Indiana University Athletics
Tom Crean Previews Matchup with Michigan
2/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2015
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BLOMINGTON, Ind. - Read what head coach Tom Crean had to say as he previewed Sunday's game at home vs. Michigan (1:00 p.m.; CBS).
Opening Statement:
We try to teach the players that every game is an opportunity and there's no question about that. And there's a lot of learning opportunities inside the Wisconsin game the other night. There were a lot of teachable teaching moments and we've tried to apply those lessons over the last few days and the bottom line is that we can get better in every area.
"And inside of that game, we fought hard, certainly in first half after a bit of a tough start but that never really fazes us. And certainly we closed hard but we can't get dejected when shots aren't going or when we are having trouble stopping the people. And we have to be able to do a better job of stopping the runs and dealing with the runs mentally and physically.
"So that's some of the stuff that we've worked on with us and we always try to be as fundamentally based as we can be but then there's the details of it. And we've worked really hard the last few days to get those details down on both ends of the court and we're continuing to improve and we're excited about this game.
"Michigan is playing as hard and as competitive as anyone in the league, notwithstanding the other night, which Iowa got really hot and played very well against them. We are going to see the same type of team that we saw come in here last Saturday after Rutgers played Michigan State (before they played us). Michigan will come in here just like we need to be. They'll come in with an attitude of doing whatever it takes and playing with great toughness and energy and we've got to be the same way. Because Michigan's running game, Michigan's ability to space you - like I mentioned how hard they're playing especially on defense with the way they mix defensives. They're doing as well as anybody in the league with that. Again they're missing some players but they're not missing their coach, they're not missing their staff, and they're not missing their system. And when you have that, you've got a chance to be very successful so we have great respect for what they are doing, great respect for our battles with them over a period of time, and we are excited to play."
On whether this is a key game after a tough stretch of games:
"We never look at the stretches. It's easy to look at them at the beginning and it's easy to look at them after you've been through them but you never look at them when you're going through them. I don't. It's truly all about the next game and you start to see more teams because you're scouting games in the Big Ten, so you get a feel for more teams that way but it's truly about getting ready for the game. And making sure that your team is as ready mentally and physically as they can possibly be and that's' really what it all comes down to. And making sure you're getting the most out of each day for them."
Injury updates on James Blackmon Jr. and Hanner Mosquera-Perea:
"James has definitely gotten better. I don't know if I'd go and say 100 percent, but he's gotten better and Hanner is getting closer. Hanner has not gone up and down the court yet, as far as full court scrimmaging and things of that nature, so we'll see how that goes but he's definitely getting a lot closer. But for me to tell you that he'd be ready to go tomorrow, I couldn't tell you that yet today but he's definitely getting closer."
On the `teachable moments' in the Wisconsin game:
"There were numerous things inside of the game. There's all kinds of moments inside the game. We've got to be better at both ends of the court. We can get better at everything. We can get better offensively, defensively, rebounding. We can get better coming out of timeouts; we can get better communication-wise. I mean that's the key. It's constantly showing them where we can improve.
"One big area for us right now is transition defense, to be specific, there's a lot of specifics. But I would say that one is one where can definitely get better in a hurry and we're going to need to get better in a hurry dealing with them (Michigan) tomorrow."
On how team has been handling tough stretch of games:
"We've been on the road a lot. You learn a lot from being at home and from being on the road. You learn from wins and you learn for losses. So absolutely, we're basically in the middle of the season. They show great resolve and resiliency and that's exactly the way that we would expect it and the way we would coach it."
On what he liked after watching the Wisconsin film:
"We have to get better, and we've covered all that. We're moving on to making sure we are better for this game. I think I mentioned that we played well and fought hard in the beginning and the end. We've got to do a better job in the middle. When we drove the ball and we were on the attack, we forced them to be one-on-one defenders and we got to the foul line. And when we didn't, we didn't get to the foul line.
"You've got to force the action a little bit, especially at Wisconsin. When we did it, to be as specific with you, we scored 30 points on 13 possessions. So you like that. You just like to see it earlier and to get them to understand that with the same fight and resolve, that possibly could have happened earlier.
"At one point, we missed either three layups or one-foot shots inside a really close span. I'd like to see them use the backboard on those ones. But when you miss them, you've got to get back and you can't be dejected and not get a stop on the other end. When we've learned to play through those offensive ruts, and understand that our runs come from our defensive ability, then we're a much better team."
On what makes Yogi unique defending the post:
"He fights. He's got great toughness. He's low; he gets into your body. But he just fights. He's got tremendous physical toughness but an even better mental toughness. You have to have that. That's his absolute key. Great players can do multiple things, but great guards have to be able to not only do multiple things offensively to impact the game, but if you're going to be a tremendous guard, you've got to be able to guard a lot of people.
"He is very conscious. He's been that way since he got here. I can remember his freshman year, him fronting Trevor Mbakwe coming back down from the other end and getting a steal and a basket. He's got that in him. We just try to teach him the techniques that will make him that much better. But he's got tremendous ability to get down there and make it tough for you to catch the ball."
On how Walton and LeVert injuries will effect Michigan:
"I think they are like anyone else, because they have such a great coach they just respond to it. You take great players out of any line-up, it's going to effect them. They have great spacing. So when you have great spacing and guys who can make those shots in-between the spacing and you have the ability to do multiple things offensively, like John does, that gives you an opportunity all the time.
"I think they do a really good job all the time. The shooters are gaining confidence and some of the young players have gained a lot of minutes this year, like a couple of ours have. So when you look at the fact that Rahkman and Dawkins are playing a lot of minutes, like a Johnson and a Blackmon, you're going to get more confident. I think that has helped them.
"Certainly, they would know better than us, but their spacing and ability to drive the ball and make shots and how they run. That stuff hasn't changed. They've got a tremendous system."
