Indiana MBB Media Availability

Indiana men's basketball head coach Archie Miller as well as players Joey Brunk, Aljami Durham, Rob Phinisee, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson met with the media virtually on Tuesday to give a summer update.

Below is a video and transcript from the availability.

Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
Opening Statement
It's good to see everybody but in a different way. I hope you all have been having a decent spring and summer here so far and I hope everyone is safe and healthy. It's an unsettling time for everybody in all phases not just college athletics. I think our current team and our current situation has been a blessing in disguise. I think being able to come back and see how things are going to work has been really good. I feel like our administration did a tremendous job all the way leading into June. The attention to detail and all the medical stuff that goes into it as well as the back and forth dialogue has been good to see. Everybody here has embraced the fact that we need to do this thing together. It's not going to be easy but let's rely on the experts as much as we can and our advisory committee, our doctors, Tim Garl in particular, just them being able to execute plan and getting us back has been refreshing. We're fortunate that we were able to come back. There are a lot of schools that haven't come back, there's a lot of schools who have been delayed so we are just very thankful that the department has created a platform for us to come back, and execute. Right now, we have two and a half days left until our summer term is over so we are about three days away from completing all the school work. I was pleasantly surprised and it was a good time period for us since the middle of June.

What to expect from the season…
Miller: The biggest thing we learned is that we always seem to be in a wait and see mode as a staff. Whether that's the recruiting period continuing to be extended to the dead period from month to month, our players being back but in smaller groups, or new protocols. What does that look like? What are the contingency plans for your staff? Can they all be together when you work out? What's the best way to group players because if something were to happen do you have that built in? Just little things like what happens if you trainer needs to be quarantined? What happens if your strength coach who works daily with your players happens to be quarantined? What's the backup plan and I could keep going in terms of what's the nonconference schedule going to look like, how does that work when the teams come in, and how's our travel schedule going to look. It's almost been a complete and total outlier of the philosophy in the play book and your approach to the season. Since we've adjusted, we've learned something new every week or every two weeks, every month and I think that's why it's been so valuable and we've been for fortunate to have our guys back because you're sort of getting tripped up along the way and learning. As you learn, now you can figure out what does your fall look like as they came back. What is your fall, conditioning, practices, and recruiting going to look like? We're moving into that phase a little bit in terms of planning. What's the contingency plan if our season is to start on time, which we are operating as if it will, if it doesn't what's the contingency plan on that? The craziest things like are they going to go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas this year? Things you really never had to think about but those are things that you have to think about in July and August because if you don't, you're not going to be able to help your players the best that you can when those situations arise. It's an uncharted territory for not only our coaching staff but everybody on the planet right now. I don't think we are in a different situation than anybody else but I will say that I'm really excited about the group we have right now. Their ability to grasp our plan, why we're coming back, what we want to accomplish when we come back, and the maturity level of this group is by far the most together and has the best leadership we've ever had. Also, the maturity of the new guys coming has really fallen in line with everybody else and hasn't really missed a beat. We've been fortunate that we've learned a lot and we'll continue to do so. In some cases, the inevitable happens when you aren't ready and you do have to have those contingency plans built in the best that you can.

What the team has been working on since returning to campus with protocols…
Miller: We brought our players back in two groups. Looking at the situations that our players come from and knowing the protocols that were going to be in place upon their return and that there was going to be some restrictions on guys every day. If your situation at home was pretty good in terms of facilities, your access, your safety and you had a pretty good thing going on at home then we gave them the opportunity to come on July 1^st. We had a certain group that was ready to come back earlier so they came back in the middle of June. So, we had two groups and our phase one of returning was the voluntary workouts. Our main objective was to see where we were physically, mentally, and health wise. To do that after missing 14 weeks we have to get back into training the body so our guys started with some weight room opportunities and then some conditioning things.

That first group of about six went that first week and a half alone before the others guy came back which gave us a real quick snap shot of how this was going to work. It gave them an impression of how this is going to be different like when you enter the building with temperature checks, wearing masks in the weight room, there's only allowed three to four groups in the weight room, no contact in the facilities, and no opportunities to play basketball right now, no 5-on-5 or 3-on-3. Then the university came with another opportunity as we kept moving forward where they could go in the gym and shoot the ball by themselves with one rebounder and where the managers and helpers had to wear masks. So, they started to shoot the ball a little in the afternoon and get into a rhythm. Once the other guys got back in July, they sort of fell in line and I thought that first group did a really good job of sort of showing how we have to do things now. And then low and behold, three and a half to four weeks later we hit the coaching opportunity. More or less, our coaching staff has been allowed to be involved since July, 20th. So we've been in that phase now where we've worked on the court two times a day, in two groups. Realistically, about 35 to 45, 50 minutes. Split the group in half or by position, however we've wanted to do it. We've got a few of these court workouts now where we've probably had between four and six of those with the staff. They went without a hitch.

Tim Garl's done an outstanding job. You talk about a guy that, I hate to say front lines because that's such a more serious note, the words front lines. But he's the guy in the building every day directing, almost policing the practices when guys are too close together. Ice bags are a whole new element now when you return back to the training room after you leave the floor. He's in there all day long to the best of his ability in being able to run our show and facility. He's done a great job. We finished workouts again today. All of our players our working out right now minus Jerome Hunter who went to the dentist to have a procedure on his tonsils, which basically ended his summer just a couple of days early. We'll finish with a day off tomorrow, then we'll finish with two more days on the floor. My hope is that when we finish on Friday, we will have completed a very, very thorough six weeks where our guys returned, we addressed the bodies, we looked to see where we were at, and our hope was that we replaced our spring and early summer with this six-week period, and now as we return in August in a few weeks for the fall calendar, we would be sort of where we would be in the summer. Did we catch up all the way, no. Do I feel great? I wish I had more time but I will tell you this. There hasn't been a day where I have woken since we have even one player on campus where I haven't said our deal's working. Our guys put us in a position to be successful with the protocol, the slow phasing, and when they leave on Friday, I couldn't have asked for a better six weeks. It would have been as good as it was even if we had no restrictions. The fact that our guys, weren't playing basketball five-on-five or three-on-three, we didn't have a whole lot of competition, which at the end of the day it's not really a concern right now. So that a little broad-based approach on what we did, but I love what our guys have done in terms of catching up. I was impressed that the first workout we got on the floor with them, we kind of wanted to test them and see where we were at. I was very, very surprised at where we were at from a conditioning standpoint. Certain guys had really, really done a good job at home, and then certain guys had done a great job in a four or five-week period of time really ramping up that weight room, conditioning element. We've had really good workouts. And I know this time period, where we're at but I feel like we've done a really good job as a group of handling it. I have to give our players a lot of credit too. Part of the challenge right now as you guys know, none of your issues are typically going to happen within your own protocols and facility. It's going to happen the in the other 18 to 19 hours of the day when you don't see them on campus. And to our guys' credit, I feel like there's been some discipline there and there's been some leadership, some accountability in terms of, hey let's not all stray off here, we've got to shut this thing down and work. Ours has come off I think pretty good.

On virtual recruiting and how not having April to July have affected things…
Miller: Yeah, recruiting's taken a whole new element. I feel probably every staff in the country figured it out on their own of what works for you. Once we figured out that there wasn't going to be a whole lot of coming and going, seeing each other face to face, we had to do our best to separate a phone call or text message from an actual meeting type of a visit. Like we're doing right now, done hundreds. I don't want to sound or act like we're 55 a day but, you're just trying to get in front of people face to face the best that you can. With your own style or however you want to work it, whatever that kid needs to see, whether it's basketball or maybe that kid wants to see where he's going to live. You're going to have to use modern technology now to have visits. In my opinion I'm either sitting in their house and talking with them like I was there, or they made the trip to come to Bloomington and spend the day with us, we need to be able to bring that out to them to their forefront so they get a feel. So we've just tried to do that. This has been the dynamic we're in. I don't see it changing unfortunately. I see this moving along the lines in a cautious way but, I wouldn't be surprised if our recruiting period isn't dead until 2021. That's what we're dealing with. In terms of not being out there to watch them play, that's been the hard part. You live your life in college basketball to be able to evaluate when their playing. That's a heavy dose in the spring, which we missed. That's the biggest window you'll ever get as a coach, the month of July. Not being able to get those valuable, multiple times that you get to see a kid; you can see a kid up to 25 times in three weeks in July. You don't get to see them play those 25 games so that changes things. In a lot of ways what it does is it makes you better be really, really good at the guys you been on for a long time because that new guy's not coming around the block. You saw him play one time and you loved him, you liked him, and the next thing you knew he blew up and became a hot recruiting topic in July and August. Those guys, you're going to have to really, really, be creative about watching some things on the computer, or you're just going to have to have a bit of blind faith in other people to be able to fire out offers right now to guys you haven't seen. In the '21 class there's probably more impact than '22 in that but, for us I feel good with where we were at coming in. Obviously Khristian is on campus now but he was a part of that. I feel like we're moving in the right direction with what we have to address next year, and I think that the 2022 class now that you've been able to have unlimited contact since back in basically June, we've really tried to use these opportunities here to introduce ourselves and sort of set the table for the recruiting process. Like everybody, I think we're doing good at going remote, getting better at it. We've gotten better at it by the month too. Getting on a Zoom call in April is a lot different than getting on a Zoom call now. It's a lot more comfortable, just basically feeling like this is the norm, because when you're not around people face to face you don't really have that vibe. You get a vibe on recruiting like who likes it, who doesn't, the mom was really feeling it, boy the dad was great, boy the kid was really quiet. When you sit on this, its hard, you just don't know sometimes. It's going to be a way of life here for a while. I'll tell you this I think it's a really going way of recruiting though. This is going to more along the lines of what recruiting is going to be for probably the next six months.

On changes from last year's team…
Miller: It won't change the way we play entirely. I felt like we're going to have to come in with almost a hybrid team this year. We could play bigger like with did last year, we're more comfortable doing that. We're much more in the realm of how we want to do it, we're much more perimeter oriented with a smaller group of people. By small that means more guard play. I'm more excited than I've probably been in a while since seeing the players, especially the new guys. You get a chance to work with them even for a couple days, you start see how this is going to do it. I feel like our team can still do that. We can still play big. I feel like Jerome has a chance to be a big small forward, but I also feel like with Armaan and Khristian now added to the mix as another guard, we're going to be more of a guard-oriented team. I don't want to say half the game or whatever but we're going to play three perimeter players either around Trayce and Joey like we did a year ago or we'll play with some smaller stuff. I think Jordan Geronimo or Jerome being more of a perimeter guy out there around one of those guys. It really opens up the flexibility and it really opens up the opportunity for guys to play. I think once Khristian joined the floor it was inevitable we were going to have to play Rob and Khristian and Al together. I don't necessarily know whether that combo works the best or the most but it's going to give our perimeter guys way more opportunities to get out there and play more of a three-headed monster three guard lineup. It will also give us the opportunity to stay with the size component when we put Jerome and move him into that spot, which he predominately played a year ago so he's going to be okay with that. I think moving him in and out around another big guy will be a little bit fun. It's going to be a fun group to coach. Right now we have a lot of different guys who can play. I feel like there's a lot of guys that know their game. The young guys coming in here just in watching them four to five times, they have IQ and feel. They have good size. Galloway and Leal in particular. Big guards. Big guys. Six-five, six-four 200 pounds. So, they're not little. My hope would be this, our skill level goes up, our turnovers go down, our shooting percentage goes up, our style is a little bit more up-tempo more so than a year ago. I feel like we have a more skilled team, which is what we needed.

On Trayce becoming an elite player and expectations for Khristian…
Miller: Trayce has to continue to evolve from a freshman to that natural progression as a sophomore where not everything's new to him anymore. Now he's leading the way more along the lines than learning on the run. Very few players in America are as impressive or as productive as him and I think he just has to up the production. He's got to be a dominant, dominant rebounder for us. Scoring, there's got to be some different ways he can attack. I think having more space to play and more guys around him, it will make him better on ball screens and help him be more of an offensive weapon on the run. Pick-n-roll game. He's obviously going to have to branch out a little bit where he's going to have to face the basket and drive people, which he's good at. He's going to shoot the ball a little bit. I think looking at even getting to the foul line as much as he did last season and stuff like that. We want him to be better in every area. One thing that I've challenged him more so than anything is he has to become an elite defender. As a college freshman last year defending smaller players on the perimeter when we play two bigs is a challenge. He's more accustomed to that. Playing bigger players at times and not wanting to foul, playing careful a little bit at times. He has to be much more disciplined and much more aggressive. I'm just going to use the word confidence on defense. He's got to be way more confident than he was a year ago defensively for our team to take another jump. I feel like this. I feel like his attitude and who he is as a person is going to allow him to keep growing and getting better and better. He's such a team guy. He's so coachable. He's easy to be around. Very few people in my time around or played realistically doesn't have a couple butt-ins of the head. He doesn't butt heads with anybody and that's just who he is. Unquestionably, he is the guy everyone is going to look at and we're going to put a lot of pressure on him but we put a lot of pressure on him last year too. He had a lot of pressure on him as a freshman. I thought he delivered pretty good. He's just got to take it up that one more gear and the expectation at least for him to help us contend for the Big Ten. Inevitably, he should be a guy that's being considered for one of the best players in all of college basketball. Khristian is 17-years old. He's been on campus now for three weeks. That's so hard. I think back to when I was like 17 years old and going into my summer of my senior year of high school. He jumped straight to college. You got to be patient with him. He is so gifted on the court and he is such a great feel that you can't teach. That's the one thing about him that I will say that he's always had and I still feel that way right now. He just has that it factor, that feel factor with the ball and his ability to know how to play. As a point guard not having to teach him how to play sometimes. Now the thing is, physically, he's going to have to get a lot stronger, he's going to have develop a lot in terms of conditioning, which that'll happen. As a young player he's going to have to learn how to play through mistakes and not get down on himself. This is hard for the first time. Real hard for the first time. I don't know. He can't let any of that doubt creep into his head. It's going to be okay. He's allowed to make mistakes. He's going to have to learn there's going to be different guys out there that are pretty good. Bigger, stronger, older and the thing I think about him is as a basketball player, he's so natural. As he gets experience, he's going to keep getting better and better. He's another guy that's very coachable. I love that he's very competitive too. He's a young guy, 17 now but he's very competitive. I feel good adding Khristian to the mix just in watching him with upper classmen in his five to six workouts. If I walked in I wouldn't know he's a 17-year old kid. He's got that going for him. Now, it's just maturity and learning things are okay when you don't make a shot or make a mistake. He's going to be that young guy you coach them hard. You're going to push him but you want to push him through mistakes as well and get his confidence up. Don't let him worry about what the expectations are of him as a five-star guy.

Closing statement…
Miller: I appreciate it. I know the summer's been long and hard but we've had a good summer. We have a good group. I'm really pleased with how this thing has turned out for us. Couldn't have really asked them to do much more. Our administration, our docs they deserve a ton of credit. This is not going to be easy. We have a lot more hurdles to get through. I'm just crossing my fingers that this fall we can get the term going, fall sports. Everybody needs it. Our kids need it more than anything. Basketball will adjust. I'll be shocked, absolutely shocked if we don't turn out a good basketball season. Whether that's nonconference, conference only at Thanksgiving, conference only in January, I feel like we'll have a great college basketball season. I do feel like we'll be ready for the tournament as it comes rolling around 12 months later. A lot of it's going to come down to the testing and whatnot. If they could ever get it to where we get the contact testing on a day-to-day basis that you get those results back sure I think sports will really move forward. We're crossing our fingers and we're hoping the best for everything. Hoping the best for you guys. Hope you're safe and healthy. We'll do this again, hopefully, coming up here in the next couple weeks as we crank back up here in August. ?

Indiana Players
On how things have been going the last couple weeks…
Joey Brunk: Our safety and our health have been the first priority. Our team doctors and Timmy G (Tim Garl) and our administrators have taken every precaution in the world for us to be back to school. With that being said, things have been very competitive, we're competing in the weight room, we're competing in our conditioning. We're enjoying our time together. We missed out on some opportunities because of everything and we came back a more grateful team and we want to maximize the opportunity that's in front of us.

On how they're preparing mentally moving forward…
Brunk: That's kind of part of life in general. You don't know necessarily how things are always going to play out. You make your plan but things don't always go according to plan. I think for us you want to put one good day then another good day after that. Hopefully a few good days turns into a good week then a few good weeks turn into a good month and it just builds from there. Whenever our opportunity comes, we'll be ready. There's no sense in worrying about something we can't control. Just make the most of what we got and we'll let the chips fall where they may after that.

On how being new last year helps him guide other newcomers…
Brunk: There's a lot of different adjustments being in a new place, even though I had been in school for three years. Just getting to know campus obviously and as far as the basketball point, I feel I have a better understanding of what we want to accomplish and be able to give my input – what I see, what I've been through and my experiences and hopefully make their lives a little bit easier. It's kind of my job as a senior leader, take the experiences and hopefully I can help pass those off to our freshmen and to everyone on the team. Help speed things along and help us develop to the best team we can be.

On the four newcomers…
Brunk: Each and every one of them competes day in and day out, whether we're in the weight room or on the court. They have a great attitude and a great spirit about them which I think is really important. They enjoy being at Indiana, they enjoy the process. I think everyone is going to contribute at some point throughout the year. It's hard forecasting what that's going to be now. But you never know when your opportunity is going to come – whether you're playing 30 minutes a night or coming in for a spurt, whatever that may be. I think everyone is going to come in and have a chance to show why they're at Indiana and why they belong. I have all the confidence in the world that they're going to be ready when that moment comes.

On what he's learned about himself throughout this year…
Brunk: As far as quarantine goes, I'm going to be pretty well adjusted to retired life at some point. I really do enjoy golfing, fishing and reading. I think I'll be pretty well equipped whenever that time comes. As far as the team, I think it comes down to not taking things for granted. We don't know necessarily what the future looks like. There's no need to worry about the things we can't control. If we make the most of what we have now there's not going to be any regrets as a group and let's just be ready for whenever that moment of time comes.

On who has stepped up as a leader during these circumstances…
Aljami Durham: I feel like Race has stepped up tremendously this year and become more of an outspoken leader, whether that be on the court or off the court. Race has really stepped into a role of leadership with the younger guys and taken them under his wing – teaching them how to do certain things and showing them how we operate as a team. He's been doing very well. Joey has always been a great leader. I feel I've stepped in sometimes and had a part in that as well. But Race has really done a good job with that and stepped his game up and his communication up tremendously.

On what he's done this offseason to step up as a leader…
Durham: We have four freshmen that came in. They're young, just getting on campus so I've been trying to teach them the ropes, teach them how to workout and teach them the bits and pieces of our offense and defense and get them a head start on how we do things and how to prepare and be ready for the workouts. I just tried to talk them through it and keep them away from that freshman wall as much as I can. Try to give them the pieces and tools as much as I can to help them through the freshman season – the start of it.

On what Trayce Jackson-Davis has improved on during the offseason…
Brunk: I think Trayce is more confident on the perimeter than he has been. I think he has improved with his right hand and he looks more comfortable with his right hand around the basket. I think that's a big thing for him to work on and improve. I still feel the same way about Trayce that the sky is the limit for him. He's improved and I think he's just going to continue to make jumps as the summer continues.

On having a clearer role this season…
Durham: It's never been a problem with me being able to play in different positions but I do feel like it'll help. I can still play two positions but they've given me clear directions that I can have the freedom to be able to make plays. It'll help a lot but at the same time I'm always ready to do whatever the teams needs me to do.

On lineup shifts and playing smaller…
Durham: It's been a good adjustment. Everyone gets a shot at everything. It's more interchangeable with three guards around the perimeter. You can reposition whether that be at the corner or the top. It's been a good workout, we've all learned what they've tried to implement into the offense and we just try and learn more and more from them each day. How they want us to workout and how they want us to play the positions they put us in.

On how he's been a leader for the younger players in the backcourt…
Durham: The typical freshman stuff – don't rush. You try to teach them different speeds and how to set up their cuts and set their footwork up so they can knock down more shots. How to get them turned around. Just little things that you don't know as you come in to college. How it's a different ball game from high school to now. You just try and teach them the little intangibles that will help them in their freshman year and stay away from the wall. I've been trying to keep their heads high, keep their confidence, talk to them as much as I can. Get to know them – where they like to shoot from, where they like the ball at. Get to know what kind of guys they are, what kind of players they are. Try to give them as much faith as I can so they can play as well as they can and get things we want out of them, just the little things.

On early impressions of Khristian Lander and how he and Rob can fit together…
Rob Phinisee: I think we'll complement each other pretty well. He's very quick, he likes to take ball screens. I feel like in the new offense we have, we'll be able to play together and create for each other.

Expand on the new offense…
Phinisee: A lot more ball screens I would say.

On helping Lander transition as a freshman…
Phinisee: I would say 'take your time. Don't try and rush into anything.' That's the biggest thing coming from high school to college – the speed of the game. So take your time, have patience and keep a level head.

On having support at his position…
Phinisee: It's going to help a lot. Just having another primary ballhandler is allowing me to be more off the ball and that will allow me to create more and do more things on offense.

On how the team processed the season being cut short…
Trayce Jackson-Davis: Obviously it was tough, especially for our seniors on the team – Devonte and De'Ron who never got to play in a tournament. We just have to come back hungry; we don't know what the virus is or where it's going to go. We're just going to act like we're going to play all our games and going to prepare for the season.

Phinisee: Repeating what Trayce said, I felt bad for De'Ron and Devonte because we were going to make the tournament and they didn't get to play. I feel like for next season, we're preparing like we're going to play and build off how we left off last season with the new guys and keep building.

On Rob's health right now…
Phinisee: I feel so much better. Honestly this wasn't how we wanted to end the season but it really helped having my body just have the time off. I feel like this is the best I've felt in a while.

On the importance for him to participate in the peaceful protests in Minneapolis…
Race Thompson: Those marches and protests were all very powerful movements in Minneapolis. The Geoge Floyd ordeal happened in my hometown city and that's literally 15 minutes away from my house where I live. I felt obligated to go down there. I needed to show support for these people because this is home for me, it hit home for me. I've been down there to Cup Foods and to that area so it really just hit home for me.

On him stepping into a leadership role…
Thompson: It has to just do with being around, being comfortable with everybody. Knowing that everybody trusts me, knowing my coaches trust me. It just makes it easier for me to have a voice for the younger guys because I'm going into my fourth year here, I know stuff so I can help people out. It's just easy because I already know so it's just teaching the younger guys, teaching everybody because I feel like I know what's going on.

On how he's improved…
Jackson-Davis: To start off, I've been really working on my jumpshot and stretching the floor. It's going to be a big key for me this year so I decided during the quarantine that's all I've been working on – my jump shot. I've just been shooting the ball a ton. Another thing is being more vocal since it's my second year and playing the minutes I did as a freshman. Especially to the younger guys – just try and get them on track. They're all really locked in right now so we have to keep up with that. Especially with Khristian since he'll be a big piece for us this year. And just trying to make sure our team stays together. We had some rough patches last year but as of now our team is really locked in and focused on the goal. A lot have teams have been shut down but we've been able to ride the wave and have five good weeks of training so we just have to keep that up.

On what stands out about Khristian…
Jackson-Davis: Just that he's only 17 years old right now and he plays like a Division I college guard. He may not be physically there but he's definitely going to get there with Coach Clif. But just how he plays the game – he's smart, his basketball IQ is super high and he can really help us out a lot.

On his decision to return to school…
Jackson-Davis: I didn't really know with the Corona deal how that would play out. Knowing there was going to be a deadline, whenever that was I don't remember, with that I knew there was probably not going to be workouts with them and I needed workouts to help my stock so I decided it would be easier to come back for a second year.

On the physicality of the Big Ten…
Jackson-Davis: Most definitely. The Big Ten is brutal and not being able to space really hurt me last year in certain parts of my game and teams being able to just pack it in. They kind of learned that late in the season. As I watched of the other players – Kaleb Wesson, Jalen Smith, Daniel Oturo, being able to step out and shoot the ball really opened up the offense and a lot of their players did well from that so I thought that was a big part for us this year.

On what they've been doing off the court...
Jackson-Davis: I'm still trying to bond with our teammates. We just stick around each other and I think it's really helped us a lot honestly. Just being together and getting to know each other, especially the freshmen coming in. I feel like our team really incorporated them and welcomed them in with open arms. I think that's really going to help us throughout the year, just building that team chemistry.

On who he's turned to for leadership…
Jackson-Davis: I think the biggest one would be Joey. Joey's probably going to be our most vocal leader this year. Just the way he attacks every day, the way he's on people – not in a bad way – but just wanting them to be the best they can be. He's going to be a big, big leader. I'm probably going to feed off his energy a lot this year.

On which group he came in with this summer…
Jackson-Davis: It was the freshmen and Al and Rob were in the first six. I was in the second group. The only thing that we really needed to know was the mask protocol. Everything else has been pretty similar to what we've already been doing.

On wearing a mask…
Jackson-Davis: At first it was a little awkward but you tend to get used to it so it's not as bad now. Just grateful to be out there honestly.

On playing three guards and if the offense will be faster paced…
Jackson-Davis: Most definitely. Guards being able to drive the ball, less clogged areas especially coming off of ball screens. It also allows the bigs to have more freedom – can pop to the top of the key and really play off each other. That's what we've really been working on right now.

On taking part in peaceful protests with Joey and the team embracing it as a whole…
Jackson-Davis: Joey and the guy he is, he wanted to come with me and see how it was. He said it was really powerful and it really was super powerful. Being in Indianapolis, your hometown and just marching and standing for something and showing unity. I thought it was really just a great experience.

Players Mentioned

Joey Brunk

Aljami Durham

Jerome Hunter

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Rob Phinisee

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