Postgame Quotes vs. Houston Baptist
12/10/2016 6:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Indiana vs. Houston Baptist
Postgame Quotes
Dec. 10, 2016
Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean
Q. Talk about the ball efficiency.
TOM CREAN: I think a big focus this week was to -- little less dribbling, a little quicker decision making and just get the ball out, get the ball out in front of us.
But with our footwork, not over-penetrate. And a couple of our mistakes, they were definitely correctable. But that's -- we want to become a more efficient team on both ends of the floor. And the turnovers, as hard as we work, defensively, and as good as movement as we get offensively, there's no real sense in giving it back too much. When you play fast there's going to be some, I get that.
But I thought we understood this week that we needed to become more efficient. And we'll do the same here again next week and hope we continue to improve.
Q. What would you say has been the big difference between the Juwan Morgan we have seen the last three games, maybe, on both ends of the court?
TOM CREAN: Well, I see him like that constantly. I don't know if I would say there's a big difference. He missed a lot of time, right? And I think it takes guys -- we're still a product of that. The togetherness, especially offensively, is where it really loses a little bit. It takes time. James (Blackmon, Jr.) and Rob (Johnson) have been together a lot and they do a pretty good job together, just in the randomness of the game. And they still missed a lot of time. So, like I can see where like that's improving and those guys have played together for two plus years, right?
With everybody else, and especially the case like Juwan, it just takes time to get that rhythm, it takes time to get that timing. Synergy is a good term, I guess. But I mean, just that -- it's not chemistry, because they get along fine, they move the ball well. It's just that really like getting a real feel for each other one the court.
He's very aggressive right now. And, again, I think he's been playing real well from the beginning. I just see him getting more comfortable and more athletic with his movements because he's getting that much more comfortable in playing long stretches in full-court, intense, physical basketball.
Q. The second half you turned over the huddle to James Blackmon, Jr. I know that's something you talked about yesterday.
TOM CREAN: I did that last week, though. And it's not anything new.
Q. Why James?
TOM CREAN: Just because I chose to. Because it's not anything I put a lot of thought into. It is just kind of what I think at that point. I changed the matchup right before the game, too. It's just something. It's good. The biggest thing for these guys right now is just to have, you take that ownership and responsibility for each other inside of the game. And it takes time to build it. I think I said it like this, you're just looking for those opportunities where you can find a way to do it, and if it presents itself, in a situation like that in the game, then, like today, I'll take advantage of it. It's not anything I over think, I really don't. I don't go in with a set plan on that, I would be a lot smarter if I did, but I don't, I just kind of read the situation.
Q. What's the key for how your guys defend the three?
TOM CREAN: We're not over helping. I think when we ever help -- and in its simplest terms, and it's a lot harder to do that and it sounds, because you want to help on the ball in penetration. But we spend a lot of time not trying to overreact to the basketball. Especially when guys are in the corners. I thought today, because of the screens that they ran, they ran a lot of singles, double staggers, double stagger in with double stagger, we had to be really good and then there were certain lineups that they would present where we were switching or where we weren't switching. And I thought our guys did a pretty solid job of that. So, that's the biggest thing is, don't overreact to the ball. Does that mean we may give up a few drives to the baskets here and there? Probably. But we would rather do that than give guys open look shots, especially in the league that we're in and with the competition that we face. I thought our three-point defense today was really good because, again, number 3 was shooting 50 percent coming into the game. Number 23 was shooting 57 percent coming into the game. One went 1-8 and one went 0-1, right? 23? Yeah. 0-1. So I thought that was really good.
Q. It's kind of a bigger picture question, but how do you feel Josh Newkirk has come in terms of regaining the comfort with these guys on the floor and where does he still need to improve?
TOM CREAN: He's got to improve in all areas, really. The big thing this week was his explosiveness with the ball. His steps. His stride. Playing with great speed. There's no question, when I watch the film of our turnovers and things like that, I'm not, I'm overreacting in -- I don't think I'm overreacting, because we have to get them fixed -- there's certain parts that we just have to get better at, but there's some that's just going to take some time for that togetherness that I'm talking about on the court, because of the fact that it's his first year and he hadn't been in that situation before and because guys are getting used to playing with each other. That's why I always feel like we're going to continue to improve. So, he's got as much improvement to makes an anybody else, but I would tell you that James Blackmon, Thomas Bryant, O.G. (Anunoby), Juwan (Morgan), Rob (Johnson), they're in the same boat. If we're going to keep getting better and better, they have all got to get better and better. So, he's improving, there's no doubt, but I think he's got a lot of room to improve. And that's a good thing, it's certainly not a bad thing.
Q. How valuable is it to have a consistent scorer like James Blackmon, Jr. for your offense?
TOM CREAN: I think it's valuable to have a consistent scoring team. I think that's the most important thing. So, I'm certainly not going to single out one guy. Especially when we have numerous guys in double figures. The biggest thing for James is, like today, with the tough first half, is, don't get down and focus on why you're missing, focus on what you need to do defensively and continue to rebound the ball and moving the ball to other people. And I think in the second half he played with a much better energy. What did he end up with? 18? So he had, he made one field goal in the first half, is that right?
Q. He made three.
TOM CREAN: In the first half. Okay. So it was better in the second half, because I thought his focus defensively and his talk in the huddle and things like that were good for him. So that's the most important thing.
Q. What level of effectiveness do you anticipate from O.G. Anunoby?
TOM CREAN: Come on, I can't predict that. That's seven days away. I mean, the bottom line is that he's starting to do more, but he's not feeling it yet. So he was cleared today, but the bottom line is just the comfort level. So I can't predict tomorrow, let alone what it's going to be like next week.
Q. How is Zach McRoberts able to have such a notable impact on the floor without really shooting the ball?
TOM CREAN: Moves the ball. Moves the ball, rebounds, hustle plays like you saw today. Constantly in movement. That ball's not in his hands very long. Certainly we need him to continue -- he can really shoot the ball and he just hasn't, he's such a willing moving, such a willing passer, such a ball mover -- and there will be some nights where he just knocks down shots. He does it in practice. And he's really improved his shooting here, I think. He's improved so many aspects. But he's very, very valuable, that's why his plus/minus is so high, because he makes hustle plays and he makes the game easier for everybody else. That's the best answer I can give you.
Q. Talk about Freddie McSwain Jr.'s improvement.
TOM CREAN: Very good week. He had a very good week. He improved this week. He strung good days together. Good week for us to focus on that. I think last week probably hurt -- I think the last couple weeks probably hurt him about as much as anybody else, because we didn't get that full throttle practice time. And everybody gets coached every day, but then there's certain days, like this week, where we could really pinpoint a couple things to help him. And he works very hard, I was very happy for him. He earned it. And, hopefully, he'll continue to say on that path. But his is so much about playing with that energy, not getting down on himself, making the game simple. And I think when you see his body, you see his athleticism, you see what in the sense that he could become an outstanding defender, excellent at cutting, posting, he can become a much better shooter, because he works very hard at it, we spend a lot of time with that. He's getting better with the buy-in. I love the week that he had. I thought he's exactly what you want, you want to have a really good week and then culminate it with a good game.
Indiana Players - Robert Johnson, Freddie McSwain and Juwan Morgan
Q. What changed in the second half?
ROBERT JOHNSON: I think in the second half, we just decided to really sit down and get stops on defense and string stops together. And I think when we do that, that allows us to get out in transition and get easy baskets. And I think it translated well for us.
Q. Robert, talk about Freddie's improvement. What have you seen from him and how he's played?
ROBERT JOHNSON: I think he just continues to get better in every area and his confidence has really risen. He plays point guard for us at times, he can knock down open shots. Everybody seen the game, he had that monster double double. So as he continues to get better, I think so will the team.
Q. What happened when you missed the shot, Juwan?
JUWAN MORGAN: Oh, I just -- probably looking at the film, my feet probably weren't right. My left right probably wasn't as good as it could have been. Because usually I would have hit that, so.
Q. Freddie, can you talk about your play today.
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: We're just playing confident. My teammates have the confidence in me to keep pushing, keep working and just getting better every day is why I came here, so.
Q. Robert, could you talk about how you guys always seem to make the extra pass to get the open look early on. Even if the shot didn't drop, it seemed like there was always an open look because somebody made the extra pass.
ROBERT JOHNSON: That's just something that guys have really bought into. And I think it's gotten contagious throughout the team. And I think good teams do that.
So we, obviously, want to be a good team and we want to have good ball movement and things like that and that's one of the things that you have to do.
Q. You blocked a shot off a player's head. How does that feel? Did you want to do that again?
JUWAN MORGAN: I would like to block every shot if I could do it, so, yeah.
Q. Juwan, just a follow-up on your recent really strong play. Do you feel that you're really better at this point, this year, than maybe even this time last year?
JUWAN MORGAN: I think that just being in the right spot at the right time and making the extra pass and not think about it, those two just going together. I think that's one of the best things.
And then also just the mentality side of it, just being confident, knowing my teammates will find me, knowing that, like I said before, just running hard, they will find you over the top or just making the back cut and they will find you there. And they will always put you in the position to score.
Q. Juwan, Freddie spoke of being more confident out there. In what ways or how have you seen that show just getting a little bit more comfortable and how have you settled in?
JUWAN MORGAN: I think, personally, he was making the right plays, and he just wasn't finishing. And I know that early on that was my big issue, too. Just getting down on myself knowing I was missing shots that I could have been making. And as he started to see them drop, and he started to see that we weren't losing confidence in him, like he was getting to the basket and things like that. He just had to put the ball in the hole, and as he started doing that, we never lost confidence in him. And as he started doing that, he's just continued to grow.
Q. Josh isn't a new guy, but did he have maybe some rust to knock off early in the season. Where do you feel like he is in terms of being able to command the floor offensively?
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: I would definitely think so. Sitting out for a year and then having to come, step on the team and starting with a new team. But I think that as we continue to grow, our chemistry will, and so will his leadership skills. I think that's something that will be big for us. Him really commanding the offense and getting guys in the right spots will be something that helps us get better.
Q. For any of you guys, you had that stretch of four games and then you go a week without having a game. What did you get out of having that time off, everything, practice, and that. Anything specifically that you guys work on in that time off that you feel like maybe translated today?
JUWAN MORGAN: We had all the little things that even in those stretch of games, there was a lot of great things that we did, but there was a lot of things that we could work on. And in those practices, we were just working on those things and we really got after each other, making each other better and that's what we continued to do every day. We have to keep getting better each and every day and not let a day goes by because you either get better or you get worse, you never stay the same.
Q. For any of you guys, what is it like to play with a player like James, who can score so consistently. How does it help the offense?
ROBERT JOHNSON: It just make it that much easier for the ball movement, to get in the lane, you have a guy like that, that's a constant threat. It just makes it easier on everybody.
Q. Robert, assess where you are. You got one week off and then you got another week, what do you guys need to develop or what do you think you need to do better?
ROBERT JOHNSON: The key would be coming in every day and getting after it like we did this past week. We don't have a set of things that we really want to work on as the week progresses. And I think that we really like to focus on that and just try to get better day-to-day to be where we want to be by the time that next game comes.
Q. Does it feel like your guys' legs had more jump from the five days of not playing?
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: Yes, I think so, too. We really just, really working this whole week, things we needed to fix on. But I feel like yeah, we had fresh legs coming into the game.
Q. Can you talk about taking better care of the ball today.
JUWAN MORGAN: This past practice week, we really were taking responsibility. Not just having the coaches do it, but responsibility for each other in practice. And we were just like making dumb turnovers, we were getting on to each other. I think that's why we had probably one of the more competitive weeks since I've been here. And just doing that, it translates to the game. Because it's a lot harder in practice going against somebody that knows exactly what you're about to do, as far as place, than it is in a game. And we like to try to make practice a lot harder than the games that way. It will flow together when we get into the games.
Q. For any of you, can you talk about what Zach McRoberts brings to the floor, especially defensively?
ROBERT JOHNSON: I think Zach is just a guy that's well aware. His awareness is really high on defense. That's just as his feet continue to get better, I think that it will give him an opportunity to play even more. And I think that will be something that's good for us, because he's just such a smart player that he helps everybody on the court.
Q. On earning the opportunity for more minutes.
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: Not that I know. I'm just playing. Really. Whenever my time was called within the game, I was just go all out, play a hundred percent, and just try to be ready every moment.
Houston Baptist Head Coach Ron Cottrell
Opening Statement…
"I thought our guys came out and really competed well, and competed hard early on in the game. I thought defensively we were doing some things that we really wanted to do, and weren't converting on the other end. It was making it tough on us; every time down the floor to get a stop, and not be rewarded with some points on the other end. After a while, you keep getting stops, keep getting stops and not scoring on the other end of the floor, it kind of wears on you a little bit. Obviously they made a little run, I think they went on a 16-0 run there in the first half after we had the lead. We weren't able to chip our way back into it after that. At the half we actually felt pretty good with where we were, down 15 after no playing particularly well on the offensive end. We were able to kind of hold our own rebounding in the first half, but then the second half, it (Indiana's lead) kept mounting on itself."
On Houston Baptist's 3-point shooting…
"We weren't shooting the 3-pointer nearly as much as we normally do. We are going to shoot it more like 28 or 29 times, but we only shot 17 3-pointers tonight because we were trying to pound it inside, and do everything we could to try and get to the lane. We wanted to try and finish some plays and get to the free throw line. We weren't successful in doing that."
On what impressed him about Indiana…
"Athleticism, size and the way they play. They play really hard together, and they are so balanced. You got (Thomas) Bryant inside, got the shooters outside, guys that can get to the rim and finish. They are every bit of a top-ten team, there is no doubt about that. They've got depth, they've got athleticism, they've got size, they play hard and they play together. It is hard to find a weakness in what they are able to do as a team. We tried to do what we could to minimize (James) Blackmon, and he just kept coming in and knocking down shots every time we played off of him a little bit, trying to help on Bryant or something. They will pick you apart a lot of different ways."
On who he scouted Indiana coming into the game…
"We had talked about Robert Johnson being their unsung hero. Everybody talks about Blackmon, talks about Bryant, talks about OG and those guys. But he is kind of they guy who silently kills you. We knew that going in, and we were trying to do everything we could to slow him down, but we were not very successful."
Postgame Quotes
Dec. 10, 2016
Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean
Q. Talk about the ball efficiency.
TOM CREAN: I think a big focus this week was to -- little less dribbling, a little quicker decision making and just get the ball out, get the ball out in front of us.
But with our footwork, not over-penetrate. And a couple of our mistakes, they were definitely correctable. But that's -- we want to become a more efficient team on both ends of the floor. And the turnovers, as hard as we work, defensively, and as good as movement as we get offensively, there's no real sense in giving it back too much. When you play fast there's going to be some, I get that.
But I thought we understood this week that we needed to become more efficient. And we'll do the same here again next week and hope we continue to improve.
Q. What would you say has been the big difference between the Juwan Morgan we have seen the last three games, maybe, on both ends of the court?
TOM CREAN: Well, I see him like that constantly. I don't know if I would say there's a big difference. He missed a lot of time, right? And I think it takes guys -- we're still a product of that. The togetherness, especially offensively, is where it really loses a little bit. It takes time. James (Blackmon, Jr.) and Rob (Johnson) have been together a lot and they do a pretty good job together, just in the randomness of the game. And they still missed a lot of time. So, like I can see where like that's improving and those guys have played together for two plus years, right?
With everybody else, and especially the case like Juwan, it just takes time to get that rhythm, it takes time to get that timing. Synergy is a good term, I guess. But I mean, just that -- it's not chemistry, because they get along fine, they move the ball well. It's just that really like getting a real feel for each other one the court.
He's very aggressive right now. And, again, I think he's been playing real well from the beginning. I just see him getting more comfortable and more athletic with his movements because he's getting that much more comfortable in playing long stretches in full-court, intense, physical basketball.
Q. The second half you turned over the huddle to James Blackmon, Jr. I know that's something you talked about yesterday.
TOM CREAN: I did that last week, though. And it's not anything new.
Q. Why James?
TOM CREAN: Just because I chose to. Because it's not anything I put a lot of thought into. It is just kind of what I think at that point. I changed the matchup right before the game, too. It's just something. It's good. The biggest thing for these guys right now is just to have, you take that ownership and responsibility for each other inside of the game. And it takes time to build it. I think I said it like this, you're just looking for those opportunities where you can find a way to do it, and if it presents itself, in a situation like that in the game, then, like today, I'll take advantage of it. It's not anything I over think, I really don't. I don't go in with a set plan on that, I would be a lot smarter if I did, but I don't, I just kind of read the situation.
Q. What's the key for how your guys defend the three?
TOM CREAN: We're not over helping. I think when we ever help -- and in its simplest terms, and it's a lot harder to do that and it sounds, because you want to help on the ball in penetration. But we spend a lot of time not trying to overreact to the basketball. Especially when guys are in the corners. I thought today, because of the screens that they ran, they ran a lot of singles, double staggers, double stagger in with double stagger, we had to be really good and then there were certain lineups that they would present where we were switching or where we weren't switching. And I thought our guys did a pretty solid job of that. So, that's the biggest thing is, don't overreact to the ball. Does that mean we may give up a few drives to the baskets here and there? Probably. But we would rather do that than give guys open look shots, especially in the league that we're in and with the competition that we face. I thought our three-point defense today was really good because, again, number 3 was shooting 50 percent coming into the game. Number 23 was shooting 57 percent coming into the game. One went 1-8 and one went 0-1, right? 23? Yeah. 0-1. So I thought that was really good.
Q. It's kind of a bigger picture question, but how do you feel Josh Newkirk has come in terms of regaining the comfort with these guys on the floor and where does he still need to improve?
TOM CREAN: He's got to improve in all areas, really. The big thing this week was his explosiveness with the ball. His steps. His stride. Playing with great speed. There's no question, when I watch the film of our turnovers and things like that, I'm not, I'm overreacting in -- I don't think I'm overreacting, because we have to get them fixed -- there's certain parts that we just have to get better at, but there's some that's just going to take some time for that togetherness that I'm talking about on the court, because of the fact that it's his first year and he hadn't been in that situation before and because guys are getting used to playing with each other. That's why I always feel like we're going to continue to improve. So, he's got as much improvement to makes an anybody else, but I would tell you that James Blackmon, Thomas Bryant, O.G. (Anunoby), Juwan (Morgan), Rob (Johnson), they're in the same boat. If we're going to keep getting better and better, they have all got to get better and better. So, he's improving, there's no doubt, but I think he's got a lot of room to improve. And that's a good thing, it's certainly not a bad thing.
Q. How valuable is it to have a consistent scorer like James Blackmon, Jr. for your offense?
TOM CREAN: I think it's valuable to have a consistent scoring team. I think that's the most important thing. So, I'm certainly not going to single out one guy. Especially when we have numerous guys in double figures. The biggest thing for James is, like today, with the tough first half, is, don't get down and focus on why you're missing, focus on what you need to do defensively and continue to rebound the ball and moving the ball to other people. And I think in the second half he played with a much better energy. What did he end up with? 18? So he had, he made one field goal in the first half, is that right?
Q. He made three.
TOM CREAN: In the first half. Okay. So it was better in the second half, because I thought his focus defensively and his talk in the huddle and things like that were good for him. So that's the most important thing.
Q. What level of effectiveness do you anticipate from O.G. Anunoby?
TOM CREAN: Come on, I can't predict that. That's seven days away. I mean, the bottom line is that he's starting to do more, but he's not feeling it yet. So he was cleared today, but the bottom line is just the comfort level. So I can't predict tomorrow, let alone what it's going to be like next week.
Q. How is Zach McRoberts able to have such a notable impact on the floor without really shooting the ball?
TOM CREAN: Moves the ball. Moves the ball, rebounds, hustle plays like you saw today. Constantly in movement. That ball's not in his hands very long. Certainly we need him to continue -- he can really shoot the ball and he just hasn't, he's such a willing moving, such a willing passer, such a ball mover -- and there will be some nights where he just knocks down shots. He does it in practice. And he's really improved his shooting here, I think. He's improved so many aspects. But he's very, very valuable, that's why his plus/minus is so high, because he makes hustle plays and he makes the game easier for everybody else. That's the best answer I can give you.
Q. Talk about Freddie McSwain Jr.'s improvement.
TOM CREAN: Very good week. He had a very good week. He improved this week. He strung good days together. Good week for us to focus on that. I think last week probably hurt -- I think the last couple weeks probably hurt him about as much as anybody else, because we didn't get that full throttle practice time. And everybody gets coached every day, but then there's certain days, like this week, where we could really pinpoint a couple things to help him. And he works very hard, I was very happy for him. He earned it. And, hopefully, he'll continue to say on that path. But his is so much about playing with that energy, not getting down on himself, making the game simple. And I think when you see his body, you see his athleticism, you see what in the sense that he could become an outstanding defender, excellent at cutting, posting, he can become a much better shooter, because he works very hard at it, we spend a lot of time with that. He's getting better with the buy-in. I love the week that he had. I thought he's exactly what you want, you want to have a really good week and then culminate it with a good game.
Indiana Players - Robert Johnson, Freddie McSwain and Juwan Morgan
Q. What changed in the second half?
ROBERT JOHNSON: I think in the second half, we just decided to really sit down and get stops on defense and string stops together. And I think when we do that, that allows us to get out in transition and get easy baskets. And I think it translated well for us.
Q. Robert, talk about Freddie's improvement. What have you seen from him and how he's played?
ROBERT JOHNSON: I think he just continues to get better in every area and his confidence has really risen. He plays point guard for us at times, he can knock down open shots. Everybody seen the game, he had that monster double double. So as he continues to get better, I think so will the team.
Q. What happened when you missed the shot, Juwan?
JUWAN MORGAN: Oh, I just -- probably looking at the film, my feet probably weren't right. My left right probably wasn't as good as it could have been. Because usually I would have hit that, so.
Q. Freddie, can you talk about your play today.
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: We're just playing confident. My teammates have the confidence in me to keep pushing, keep working and just getting better every day is why I came here, so.
Q. Robert, could you talk about how you guys always seem to make the extra pass to get the open look early on. Even if the shot didn't drop, it seemed like there was always an open look because somebody made the extra pass.
ROBERT JOHNSON: That's just something that guys have really bought into. And I think it's gotten contagious throughout the team. And I think good teams do that.
So we, obviously, want to be a good team and we want to have good ball movement and things like that and that's one of the things that you have to do.
Q. You blocked a shot off a player's head. How does that feel? Did you want to do that again?
JUWAN MORGAN: I would like to block every shot if I could do it, so, yeah.
Q. Juwan, just a follow-up on your recent really strong play. Do you feel that you're really better at this point, this year, than maybe even this time last year?
JUWAN MORGAN: I think that just being in the right spot at the right time and making the extra pass and not think about it, those two just going together. I think that's one of the best things.
And then also just the mentality side of it, just being confident, knowing my teammates will find me, knowing that, like I said before, just running hard, they will find you over the top or just making the back cut and they will find you there. And they will always put you in the position to score.
Q. Juwan, Freddie spoke of being more confident out there. In what ways or how have you seen that show just getting a little bit more comfortable and how have you settled in?
JUWAN MORGAN: I think, personally, he was making the right plays, and he just wasn't finishing. And I know that early on that was my big issue, too. Just getting down on myself knowing I was missing shots that I could have been making. And as he started to see them drop, and he started to see that we weren't losing confidence in him, like he was getting to the basket and things like that. He just had to put the ball in the hole, and as he started doing that, we never lost confidence in him. And as he started doing that, he's just continued to grow.
Q. Josh isn't a new guy, but did he have maybe some rust to knock off early in the season. Where do you feel like he is in terms of being able to command the floor offensively?
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: I would definitely think so. Sitting out for a year and then having to come, step on the team and starting with a new team. But I think that as we continue to grow, our chemistry will, and so will his leadership skills. I think that's something that will be big for us. Him really commanding the offense and getting guys in the right spots will be something that helps us get better.
Q. For any of you guys, you had that stretch of four games and then you go a week without having a game. What did you get out of having that time off, everything, practice, and that. Anything specifically that you guys work on in that time off that you feel like maybe translated today?
JUWAN MORGAN: We had all the little things that even in those stretch of games, there was a lot of great things that we did, but there was a lot of things that we could work on. And in those practices, we were just working on those things and we really got after each other, making each other better and that's what we continued to do every day. We have to keep getting better each and every day and not let a day goes by because you either get better or you get worse, you never stay the same.
Q. For any of you guys, what is it like to play with a player like James, who can score so consistently. How does it help the offense?
ROBERT JOHNSON: It just make it that much easier for the ball movement, to get in the lane, you have a guy like that, that's a constant threat. It just makes it easier on everybody.
Q. Robert, assess where you are. You got one week off and then you got another week, what do you guys need to develop or what do you think you need to do better?
ROBERT JOHNSON: The key would be coming in every day and getting after it like we did this past week. We don't have a set of things that we really want to work on as the week progresses. And I think that we really like to focus on that and just try to get better day-to-day to be where we want to be by the time that next game comes.
Q. Does it feel like your guys' legs had more jump from the five days of not playing?
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: Yes, I think so, too. We really just, really working this whole week, things we needed to fix on. But I feel like yeah, we had fresh legs coming into the game.
Q. Can you talk about taking better care of the ball today.
JUWAN MORGAN: This past practice week, we really were taking responsibility. Not just having the coaches do it, but responsibility for each other in practice. And we were just like making dumb turnovers, we were getting on to each other. I think that's why we had probably one of the more competitive weeks since I've been here. And just doing that, it translates to the game. Because it's a lot harder in practice going against somebody that knows exactly what you're about to do, as far as place, than it is in a game. And we like to try to make practice a lot harder than the games that way. It will flow together when we get into the games.
Q. For any of you, can you talk about what Zach McRoberts brings to the floor, especially defensively?
ROBERT JOHNSON: I think Zach is just a guy that's well aware. His awareness is really high on defense. That's just as his feet continue to get better, I think that it will give him an opportunity to play even more. And I think that will be something that's good for us, because he's just such a smart player that he helps everybody on the court.
Q. On earning the opportunity for more minutes.
FREDDIE MCSWAIN: Not that I know. I'm just playing. Really. Whenever my time was called within the game, I was just go all out, play a hundred percent, and just try to be ready every moment.
Houston Baptist Head Coach Ron Cottrell
Opening Statement…
"I thought our guys came out and really competed well, and competed hard early on in the game. I thought defensively we were doing some things that we really wanted to do, and weren't converting on the other end. It was making it tough on us; every time down the floor to get a stop, and not be rewarded with some points on the other end. After a while, you keep getting stops, keep getting stops and not scoring on the other end of the floor, it kind of wears on you a little bit. Obviously they made a little run, I think they went on a 16-0 run there in the first half after we had the lead. We weren't able to chip our way back into it after that. At the half we actually felt pretty good with where we were, down 15 after no playing particularly well on the offensive end. We were able to kind of hold our own rebounding in the first half, but then the second half, it (Indiana's lead) kept mounting on itself."
On Houston Baptist's 3-point shooting…
"We weren't shooting the 3-pointer nearly as much as we normally do. We are going to shoot it more like 28 or 29 times, but we only shot 17 3-pointers tonight because we were trying to pound it inside, and do everything we could to try and get to the lane. We wanted to try and finish some plays and get to the free throw line. We weren't successful in doing that."
On what impressed him about Indiana…
"Athleticism, size and the way they play. They play really hard together, and they are so balanced. You got (Thomas) Bryant inside, got the shooters outside, guys that can get to the rim and finish. They are every bit of a top-ten team, there is no doubt about that. They've got depth, they've got athleticism, they've got size, they play hard and they play together. It is hard to find a weakness in what they are able to do as a team. We tried to do what we could to minimize (James) Blackmon, and he just kept coming in and knocking down shots every time we played off of him a little bit, trying to help on Bryant or something. They will pick you apart a lot of different ways."
On who he scouted Indiana coming into the game…
"We had talked about Robert Johnson being their unsung hero. Everybody talks about Blackmon, talks about Bryant, talks about OG and those guys. But he is kind of they guy who silently kills you. We knew that going in, and we were trying to do everything we could to slow him down, but we were not very successful."
Players Mentioned
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Forward
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Forward
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/ Men's BasketballFB: Under The Hood - Week 3 (Indiana State)
Thursday, September 11
FB: Elijah Sarratt Media Availability (9/9/25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB: Roman Hemby Media Availability (9/9/25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 2 (Kennesaw State)
Thursday, September 04