one more angle on the pass, one more drop of the shoulder on the second defender, all the things that go into it.
There were numerous chances to be back in that game. They have to learn to understand - young players have a hard time with this - how long the game actually is. The game is a very long game and especially when you have the ability to make shots like we do. But, we weren’t as competitive as we needed to be.
It’s never out of your mind, you work with that in your psyche as you go through it, and you prepare for Ohio State. We’ve got to get tougher, there’s no doubt about it. We’ve got to get tougher, we’ve got to get mentally tougher, we’ve got to continue to understand what works for us and we’ve got to be very, very attentive. We’re still building the heart and soul of this team and the identity of this team every day has got to be a level of toughness, has got to be a level of communication, it’s got to be a level of determination, all those things take care of the basketball part of it. We’ve got to continue to build that.
In this league you just keep going against one great team after another and that’s what it will be tomorrow with Ohio State. They’re playing well, they’ve got some experienced leadership in the sense of the three seniors that start for them. They’re get very good play out of D’Angelo Russell and Marc Loving and Kam Williams off the bench. They’ve got a very good blend of young and old, and they know how to win, they know how to win on the road, they’re well-coached and they do some things extremely well. They run very well, they screen and execute their offense very well. They’ve got a very good ability to score at the rim and score from three, they create a lot of havoc defensively and they mix their defenses now. They played a lot of zone early, but now there’s more man-to-man, so we’ll be prepared for everything. We just have got to have the right mindset to come out and compete and that’s what I’m looking most forward to.”
On how Hanner Mosquera-Perea’s responded in practice the last few days and in Coach Crean has thought about making a lineup change...
“I think he’s responded well, I’ve thought about doing a lot of things but we’ll see how tomorrow turns out. I think he’s responded well, he’s had a good week and he knows he didn’t play well.
I’ve thought about a lot of things, I may make a switch there. Like I said the other night, I don’t know and if I knew, I really wouldn’t bring it up in here, you know that. But, we’ll see. We’ve done a lot of different things in practices this week. We’ve got to get our execution on both sides of the court and we’ve got to get our rebounding up and he’s capable of doing all of that for us.”
On Ohio State’s effectiveness on offense:
“They’re getting out on the break. D’Angelo Russell, he’s taken about a 100 more shots than anyone else on the team, but he also passes the ball pretty well. I think the fact that they can score from three, the fact that they can score in the lane and they can post. They’re the best screening team I’ve seen on film. When it comes to time in and time out, setting screens, getting guys open. They’ve got some big bodies, but they do a really good job of getting people open. So, you’ve got to be determined to deal with that. They do a good job of getting the ball where they want it.
At the same time, they play to their strengths. Shannon Scott can get to the basket, he’s shooting the three better. Sam Thompson’s improved his range, but he’s always going to be a tremendous cutter/your offensive rebounder and out of bounds play guy and you’ve got to be aware of where he’s at all the time. Loving and Russell are certainly shooting percentages, I think Amir Williams is 73-74 percent the last five games. Kam Williams is shooting a tremendous percentage. They’re getting good looks, they’re getting really good looks and we’ve got to take those away.”
On the difference between being excited to play and being ready to compete and whether it’s youth or an individual player situation that determines it...
“I think it’s both. But, it’s individual. I wasn’t real impressed with our leadership the other night, I think I said that in the part where that’s where you have to have guys rally together. You can’t get quiet when it’s not going well for you. Somebody’s got to be the momentum getter. There was numerous times when momentum was up for grabs - first half, second half. As good as they were playing, momentum was still up for grabs and they kept it, we didn’t grab it. You never know who’s going to grab momentum. Is it youth, is it an older guy, is it a big guy, is it a guard? You never know, you’ve just got to be prepared when it’s there. That’s one of the great mysteries of sports, you never know how that’s going to turn out inside the game, but you’ve got be ready to pounce on it when it’s there. We didn’t do that. They did a great job of controlling momentum and it hurt us.”
On James Blackmon Jr.’s shooting and how he can get out of a rough patch...
“A couple things, first off he’s pretty good at knowing how to do it. We practiced yesterday and shot a lot in practice, they lift and he’s right back out there shooting. I go recruiting last night, I get back in here about 9:30, he’s out there shooting. I’m not worried about him. The last thing I’m worried about is him making shots. I think shot preparation, being ready to shoot, coming off screens better, getting out in transition, using the ball screen better, those all become parts of it, but he’ll make shots. I think he’s really worked hard this week to improve all the things. Again, day after day, it’s about how do you make guys complete players and he is working very hard at that everyday. He knows he’s not shooting it well, but we keep looking at the points we can make that can make him better in the sense of those technique issues in those areas of the game. Then, you just go in there and you don’t over exaggerate it, just let him play.”
