Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs. Western Illinois
11/5/2019 10:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Indiana vs. Western Illinois
Postgame Quotes
Nov. 5, 2019
Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
ARCHIE MILLER: A good win opening night. It's always, get the season off on a good note. It's hard to win in college basketball. And for our guys there's a lot of newness out there, a lot of inexperience. There's a lot of question marks in terms of what's going to happen sometimes on game night. And for us to be able to win with the game, I'm excited about that and our team should be as well. We got a long way to go. Not a very good defensive team right now, and that's got to get shored up. We've got a quick turnaround Saturday. And Portland State will present a lot of different challenges for us because of their style with their pressing and whatnot. But we're off and running here. We played a lots of guys, which was good to see. And as we get a little bit more healthy and get Devonte back, I think everyone can tell that there's not a guy that doesn't belong out there. So hopefully it continues to give us confidence and that what we're doing is working and we can get getting better.
Q. Do you look at Justin Smith as one of those barometer guys, that when he plays well you guys play well as a team?
ARCHIE MILLER: I think so. He's one of our oldest guys. He's played in every single game as a college basketball player at Indiana. I think that's hard to say. There's probably a lot of great players that have played here that maybe early in their career maybe didn't played as much. He's played a lot of minutes. He changed the game for us in the first half with his defensive intensity. He was able to get out and make some plays, gave us a cushion, gave us confidence, gave us some momentum. And that's what older guys do, the most experienced guys play. I look at his numbers and his line, and I'll be honest with you, I didn't even notice that he scored 24 points. I think at the end of the day, I was just watching how he approached things there in a certain point of time. Defensively he's very, very active and made plays for us. So as we keep going here's, he's an important cog in our wheel. He's got to stay with it and just keep getting better.
Q. I think you said you had a goal for him in terms of minutes again. Did he have a goal tonight?
ARCHIE MILLER: 15 to 20 minutes is what he was supposed to play and he played 17 and a half. So we stuck in there. He did a good job. He's starting to work his way back here a little bit in practice. Hopefully he continues to feel good. We'll see how it goes here in the next 48 hours with his recovery. If all that goes wells, and he keeps practicing, obviously, his role will continue to increase.
Q. You looked like a different team with Al out there, versus is the exhibition game, even. Speak to his progress. 7-7 tonight. His shot just looks so much better.
ARCHIE MILLER: Al's an important part to what we do again. He's an older player, he's a Junior now. And he's played a lot of minutes, he's a leader on our team, and, minus the 10-day period of time that, obviously, knock on wood that he was able to recover from a knee contusion. He did the same thing in the Marquette game, he ran our team, played with great tempo, was smart. And, again, tonight was able to make some shots and I think that's a positive sign for his confidence level.
But three assists, one turnover, four defensive rebounds, I think he did a nice job, obviously, with our team in terms of leading them. But I think you can tell, he's very comfortable right now in how we're playing and he's got to stay with it and I think that as we get some other guys around him and continue to get a little bit more experience he'll have some help at the guard slot for sure.
Q. To kind of go back to Justin, I know he's, as you talked about, one of your more experienced guys, a guy who is played a lot. How much more to you feel that you can put on him at both ends of the floor this season? He just looks more comfortable in what works in his game, especially in maybe turning defense into offense.
ARCHIE MILLER: I think defensively him being able to move around the floor is very important. He turned into a very, very solid defender for us last year. When engaged and when really locked in can be an elite defender. He's shown that. He defended bigger players last year. Now he's defending both. So it's a new challenge for him defending on the perimeter and the post, he can defend multiple positions. So defensively he's a very, very key cog in what we're doing, depending on how we're playing and who we're playing.
Offensively, he's got to get around the basket, he's got to use his talents in the open floor. And I think that's what you're seeing right now. He's a much more confident player because of the way, I think he's out in lanes and he's able to get around the basket different ways. But I think the big thing for him is to be engaged on what we're asking him to do. And I thought tonight he did a good job stepping up and making an impact in ways that a lot of guys didn't see, just in terms of it wasn't about a three-point shot that went in. It was much more about him changing the game with his effort level.
Q. They were up three about midway through the first half and I think you guys went on something like a 16, 18-0 run over a four-minute stretch. It seemed like there was a pretty good lineup that was doing some good things. What did you like about that?
ARCHIE MILLER: Quicker lineup. Trayce and Justin together with, I'm not sure who in particular was at the guard slot, may have been Al or maybe even Rob at the time. But Rob, but you had three veteran guys, and then you had your quickest lineup out there defensively. We weren't applying any heat defensively there in the first six to eight minutes. It was very methodical and they were able to do what they want. We started to challenge some passing lanes, we were able to get some deflections, we got out in transition and got a cushion, and that lineup, having some quickness to it, I thought helped.
Q. You had new guys from every level, whether it was true freshman Trayce and Armaan or Joey Brunk or Jerome Hunter, just your thoughts on how that group played and how they can really take this team to the next step?
ARCHIE MILLER: They just got to get more experienced. I think Trayce is playing within himself right now. He's doing a really good job of just being himself. I think he's going to have games where he's got bigger games scoring and whatnot. But he's content with being a great teammate right now, which is good. I think Joey feeling himself out a little bit offensively early, was a little uncertain how to attack. It got more comfortable as the game goes and I think as the games continue to play he'll get more experience level with what we're doing. He hasn't played with any of these guys before, so it's the first time.
Armaan, I thought offensively, again, eight assists, zero turnovers, very smooth. Didn't score it as much tonight, which at the end of the day is going to happen, but eight assists was really, really big for Armaan. And we just got all of them. They just got to get more experience, they got to get more game experience, more toughness into what they're doing, in terms of how we have to do it, because I think all three were really, if you, all three, obviously, right now are big impact guys in terms of adding new weapons to the fold. I mean, all three guys can do a lot of different things for us.
Q. How about Jerome?
ARCHIE MILLER: Jerome did a nice job tonight. Got 16 minutes, which is about where he's at right now. Jerome's gifted offensively, he was able to get around the basket a little bit more in the second half like he did in our first game. But he can, he can get going from the outside and he did a good job.
I thought first and second half, both times, Jerome's good. Jerome's basically a true freshman. He's playing his first college game today. So to be able to get out there is probably a relief for him, now he can continue to build. It's not like he's go this wealth of experience. I mean you got a brand new guy out there in him as well. So with him, Trayce and Armaan you got two, three, really just true freshman. And Damezi's experience level is much improved, I think you can tell, in that he's a lot more solid, but again he needs more reps as well.
Q. The ball movement in general, 18 assists to 11 turnovers, how would you assess and how important is that going to be going forward sharing the ball?
ARCHIE MILLER: He's a big part going forward. Our ball movement has got to move, the ball has got to move, the players have got to move. In the first half it's always a feel it out process, you're always gauging how the team is going to guard you. I thought they sat back, they packed it in, they kind of wanted us to pass it around the perimeter a little bit. And we were unsure just in our movement.
Second half we were much more aggressive. Ball movement, quickness, cutting, our post guys were better in getting in a little bit tighter where we didn't have to deal with as much crowd on the floor. We had some plays where we were a little too cute. I would say out of our 11 turnovers four or five of them, three or four of them were just trying to be cute. Had some plays that you don't need to make. And we'll get those out of our system here moving forward.
But 11 turnovers that's the one you look at with our team, can't turn the ball over with this group. And being able to have four at half, probably had a couple too many in the second half.
18 assists was good. Our perimeter players, Al, Armaan and Rob accounted for 14 assists between them which was great, so we just got to stay with it.
Q. You mentioned after the exhibition that you would look out on the court and see a lot of new faces. Was there any less of that today and I guess having that experience in the exhibition how did that kind of help?
ARCHIE MILLER: There's some inexperience. I think Al being back in the lineup obviously helped and then Rob being a part of what we're doing you get a little bit more comfort level as a coach looking out there and seeing Rob and Al. We hadn't had that. In all reality, it's the first time the two guys have played together all year. They haven't been part of a practice together, to be honest with you. So to have those two guys out there it gives you a little bit more comfort level and confidence that your older, more experienced guys are playing. So we had a little bit more familiarity there and eventually Devonte makes his way back, now you have a third guy out there, so that gives you a little bit more comfort.
Damezi and Jerome and Justin those guys playing together the floor at times is good and at times you need another ball handler maybe a little bit. But I'm good right now, I feel like if we just keep evolving and our guys stay with it we have a lot of different guys that can help this team. And it's going to be strength by numbers, it's going to be by committee, and at the end of the day this team I think is going to have to find a way to Will itself to win with a lot of people doing a lot of different things. But the way you hold your hat on that is the effort level and the consistency defensively. If you can get great on defense, and you can be a team that's deep on defense and you don't have weak links on defense then the offense will take care of itself.
We have to become a team, this team has to become a team that can play a lot of guys, that comes at you and is very solid defensively. And that's where we're trying to get to. We're not there yet by any stretch.
Q. Whether it was off makes or misses you guys seemed particularly effective getting downhill and pushing the tempo. Is there anything about this particular team that is maybe better suited to play that style?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well you have front court depth. You have the ability to not play guys 35 minutes inside. They can't run you all day. You're only as good as your front court can run. And Joey and Trayce, De'Ron, Race, you move just Justin down there a little bit, you have different options and you can keep the pace up because your front court depth is good. If you don't have front depth you can't run, It doesn't matter what you say. But right now we have a stable of guys that I feel like if they're in there they can put pressure on the rim. If you put pressure on the rim and your guards are doing a good job of advancing the ball and pushing it, I think that's what your seeing right now is a team that's trying to continue to push the pace. We're getting a lot up the floor, which is a good sign, and that's got to be a part of what we're doing. We can't play sort of trudging through the mud, we got to get going.
Indiana Players - Justin Smith, Rob Phinisee and Al Durham
Q. I think we asked you all about the kind of defense to offense, but, Justin, you specifically had a number of moments tonight where you were able to get out in transition because of what you did defensively. Just how important to your offensive game to you want what you do at the defensive end of the floor to be this year.
JUSTIN SMITH: I feel like I'm at my best in transition so being able to create turnovers and really get out and run, use my athleticism to really benefit our team. But just in general, we got to use defense to create our offense especially with the kind of versatility that we have and the kind of athletes that we have. So I feel like if we just focus more on the defensive end then we can get going.
Q. For Al or Rob, coach has talked about pushing tempo for awhile now, but it really seemed to click tonight. Can you talk about how much that was a point of emphasis and how effective you think you were?
AL DURHAM: Yeah. We talk about it every day in practice, pushing the tempo and just outrunning our opponents really. So if we can out run our opponents for most of the game we can run them down, really. Basically.
ROB PHINISEE: Yeah, what Al just said pretty much. But that's our main focus, just get out in transition and score easy buckets.
Q. Al, I don't see you have a stat sheet there. Have you looked at it yet? Do you know what you did? Do you know how many shots you missed?
AL DURHAM: No, I didn't look at it. Could you tell me?
Q. Take a look. I think you might know.
AL DURHAM: Oh, we were 7-7 today.
Q. We were, weren't we? How does that feel? Was it going? And obviously you're not aware of that as it happens so you're not feeling pressure as the shots mount, you haven't missed one yet.
AL DURHAM: I mean, my teammates were fine to me. They did a good job with that. And they trusted me to knock down the shots and that's what I did today. I feel like I prepared for this moment and it went my way today.
Q. All three of you guys were out there in the lineup with Trayce and Jerome. I think it was something like a 16- or 18-0 run there midway through the first half. For any of you, what was kind of working for that particular combination and that whole stretch? How were you guys able to create some separation with Western Illinois?
ROB PHINISEE: I would say our defense. We had a lot of steals and Trayce, and I think Justin had a couple blocks, too, and we got out in transition and that's where we're at our best.
Q. Rob, how are you feeling physical? Have you started to feel the rhythm back in your game and, in the last week or just the last day, or when did you start really getting better after the first few minutes tonight?
ROB PHINISEE: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say, well, I wouldn't say I'm a hundred percent, but I'm still getting my rhythm back, and I feel like this game is a big confidence booster for me.
Q. Rob, to play on that, what is difficult for you right now? What's hard to play through? How do you feel at the end of the game? What's just the total physical?
ROB PHINISEE: I'm feeling fine now. I would say just my rhythm, just sitting out that whole month of October not being able to practice anything. So just the rhythm out there and just pretty much getting our team chemistry up. Because I've been out for awhile.
Q. For Al and Rob, 18 assists to 11 turnovers, the ball movement today, how encouraging was that to see and the ability to take care of the ball as well.
AL DURHAM: It's a point of emphasis for us. We don't want to turn it over but we want to, you can see everybody can contribute on this team, so I feel like 18 assists, great. We got to cut down on the turnovers, though.
Q. Rob, there was one moment where I think you went pretty much face first into the floor for a ball. How much does, you just enjoy that part of the game in terms of going after loose balls and things like that?
ROB PHINISEE: I really pride myself on defense, so whenever I can get on the floor and be the first person to the floor I feel like that gives our team a boost. And we might have got a bucket after that, I'm not sure, but I feel just like being the first person to the floor really helps our team.
Q. Justin, I know after the exhibition, you said there were a couple awkward lineups out there. Did you feel like there was a little bit more continuity there on the floor with some of the lineup that you guys had today? You guys looked pretty comfortable out there together.
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, I would say so. Just getting Al back that we didn't have the exhibition and getting Rob back in here a little bit more. But I think that we pride ourselves on our versatility so even in practice we play with some weird lineups to kind of just feel some things out. So whenever we need to do that, we'll be ready for it. But a lot of different players can do a lot of different things on the floor at any position, so we can use that to our advantage.
Q. Justin, you're playing the three, it looks like starting off, and I don't think you did that last year. Has your game, it looked like your game has advanced, not just because you were playing the three, but were you doing three things. Are you better this year or could you have done that whenever and you just didn't have a chance?
JUSTIN SMITH: Whatever Coach Miller wants me to do I will do on the floor. Whatever he asks me to do. He wants me to play the four, he wants me to play the five, he wants me to play the one, I'll do it.
Q. Did you work on your game at all to handle the three more?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah. I mean it was a goal of mine to really be able to play more aggressive and more consistent on the perimeter. So that's really what I worked on this off season and I'm lucky that it's coming into fruition.
Q. He was here an extra month, correct?
JUSTIN SMITH: In May.
Q. Justin, you talked about embracing, being one of this team's more versatile defenders, as well, last season. I guess, where do you feel like you improved defensively as a guy that did spend a lot of last year matching up with wing guys and high scoring volume scorers in Big-10 play?
JUSTIN SMITH: I would say that on the ball and in ball screens with my man is using the ball screen. That's definitely going to an adjustment in the first couple games. We're really working on it hard in practice. But I just got to keep going and keep getting better as we get more reps, doing that, it will be second, become second nature.
Q. Justin, to keep on the offensive piece of it. Obviously the three takes you out further on the perimeter but it also seems like you're more willing to take more guys on the low block from the perimeter and take advantage of your size. Is that an emphasis where you're trying to make sure that when you have an athletic and size advantage, that you're kind of using that to punish your defender?
JUSTIN SMITH: It's definitely smart to use your advantage, especially when you have big guys on the wing like me, Jerome, Damezi. We're being guarded by, I think, it's 6'-2", 6'-3" guys on the floor. So just using our strength and also our quickness if a big guy comes on to us, it's just kind of pick your poison at that point.
Western Illinois Head Coach Billy Wright
Talk a little bit about how Al Durham and Justin Smith affected the game for you?
Well I think the entire team collectively picked up the defensive pressure and gave us some problems. We couldn't move the ball side-top-side like we would have liked and obviously they stepped up and made some shots.
Being an Indiana guy coming back and playing here, what was that overall experience like for you?
Besides the outcome, it's always great. I was born and raised in the state of Indiana, won a state championship here. You always want to play in front of your home town fans or coach in front of them. So, it was a great experience from that standpoint. Obviously, Colby being from Indianapolis, a lot of parents or friends and family for him. Just wish she could have performed a little bit better but a great environment. IU plays the right way, they're a tough team and resemble some of the team on our schedule and in our conference and that was a big part of scheduling this game.
Archie Miller said on Monday that you guys go way back. He recruited some of the players that you coached in high school, what's your relationship been like with him?
"He's been a tremendous resource in terms of coaching and the coach in fraternity. Just recruiting kids when I was a high school coach back at Pike High School, he was working for Western Kentucky University. Actually, he caught my eye when he was a player at NC State. I used to watch Sunday night ACC Hoops when he was at NC State. He was a tough resilient point guard and it showed in his recruiting toughness and now obviously he's a head coach. SO, just great to call him a friend in this business.
What impressed you the most about Indiana?
Their toughness, their physicality and their versatility. I think they can play small and play big. I think the young guys are coming along really well, it's not easy playing freshmen at any level, especially in the Big Ten. So, I think they're doing the right things in the off season to get their team ready.
Postgame Quotes
Nov. 5, 2019
Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
ARCHIE MILLER: A good win opening night. It's always, get the season off on a good note. It's hard to win in college basketball. And for our guys there's a lot of newness out there, a lot of inexperience. There's a lot of question marks in terms of what's going to happen sometimes on game night. And for us to be able to win with the game, I'm excited about that and our team should be as well. We got a long way to go. Not a very good defensive team right now, and that's got to get shored up. We've got a quick turnaround Saturday. And Portland State will present a lot of different challenges for us because of their style with their pressing and whatnot. But we're off and running here. We played a lots of guys, which was good to see. And as we get a little bit more healthy and get Devonte back, I think everyone can tell that there's not a guy that doesn't belong out there. So hopefully it continues to give us confidence and that what we're doing is working and we can get getting better.
Q. Do you look at Justin Smith as one of those barometer guys, that when he plays well you guys play well as a team?
ARCHIE MILLER: I think so. He's one of our oldest guys. He's played in every single game as a college basketball player at Indiana. I think that's hard to say. There's probably a lot of great players that have played here that maybe early in their career maybe didn't played as much. He's played a lot of minutes. He changed the game for us in the first half with his defensive intensity. He was able to get out and make some plays, gave us a cushion, gave us confidence, gave us some momentum. And that's what older guys do, the most experienced guys play. I look at his numbers and his line, and I'll be honest with you, I didn't even notice that he scored 24 points. I think at the end of the day, I was just watching how he approached things there in a certain point of time. Defensively he's very, very active and made plays for us. So as we keep going here's, he's an important cog in our wheel. He's got to stay with it and just keep getting better.
Q. I think you said you had a goal for him in terms of minutes again. Did he have a goal tonight?
ARCHIE MILLER: 15 to 20 minutes is what he was supposed to play and he played 17 and a half. So we stuck in there. He did a good job. He's starting to work his way back here a little bit in practice. Hopefully he continues to feel good. We'll see how it goes here in the next 48 hours with his recovery. If all that goes wells, and he keeps practicing, obviously, his role will continue to increase.
Q. You looked like a different team with Al out there, versus is the exhibition game, even. Speak to his progress. 7-7 tonight. His shot just looks so much better.
ARCHIE MILLER: Al's an important part to what we do again. He's an older player, he's a Junior now. And he's played a lot of minutes, he's a leader on our team, and, minus the 10-day period of time that, obviously, knock on wood that he was able to recover from a knee contusion. He did the same thing in the Marquette game, he ran our team, played with great tempo, was smart. And, again, tonight was able to make some shots and I think that's a positive sign for his confidence level.
But three assists, one turnover, four defensive rebounds, I think he did a nice job, obviously, with our team in terms of leading them. But I think you can tell, he's very comfortable right now in how we're playing and he's got to stay with it and I think that as we get some other guys around him and continue to get a little bit more experience he'll have some help at the guard slot for sure.
Q. To kind of go back to Justin, I know he's, as you talked about, one of your more experienced guys, a guy who is played a lot. How much more to you feel that you can put on him at both ends of the floor this season? He just looks more comfortable in what works in his game, especially in maybe turning defense into offense.
ARCHIE MILLER: I think defensively him being able to move around the floor is very important. He turned into a very, very solid defender for us last year. When engaged and when really locked in can be an elite defender. He's shown that. He defended bigger players last year. Now he's defending both. So it's a new challenge for him defending on the perimeter and the post, he can defend multiple positions. So defensively he's a very, very key cog in what we're doing, depending on how we're playing and who we're playing.
Offensively, he's got to get around the basket, he's got to use his talents in the open floor. And I think that's what you're seeing right now. He's a much more confident player because of the way, I think he's out in lanes and he's able to get around the basket different ways. But I think the big thing for him is to be engaged on what we're asking him to do. And I thought tonight he did a good job stepping up and making an impact in ways that a lot of guys didn't see, just in terms of it wasn't about a three-point shot that went in. It was much more about him changing the game with his effort level.
Q. They were up three about midway through the first half and I think you guys went on something like a 16, 18-0 run over a four-minute stretch. It seemed like there was a pretty good lineup that was doing some good things. What did you like about that?
ARCHIE MILLER: Quicker lineup. Trayce and Justin together with, I'm not sure who in particular was at the guard slot, may have been Al or maybe even Rob at the time. But Rob, but you had three veteran guys, and then you had your quickest lineup out there defensively. We weren't applying any heat defensively there in the first six to eight minutes. It was very methodical and they were able to do what they want. We started to challenge some passing lanes, we were able to get some deflections, we got out in transition and got a cushion, and that lineup, having some quickness to it, I thought helped.
Q. You had new guys from every level, whether it was true freshman Trayce and Armaan or Joey Brunk or Jerome Hunter, just your thoughts on how that group played and how they can really take this team to the next step?
ARCHIE MILLER: They just got to get more experienced. I think Trayce is playing within himself right now. He's doing a really good job of just being himself. I think he's going to have games where he's got bigger games scoring and whatnot. But he's content with being a great teammate right now, which is good. I think Joey feeling himself out a little bit offensively early, was a little uncertain how to attack. It got more comfortable as the game goes and I think as the games continue to play he'll get more experience level with what we're doing. He hasn't played with any of these guys before, so it's the first time.
Armaan, I thought offensively, again, eight assists, zero turnovers, very smooth. Didn't score it as much tonight, which at the end of the day is going to happen, but eight assists was really, really big for Armaan. And we just got all of them. They just got to get more experience, they got to get more game experience, more toughness into what they're doing, in terms of how we have to do it, because I think all three were really, if you, all three, obviously, right now are big impact guys in terms of adding new weapons to the fold. I mean, all three guys can do a lot of different things for us.
Q. How about Jerome?
ARCHIE MILLER: Jerome did a nice job tonight. Got 16 minutes, which is about where he's at right now. Jerome's gifted offensively, he was able to get around the basket a little bit more in the second half like he did in our first game. But he can, he can get going from the outside and he did a good job.
I thought first and second half, both times, Jerome's good. Jerome's basically a true freshman. He's playing his first college game today. So to be able to get out there is probably a relief for him, now he can continue to build. It's not like he's go this wealth of experience. I mean you got a brand new guy out there in him as well. So with him, Trayce and Armaan you got two, three, really just true freshman. And Damezi's experience level is much improved, I think you can tell, in that he's a lot more solid, but again he needs more reps as well.
Q. The ball movement in general, 18 assists to 11 turnovers, how would you assess and how important is that going to be going forward sharing the ball?
ARCHIE MILLER: He's a big part going forward. Our ball movement has got to move, the ball has got to move, the players have got to move. In the first half it's always a feel it out process, you're always gauging how the team is going to guard you. I thought they sat back, they packed it in, they kind of wanted us to pass it around the perimeter a little bit. And we were unsure just in our movement.
Second half we were much more aggressive. Ball movement, quickness, cutting, our post guys were better in getting in a little bit tighter where we didn't have to deal with as much crowd on the floor. We had some plays where we were a little too cute. I would say out of our 11 turnovers four or five of them, three or four of them were just trying to be cute. Had some plays that you don't need to make. And we'll get those out of our system here moving forward.
But 11 turnovers that's the one you look at with our team, can't turn the ball over with this group. And being able to have four at half, probably had a couple too many in the second half.
18 assists was good. Our perimeter players, Al, Armaan and Rob accounted for 14 assists between them which was great, so we just got to stay with it.
Q. You mentioned after the exhibition that you would look out on the court and see a lot of new faces. Was there any less of that today and I guess having that experience in the exhibition how did that kind of help?
ARCHIE MILLER: There's some inexperience. I think Al being back in the lineup obviously helped and then Rob being a part of what we're doing you get a little bit more comfort level as a coach looking out there and seeing Rob and Al. We hadn't had that. In all reality, it's the first time the two guys have played together all year. They haven't been part of a practice together, to be honest with you. So to have those two guys out there it gives you a little bit more comfort level and confidence that your older, more experienced guys are playing. So we had a little bit more familiarity there and eventually Devonte makes his way back, now you have a third guy out there, so that gives you a little bit more comfort.
Damezi and Jerome and Justin those guys playing together the floor at times is good and at times you need another ball handler maybe a little bit. But I'm good right now, I feel like if we just keep evolving and our guys stay with it we have a lot of different guys that can help this team. And it's going to be strength by numbers, it's going to be by committee, and at the end of the day this team I think is going to have to find a way to Will itself to win with a lot of people doing a lot of different things. But the way you hold your hat on that is the effort level and the consistency defensively. If you can get great on defense, and you can be a team that's deep on defense and you don't have weak links on defense then the offense will take care of itself.
We have to become a team, this team has to become a team that can play a lot of guys, that comes at you and is very solid defensively. And that's where we're trying to get to. We're not there yet by any stretch.
Q. Whether it was off makes or misses you guys seemed particularly effective getting downhill and pushing the tempo. Is there anything about this particular team that is maybe better suited to play that style?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well you have front court depth. You have the ability to not play guys 35 minutes inside. They can't run you all day. You're only as good as your front court can run. And Joey and Trayce, De'Ron, Race, you move just Justin down there a little bit, you have different options and you can keep the pace up because your front court depth is good. If you don't have front depth you can't run, It doesn't matter what you say. But right now we have a stable of guys that I feel like if they're in there they can put pressure on the rim. If you put pressure on the rim and your guards are doing a good job of advancing the ball and pushing it, I think that's what your seeing right now is a team that's trying to continue to push the pace. We're getting a lot up the floor, which is a good sign, and that's got to be a part of what we're doing. We can't play sort of trudging through the mud, we got to get going.
Indiana Players - Justin Smith, Rob Phinisee and Al Durham
Q. I think we asked you all about the kind of defense to offense, but, Justin, you specifically had a number of moments tonight where you were able to get out in transition because of what you did defensively. Just how important to your offensive game to you want what you do at the defensive end of the floor to be this year.
JUSTIN SMITH: I feel like I'm at my best in transition so being able to create turnovers and really get out and run, use my athleticism to really benefit our team. But just in general, we got to use defense to create our offense especially with the kind of versatility that we have and the kind of athletes that we have. So I feel like if we just focus more on the defensive end then we can get going.
Q. For Al or Rob, coach has talked about pushing tempo for awhile now, but it really seemed to click tonight. Can you talk about how much that was a point of emphasis and how effective you think you were?
AL DURHAM: Yeah. We talk about it every day in practice, pushing the tempo and just outrunning our opponents really. So if we can out run our opponents for most of the game we can run them down, really. Basically.
ROB PHINISEE: Yeah, what Al just said pretty much. But that's our main focus, just get out in transition and score easy buckets.
Q. Al, I don't see you have a stat sheet there. Have you looked at it yet? Do you know what you did? Do you know how many shots you missed?
AL DURHAM: No, I didn't look at it. Could you tell me?
Q. Take a look. I think you might know.
AL DURHAM: Oh, we were 7-7 today.
Q. We were, weren't we? How does that feel? Was it going? And obviously you're not aware of that as it happens so you're not feeling pressure as the shots mount, you haven't missed one yet.
AL DURHAM: I mean, my teammates were fine to me. They did a good job with that. And they trusted me to knock down the shots and that's what I did today. I feel like I prepared for this moment and it went my way today.
Q. All three of you guys were out there in the lineup with Trayce and Jerome. I think it was something like a 16- or 18-0 run there midway through the first half. For any of you, what was kind of working for that particular combination and that whole stretch? How were you guys able to create some separation with Western Illinois?
ROB PHINISEE: I would say our defense. We had a lot of steals and Trayce, and I think Justin had a couple blocks, too, and we got out in transition and that's where we're at our best.
Q. Rob, how are you feeling physical? Have you started to feel the rhythm back in your game and, in the last week or just the last day, or when did you start really getting better after the first few minutes tonight?
ROB PHINISEE: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say, well, I wouldn't say I'm a hundred percent, but I'm still getting my rhythm back, and I feel like this game is a big confidence booster for me.
Q. Rob, to play on that, what is difficult for you right now? What's hard to play through? How do you feel at the end of the game? What's just the total physical?
ROB PHINISEE: I'm feeling fine now. I would say just my rhythm, just sitting out that whole month of October not being able to practice anything. So just the rhythm out there and just pretty much getting our team chemistry up. Because I've been out for awhile.
Q. For Al and Rob, 18 assists to 11 turnovers, the ball movement today, how encouraging was that to see and the ability to take care of the ball as well.
AL DURHAM: It's a point of emphasis for us. We don't want to turn it over but we want to, you can see everybody can contribute on this team, so I feel like 18 assists, great. We got to cut down on the turnovers, though.
Q. Rob, there was one moment where I think you went pretty much face first into the floor for a ball. How much does, you just enjoy that part of the game in terms of going after loose balls and things like that?
ROB PHINISEE: I really pride myself on defense, so whenever I can get on the floor and be the first person to the floor I feel like that gives our team a boost. And we might have got a bucket after that, I'm not sure, but I feel just like being the first person to the floor really helps our team.
Q. Justin, I know after the exhibition, you said there were a couple awkward lineups out there. Did you feel like there was a little bit more continuity there on the floor with some of the lineup that you guys had today? You guys looked pretty comfortable out there together.
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, I would say so. Just getting Al back that we didn't have the exhibition and getting Rob back in here a little bit more. But I think that we pride ourselves on our versatility so even in practice we play with some weird lineups to kind of just feel some things out. So whenever we need to do that, we'll be ready for it. But a lot of different players can do a lot of different things on the floor at any position, so we can use that to our advantage.
Q. Justin, you're playing the three, it looks like starting off, and I don't think you did that last year. Has your game, it looked like your game has advanced, not just because you were playing the three, but were you doing three things. Are you better this year or could you have done that whenever and you just didn't have a chance?
JUSTIN SMITH: Whatever Coach Miller wants me to do I will do on the floor. Whatever he asks me to do. He wants me to play the four, he wants me to play the five, he wants me to play the one, I'll do it.
Q. Did you work on your game at all to handle the three more?
JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah. I mean it was a goal of mine to really be able to play more aggressive and more consistent on the perimeter. So that's really what I worked on this off season and I'm lucky that it's coming into fruition.
Q. He was here an extra month, correct?
JUSTIN SMITH: In May.
Q. Justin, you talked about embracing, being one of this team's more versatile defenders, as well, last season. I guess, where do you feel like you improved defensively as a guy that did spend a lot of last year matching up with wing guys and high scoring volume scorers in Big-10 play?
JUSTIN SMITH: I would say that on the ball and in ball screens with my man is using the ball screen. That's definitely going to an adjustment in the first couple games. We're really working on it hard in practice. But I just got to keep going and keep getting better as we get more reps, doing that, it will be second, become second nature.
Q. Justin, to keep on the offensive piece of it. Obviously the three takes you out further on the perimeter but it also seems like you're more willing to take more guys on the low block from the perimeter and take advantage of your size. Is that an emphasis where you're trying to make sure that when you have an athletic and size advantage, that you're kind of using that to punish your defender?
JUSTIN SMITH: It's definitely smart to use your advantage, especially when you have big guys on the wing like me, Jerome, Damezi. We're being guarded by, I think, it's 6'-2", 6'-3" guys on the floor. So just using our strength and also our quickness if a big guy comes on to us, it's just kind of pick your poison at that point.
Western Illinois Head Coach Billy Wright
Talk a little bit about how Al Durham and Justin Smith affected the game for you?
Well I think the entire team collectively picked up the defensive pressure and gave us some problems. We couldn't move the ball side-top-side like we would have liked and obviously they stepped up and made some shots.
Being an Indiana guy coming back and playing here, what was that overall experience like for you?
Besides the outcome, it's always great. I was born and raised in the state of Indiana, won a state championship here. You always want to play in front of your home town fans or coach in front of them. So, it was a great experience from that standpoint. Obviously, Colby being from Indianapolis, a lot of parents or friends and family for him. Just wish she could have performed a little bit better but a great environment. IU plays the right way, they're a tough team and resemble some of the team on our schedule and in our conference and that was a big part of scheduling this game.
Archie Miller said on Monday that you guys go way back. He recruited some of the players that you coached in high school, what's your relationship been like with him?
"He's been a tremendous resource in terms of coaching and the coach in fraternity. Just recruiting kids when I was a high school coach back at Pike High School, he was working for Western Kentucky University. Actually, he caught my eye when he was a player at NC State. I used to watch Sunday night ACC Hoops when he was at NC State. He was a tough resilient point guard and it showed in his recruiting toughness and now obviously he's a head coach. SO, just great to call him a friend in this business.
What impressed you the most about Indiana?
Their toughness, their physicality and their versatility. I think they can play small and play big. I think the young guys are coming along really well, it's not easy playing freshmen at any level, especially in the Big Ten. So, I think they're doing the right things in the off season to get their team ready.
Players Mentioned
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Thursday, September 25
FB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 5 (at Iowa)
Wednesday, September 24
FB: Aiden Fisher Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23
FB: Pat Coogan Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23