Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs. Louisville
12/8/2018 5:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
ARCHIE MILLER: Credit Chris and Louisville. Just in watching them on film, I think I said it a couple times, they've improved from day one to today as much as any team that we've seen. They do a great job on both ends of the floor. I think they're going to have a fantastic season.
For our guys, I give them a lot of credit. It's a tough environment to bring anybody in here and play. It's also finding a way to hang in there when things aren't going well, make some adjustments on the fly, then finding a way to get to the last couple minutes of the game.
There was a lot of winning plays again. We've been in this situation it seems like for the last few weeks. I anticipate it being this way for the rest of the season. So to know a group can finish or find a way to finish with its offense or defense is good.
I'm hopeful, to be honest with you, our team, as long as we continue to stay as healthy as possible, that we can even take it to another level because we have such a long gap in terms of the potential on how much better we can actually get.
But there were some really, really hard plays in the game that guys had to make. I was proud of them. They did a great job.
Q. Rob hits a three to give you your first lead. He hits another one to give you the lead for good. Talk about that.
ARCHIE MILLER: Yeah, Rob did a heck of a job I thought in general. He only turned it over one time, six defensive rebounds. We need him to hunt more shots. He's very reluctant right now to shoot unless he's wide open. He's a good shooter. The two that he hit in the second half were big. I was glad that he read it. Clearly the shot at the top was really well executed. He stepped in and drilled it.
He continues to do a really good job for us. He had a good week. Our Penn State game, this game. He was big in the last four minutes of the game. You need your point guard to be able to do that.
Q. They spurted out on your several times. You got three or four possessions where you could have taken the lead, didn't get it. What was the message to your team during that time?
ARCHIE MILLER: From a defensive standpoint, continue to bring the energy on the ball. They're a team that really moves and executes. If you allow them to move and execute, they're going to get good looks.
The second part was to continue to emphasize defensive rebounding. When we gave them long rebounds or second shots, they made us pay. That was discouraging.
From an offensive standpoint, it was just continue to trust and move the ball. Move the ball, move yourself, let's get good action. I thought at times being able to play through the post, De'Ron had a great session there, Juwan was good at times feeding in and out.
Romeo in general continually being aggressive, drawing 10 fouls in the game, that's what he does. Being able to get to the line 14 times, kept us right in there.
50/50 plays, whether it was a stop or we were able to get a basket, hang in there, then the last two minutes a couple key winning plays.
Q. You were a little bit up and down sometimes in games like this last season, where you had to be patient, wait for the opportunity to get a lead. There's new guys on this team. What is different about maybe the way they can approach these tight games?
ARCHIE MILLER: I would hope they would think our defense can carry us when things aren't going well. Doesn't mean you're going to shut them out. When you need a run, when you need the ability to get back in the game or you need something to happen, sometimes it's not offense, sometimes it's defense.
The one thing that's been evident with this group, we're much better, we're much tougher, we're much bigger at times on the floor than we've been in the past. We're able to get key stops at times to help us.
I think we had a window about four minutes where I don't think they got a field goal in that stretch. That's what you need to have, especially as you start to look towards January and February in the Big Ten. It's going to be tough. You have to hang your hat on that.
We have a lot of room to free throw on offense. We have to keep getting better there, make the game easy on ourselves. As we continue to elevate that side of the ball with more chemistry, more movement, more sharing, we'll be even harder to deal with.
I think this team has a leader in Juwan that we trust. I think Zach being back out there continues to give a guy that trust. I think as our new guys have sort of approached the floor, they're gaining trust a little bit, as well.
Without question, there's a go-to guy, go-to guys, there's also the go-to ability to get some stops at times. Not that we're perfect. We've been able to dig in in a lot of games, find a way to get our defense to be able to give us a little offense.
Q. De'Ron had eight points in 14 minutes. How huge is it to be able to have a big guy like him come off the bench and score in the post, make similar passes like Juwan does?
ARCHIE MILLER: When he plays minutes, he gets fouled, you can obviously play through him. I think he's very shifty in the blocks going against other big guys. He's comfortable down there. He's a willing passer, he is unselfish.
His 14 minutes tonight were really, really big. He did a great job. To be honest with you, to credit him, he's had to fight through that body pain, soreness, getting in shape while you're injured.
Right now he's been able to practice the last few weeks really consistent. I think he's in the best shape he's been. He's in the best shape he's been in. He has another month before conference play starts where he can take one more jump conditioning-wise, which will help him play more minutes.
Without question, De'Ron is a big part of what we're doing. When he's able to play a lot of minutes, he gives us another presence on the floor against other big people.
Q. What has made Rob so good in the first couple months of the season? How big has it been to have a guy like that step into that role so quick, so young?
ARCHIE MILLER: Rob, without realizing it, how physically strong he is, how sturdy he is as a guard. There's very few freshmen guards that can do what he does for 33 minutes in terms of the defensive side of the ball, which we ask him to do.
He's also a tough kid. You don't really know how tough a guy is, what they're made of, until you get them going. He's taking advantage of the opportunities he's been given. He's played well. He's had a great work ethic about it. He's also learning how to play point guard in college, a lot different than playing point guard in high school. I think he's doing a better job running our team.
He's been a great, great addition to the program all the way around, on and off the floor.
Q. When it comes to Romeo's ability to drive, either score or get fouled, is that in his bag of tricks despite how he's shooting on the perimeter, or will that get more effective for him?
ARCHIE MILLER: Romeo is as gifted as it gets in terms of getting to the basket. Shooting the ball well, not shooting the ball well, that's not his MO. His MO is he's obviously been a great attacking guard off the dribble. I don't think a lot of people understand how physically big and strong he is as a freshman, how gifted he is in his length offensively as he's approaching the paint.
I thought he was as aggressive as he's been all season tonight. You draw 10 fouls, shoot 14 free throws, that's pretty impressive against that team as a freshman. He's definitely a guy that I think sees himself more as an attacking guard than just a shooter.
Q. How do you feel like Romeo is holding up physically? Do you worry about the grind of an entire season?
ARCHIE MILLER: I think the wear and tear of all college basketball players plays a role. That's why you got to be smart during your opportunities with practice time. He's diligent in terms of taking care of his body off the floor as well.
I think if you've watched him play over the course of the last couple years, you have a feeling he's at the basket quite a bit, up on the rim quite a bit. He is going to get hit. He takes contact well. He's not a little guy. He's not a little guy. He's 6'6", 215 pounds. The blows that he delivers, he gives some as well.
We want him to play even stronger, got to get him rebounding the ball a little bit better. I think he'll be fine with that. I think as we get into Big Ten play, definitely will be something that our team in general will have to deal with, is just the battle of the physical.
Q. You played 10 games in a little over a month. Now you have one in the next 10 days. How does your approach change in terms of practice?
ARCHIE MILLER: It won't. We have to be mindful of our players. We're in finals week. You have to be mindful of those guys, giving them enough time, enough attention, making sure their exams are being taken care of.
We've always approached the finals week with our team as being able to give them multiple days off to concentrate on the testing. But it's like I told them, when we work, we're going to work. We have to get better this week as we approach our next opportunity against Butler. We can take a few steps here if we're smart in terms of our team.
I think as long as we approach the everyday process the right way, we're going to continue to get better because we do have a lot of upside and room to grow.
We'll approach this week as we normally do, exams first, then practice times go to work. Mix up the week with a little of the weekday off to let them recuperate, then get to our Saturday afternoon game up in Indianapolis.
Q. (Question about Justin Smith.)
ARCHIE MILLER: Justin played a terrific game. Our staff and team saw a film from Penn State the other day, he did as good a job on Lamar Stevens as anyone has done all season long.
We were worried about Jordan, his three-point ability, ability to play on the perimeter. We just felt he was too big and too strong for maybe our guards to be able to stay on him.
I'll tell you what, again Justin has delivered a really good defensive performance. We knew he was going to make some tough ones, not that he's perfect. I thought he really competed late in the game. He was able to rebound the ball again, nine more rebounds.
If Justin is getting nine rebounds, playing 30 minutes, he gets nine points, doesn't turn it over, that's the guy he has to be for us now.
We put him in a couple different positions here in the last game that I think will help him take care of the ball a little bit more, as well.
Q. Romeo, what are some things you're seeing him struggle with at the line? He still hit a couple shots he had to at the end there.
ARCHIE MILLER: I don't know what he's struggling with, to be honest with you, at the line. I think he's a good free throw shooter. The fact he gets there quite a bit, he'll only get more comfortable there.
He's fearless. I knew when he was going up for the late ones in the game he was going to be able to step up because that's what he does. He's a gamer. He's able to finish.
I think more importantly is the amount he's getting there. That's the key number for him. He'll get better as the season goes in making them. He'll get better just in general because of who he is as a player.
He's approached the month of December as good as you can as a young guy that has enough on his shoulders. Gotten better in October to November, November to December. Now let's get December to January. He knows that. He's got to put himself in a situation where he gets better every month of the season. He has a great attitude.
He's going to have more opportunities to go to the line, and I think he'll get better as the season goes.
Q. Were you pleased overall with how you were at the three? The 10 turnovers, something you also are happy with?
ARCHIE MILLER: Defending the three-point line, we weren't very good I didn't think in the first half. A lot of it happened with broken plays or long rebounds that we weren't able to secure. They did a good job of hitting a couple. They have a good shooting team.
I think the second part of it in the second half we did a better job of being able to get there, challenge them, make it harder. Nwora is a really good three-point shooter as well. He's a difficult matchup. He's a really improved player. He's one of the better players we've seen all season.
The fact they took so many, the percentage was what it was, you have to say hopefully the law of averages comes back around.
But yeah, I think if you look at the percentages by the game, I don't know what this new stat sheet looks like, I think they shot 6-15 in the second half, 5-17 in the first half. The second half was a little bit hard. 11-32 with 34% isn't bad. 38% overall is a much different number when you think about it because their two point field goal percentage coming in, the way the get fouled, coming in with their size and ability to get to the line. They went to the line 13 times, shot 38%.
Juwan Morgan, Romeo Langford, Justin Smith and Rob Phinisee
Q. Romeo, early on guys weren't doing a whole lot offensively. You seemed to really make a determination that you were going to have to step up today and be that guy. Did you feel that or are you letting the game come to you?
ROMEO LANGFORD: Yeah, I saw we were starting up a little slow. I took it in my hands to get the team going. I felt like that's what got us going ultimately to win the game.
Q. Rob, Hoosiers didn't lead till you rose up from the right wing to hit a three, then hit another three. Talk about both of those plays, what you saw, why you felt you had to rise up and take the shot.
ROB PHINISEE: The play really wasn't designed for that. I saw my guy drop back in. I just took the open shot and made it.
Q. Juwan, I think this is three straight wins with five total points. The cliffhanger type thing, are you embracing that now? Are you comfortable when it comes down to that type of situation?
JUWAN MORGAN: We're definitely comfortable in that situation. I think the hard work we put in in the off-season has prepared us for that. Last time around this time last year we were losing those games. I think this time we're coming together as a group, doing a better job on both sides of the ball, knocking down free throws, also getting stops to put us over the top.
Q. What is different about this team in those close games? How much do you feel maybe you're approaching them differently as a senior?
JUWAN MORGAN: I just think everybody is taking their own matchup personally. When it comes down to it, they don't want to be the guy that is known for letting their man score in the last possessions.
I think everybody is taking that pride. I think everybody is really taking that to heart.
Q. Juwan, you played from behind most of the game. When was the mindset during that stretch when you couldn't quite get over the hump, what changed down the stretch?
JUWAN MORGAN: We just had to keep fighting. We were right there. We knew if we stayed within striking distance, we really put ourselves in a position to win the game. I think we did that.
Q. Justin, your second straight game with nine rebounds. You also defensively had to guard Lamar Stevens. Today you had a really tough matchup. Talk about what made him tough as a player today.
JUSTIN SMITH: He's a great shooter, great scorer. He was able to shoot the ball pretty much anywhere on the floor. Closing out way past the three-point line was difficult, especially when we try to keep the floor tight. They really tried to spread us out.
I mean, he was definitely a key for us defensively. I mean, he had 24 points. He had to work for those 24. We made it difficult for him. We were able to do enough to get the win.
Q. Juwan, just the first month, some of the close calls you were in, having to will out games late, how much has that equipped you to win games now and down the road?
JUWAN MORGAN: It's equipped us well. It's put us in a position to get those wins. I just think it makes us a tougher team. Going through those things really makes a team more together on both sides of the ball.
As we go into January and into February, into March, it just will be natural for us in those games. Earlier we were kind of struggling, but I think we'll be ready.
Q. Romeo, your first double-double as a Hoosier. Were the rebounds coming to you today? Was that an emphasis for you?
ROB PHINISEE: He had one rebound (laughter).
Q. Romeo, you had a couple missed free throws early. Were able to hit the two. What were the challenges there?
ROMEO LANGFORD: I really didn't think too much while I was on the line. Cleared my head. I knew the last two free throws I shot were crucial and I had to knock them down. That's what I did.
Q. Romeo, what was the experience like for you playing Louisville? Was this one you had kind of been pointing to, knowing you were going to get a school from near your hometown? What happened to your eye?
ROMEO LANGFORD: The experience was really good. I felt like the crowd was really into it, got loud at a couple points in the game. I didn't really pay too much attention to just me being close to Louisville, where I'm from. That didn't play too much of a factor in the game for me.
I got elbowed up here in my eye in the Penn State game.
Q. Justin, you were able to be more assertive going towards the basketball tonight. What allowed you to do that? Juwan found you a couple times on cuts. Do you feel like you cut harder, with more energy, playing off a guy who can get you the ball?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, I think we made some changes offensively, get the ball moving a little bit more, which moved the defense a little bit more, which opened up some driving lanes.
When Juwan gets the ball in the post, yeah, I mean, he's always looking to pass. He's really looking to pass, I wouldn't say first, but majority of the time he is looking to make plays out of the post. It gives me incentive definitely to dive knowing there's a possibility.
It does open the floor time sometimes for him or somebody else, but it's definitely a part of our offense.
Q. Facing a team that really relies on the three-pointer, the team was struggling with three, Rob, how big was it for you to be able to hit some very clutch threes?
ROB PHINISEE: Really I just tried to, I mean, make the shot for my team so we can do whatever we can to win. I just took the open shot.
Q. Juwan, what is it about this freshman class that has let them step up and make big plays without being fazed?
JUWAN MORGAN: Started in the summer when they came in willing to work, willing to learn. Closer and closer to the Big Ten, they're becoming more like veterans. We can't call them freshmen any more because the plays they're making down the stretch are big plays for us. They still have mistakes here or there, but they always make up for them.
Q. What got better defensively in the course of this game?
JUWAN MORGAN: I just think we stayed together more in the second half. I just think as they made a couple runs here and there, we just buckled down, said, This is what we need to do, get a stop. Each person just took that challenge to stop their man from scoring.
We all had each other's back, even if it was an emergency switch sometimes. We weren't trying to switch, but talking it out, communication, we came out and did what we needed to do on that side.
Q. Romeo, loading up on you the first half, you took jump shots. How were you able to find more space in the second half?
ROMEO LANGFORD: Just the way I play, I really just take what the defense gives me. In the first half, they were giving me jump shots in my step-back. They spaced out a little bit in the second half, led me to drive, pass it off to guys like Juwan and Justin.
Louisville Head Coach Chris Mack
Opening Statement
"I'm going to start off by recognizing that their guys played really hard. You lose a one possession game, and there are so many plays that you wish you could go back in time and change. But you can't. I thought in the middle of the second half when we went on an offensive drought, our defense wasn't what it was compared to the other 30 minutes of the game. IU took the lead. Then, I thought we clamped down a lot harder defensively. As I told our guys, we are going to have times where even your best teams on offense don't score four or five possessions in a row. We have to be able to keep the other team from scoring. We didn't do that. Two guys that we really highlighted coming into the game were their two best players, and they played like it. I thought our guys competed and came up short. It is a great college basketball game. This place is awesome. Great tradition. We have a ton of respect for IU and the job that Archie is doing. But at the same time, I would be lying if I didn't feel like we had an opportunity to win. We didn't take advantage of it. It wasn't the official's fault. It wasn't any fault other than our own. Indiana I'm certain had something to do with it as well."
Chris, when you went through the offense drought, Did you like the shots you were getting?
"A few of them. We couldn't establish anything inside today. We shot an awful lot of threes. I feel like we are really good three-point shooting team. But the ball has got to get in the lane first, and It never really did. I don't think our big guys gave us a huge amount of post presence. You give their guys a lot of credit for fighting to front and returning on their ball screen hedges and not allowing easy passes into the post. Conversely, I thought that was a problem for us, and we have to correct that. We have to get better at interior play, so we can play a little bit more inside out."
You mentioned you had some breakdowns throughout that stretch, where were those?
"Mostly in the post. They ran a ball screen where they bring the other big high. We call it high action, and they scored about five or six points off of it. We didn't defend it the way we needed to. We talked that a lot obviously not enough. That action hurt us. A couple of times we played great defense only to not come up with a loose ball. Specifically, the one with a couple of seconds on the shot clock and Juwan snatches it up right next to Steve and lays it in. That was a killer. Couple miss communications on ball screens, not fighting in the post as hard as we should."
Obviously, Juwan and Romeo had big games, but how key was Phinisee's three in the game?
"It all started with a cross screen for bringing their best player to the block, Juwan Morgan. I think our guard was trying to help out our big who was probably struggling to get through the screen, and he gets caught up in the screen and doesn't get out there in time. Prior to that point, Phinisee hadn't done a whole lot. We had talked about him as a Freshman out there. He was more of a conservative person on the team, getting the ball to the right guys. He doesn't necessarily come off that screen as an instantly catch and shoot. So as long as you are not consistently hung up in the weeds then you can get there. He probably won't take that shot. I don't know if we fell down or just ran face first into the chest of that screen. Give him a lot of credit that was a big time shot. That's why they are in the winner's circle."
