Indiana University Athletics
Coach Crean Previews Big Ten Opener at Rutgers
12/29/2015 5:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - As the Indiana Hoosiers prepare for the start of Big Ten play on Wednesday, here's a look at some comments that head coach Tom Crean had on his weekly radio show with Don Fischer. He talks about the rotations as conference play begins as well as what challenges Rutgers presents.
Coach Crean's comments are below:
On the rotations entering Big Ten play:
"First off, there is a talent level in the sense that the guys can shoot and, for the most part, guys can pass. Now it becomes the awareness. We are not going to be able to play guys extended minutes when they allow slippage in because of fatigue or lack of awareness or toughness. That's just what it is. You have to be tough. You have to be tough in any sport and any faction of life, mentally and physically. You have to have the toughness on a consistent basis and you get that consistency from your awareness. That is going to be crucial.
"Good, bad or indifferent, I will work guys through mistakes. I won't rush to ship them (to the bench) every time a mistake comes, but you do have to put them in a position to understand what is tolerated and what isn't. So much of it is, to me, when you are playing so hard and with a ton of energy and passion, you can overcome mistakes.
"But we are trying to train a group where anyone can be in at any point of the game. When you have numerous guys that you can play at the end of a game – to seal a win or come back and get a win – that is when we will know we have depth. Playing guys in the middle of the game and stretches of the game is one thing, and we can do that. But when we can play guys at the end of the game, either way, then we will have depth and we will have made progress. And we are working towards that."
On two road games to start conference play:
"We had to do something similar last year with road games at Nebraska and Michigan State early in conference play. It comes down to not letting your teammates fail. Part of it is talking, part of it is awareness, part of it is doing your job, part of it is the next pass. If you want to have really good chemistry on a team, guard your man and rebound and make the next pass. If you do those kinds of things, there will be a place for you. If there is a place for you, then you are into the game. That doesn't mean you are going to make every shot or get every stop. But when you can defend, rebound and make the next pass, and then add on the fact that guys can shoot the ball the way that they can, and we have some of the speed that we do, that makes it that much better.
"We don't have to complicate the issues. We have to understand what the other team wants. When you get into the league, it's not just about schemes and concepts, it's very much about personnel and making sure that we really understand what people want. So there is more time to get into film. There is more time to connect on that. At the same time, there is more time to work on your game on the court because you have free time."
On Rutgers as a team:
"I think they are very talented. They have a lot of guys that can beat you off the dribble. They have some 3-point shooting and a good mix of young guys and old guys. They run the Princeton offense, which Eddie Jordan ran as an NBA head coach. I think he is an excellent coach. They are doing a really good job of integrating their new players.
"To me, we have to make sure we understand their talent can get us if we aren't aware on that talent. You can't let a guy have an open look or an open drive, and at the same time, yo have to be in a position that you are not just watching the ball. If you are, then guys will slide by you or fly by you or push you out of the way to get an offensive board.
"We have to make sure that we are really locked into that and know their personnel cold. And know what makes them tick, while also not getting away from what we want to do in getting up and down the court, moving the ball, playing in space, get ball reversals, play inside-out and get better as a rebounding team."
On the challenges Rutgers presents:
"We haven't seen a bunch of the Princeton offense. We have aspects of it that we work on, but we haven't seen a ton of it from other teams. So that will be different. We have to make sure we are in the right position. It's not about denying or watching and playing the ball constantly. You really have to be aware of your man while you are playing the ball. You can't just play the ball and forget about your man because all of a sudden he will back cut you.
"Awareness keeps me awake. My question is 'Are we going to have good awareness, off the ball especially, to not get beat on cuts and to be in position?'
Coach Crean's comments are below:
On the rotations entering Big Ten play:
"First off, there is a talent level in the sense that the guys can shoot and, for the most part, guys can pass. Now it becomes the awareness. We are not going to be able to play guys extended minutes when they allow slippage in because of fatigue or lack of awareness or toughness. That's just what it is. You have to be tough. You have to be tough in any sport and any faction of life, mentally and physically. You have to have the toughness on a consistent basis and you get that consistency from your awareness. That is going to be crucial.
"Good, bad or indifferent, I will work guys through mistakes. I won't rush to ship them (to the bench) every time a mistake comes, but you do have to put them in a position to understand what is tolerated and what isn't. So much of it is, to me, when you are playing so hard and with a ton of energy and passion, you can overcome mistakes.
"But we are trying to train a group where anyone can be in at any point of the game. When you have numerous guys that you can play at the end of a game – to seal a win or come back and get a win – that is when we will know we have depth. Playing guys in the middle of the game and stretches of the game is one thing, and we can do that. But when we can play guys at the end of the game, either way, then we will have depth and we will have made progress. And we are working towards that."
On two road games to start conference play:
"We had to do something similar last year with road games at Nebraska and Michigan State early in conference play. It comes down to not letting your teammates fail. Part of it is talking, part of it is awareness, part of it is doing your job, part of it is the next pass. If you want to have really good chemistry on a team, guard your man and rebound and make the next pass. If you do those kinds of things, there will be a place for you. If there is a place for you, then you are into the game. That doesn't mean you are going to make every shot or get every stop. But when you can defend, rebound and make the next pass, and then add on the fact that guys can shoot the ball the way that they can, and we have some of the speed that we do, that makes it that much better.
"We don't have to complicate the issues. We have to understand what the other team wants. When you get into the league, it's not just about schemes and concepts, it's very much about personnel and making sure that we really understand what people want. So there is more time to get into film. There is more time to connect on that. At the same time, there is more time to work on your game on the court because you have free time."
On Rutgers as a team:
"I think they are very talented. They have a lot of guys that can beat you off the dribble. They have some 3-point shooting and a good mix of young guys and old guys. They run the Princeton offense, which Eddie Jordan ran as an NBA head coach. I think he is an excellent coach. They are doing a really good job of integrating their new players.
"To me, we have to make sure we understand their talent can get us if we aren't aware on that talent. You can't let a guy have an open look or an open drive, and at the same time, yo have to be in a position that you are not just watching the ball. If you are, then guys will slide by you or fly by you or push you out of the way to get an offensive board.
"We have to make sure that we are really locked into that and know their personnel cold. And know what makes them tick, while also not getting away from what we want to do in getting up and down the court, moving the ball, playing in space, get ball reversals, play inside-out and get better as a rebounding team."
On the challenges Rutgers presents:
"We haven't seen a bunch of the Princeton offense. We have aspects of it that we work on, but we haven't seen a ton of it from other teams. So that will be different. We have to make sure we are in the right position. It's not about denying or watching and playing the ball constantly. You really have to be aware of your man while you are playing the ball. You can't just play the ball and forget about your man because all of a sudden he will back cut you.
"Awareness keeps me awake. My question is 'Are we going to have good awareness, off the ball especially, to not get beat on cuts and to be in position?'
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