Indiana University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Indiana vs. Minnesota
2/18/2021 12:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Indiana vs. Minnesota
Postgame Quotes
Feb. 17, 2021
Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
Opening Statement…
MILLER: It was a hard-fought game. I feel for Richard Pitino over there. They are having a terrific year and to lose Gabe Kalscheur in a practice that is unfortunate. To play them a man down tonight shows the depth that they have. Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Tre' Williams I thought were really good. Marcus Carr is one of the premier players in the country and he is hard to deal with. Their perimeter guys did a really good job for them. They are hard to contain off the bounce. Offensively we were pretty efficient when we did not turn it over and we got some good shots. We made some shots tonight which was good. We were able to make free throws again at the end of the game to keep our cushion. The big stretch of this game was from the offense to the defense. We were able to get some stops and were able to transition. Both Armaan Franklin and Aljami Durham hit back-to-back 3-pointers which was a big turn in the game.
Q. Talk about Jerome Hunter's career high 16 points….
MILLER: Jerome is playing well and he is playing hard. He is playing very physical and he has brought that back to practice when he has gotten his opportunities to go to work. He is playing like he is practicing right now. He is playing to win. Has great confidence in his shot, he is not hesitating. He is playing through mistakes and he is giving us a little bit of physicality, a little bit of ruggedness that we need. He will hopefully play a big role for us down the stretch. He can shoot the ball which has given us an added weapon. He is shooting the ball better this year at this time than he was last year. I think as Jerome has become a little more comfortable in his role, he has embraced it here recently. There was production from Northwestern, Ohio State, and then this one I think he is averaging double-figures.
Q. Thoughts on Rob Phinisee and the ball movement…
MILLER: I thought in the first half we got too stagnant. In the second half we committed to moving the ball more. I thought our guards did a good job of the reads and I thought our big guys did a good job of making the second read. When you get an advantage, you have to take advantage of it. Race Thompson hit Al in the left corner. Trayce Jackson-Davis did a good job as well. They found Jerome in some pick and roll situations when they did not switch. We were able to get the ball hopping a little bit. That is what we have to do as a team. Right now, our biggest thing is turnovers. We went a month and some change without turning it over and right now we are turning it over way too much. We were able to rebound the ball decent tonight but Minnesota still had 13 offensive rebounds. In our last few games, in my opinion, that is our one negative. The turnovers and rebounds in our last two games is going to hurt us down the stretch if we cannot get it cleaned up.
Q. Is this player that you saw in Jerome a couple years ago…
MILLER: Jerome has had a tough go of it. His injury was not one most people have. He is not the same athlete that he once was. He does not have the same ability that other guys have to recover. Jerome is a confident player and when he a coachable confident player and embracing what he is doing he is very competitive. The thing I like most about Jerome is he competes every day. He brings a competitive spirit to practice and right now he is not messing around. I think he knows his time has come to step up and play for our team. His attitude is good and what he has been doing the last two weeks of practice he has been able to do for us in the game. Jerome is a confident guy. He does not shy away from taking a shot. Does not shy away from plays. He is doing a decent job for us defensively. I would like to play him a little bit more with Trayce if I could because the issue is we need a bigger team out there at times. He has to stay with it, has to hang in there but he is showing signs in the right direction of helping the team.
Q. On the play of Rob Phinisee…
MILLER: Rob did what we needed him to do tonight. Rob, I thought was much more aggressive off the dribble. He was able to get to the basket three or four times. I don't care if he missed a shot. I really don't. I just want him to be aggressive and make the right reads offensively. If he is open shoot it, if someone else is open pass it and guard like crazy. He is trying. I thought he was much better today, much better than the last couple of games, last couple of days. In my opinion he has been worrying about offense too much, on it he shot is going to go in, worrying about a turnover here and there. He is starting to get dead on his feet. He don't need Rob, to be honest with you to be anything other than try like crazy to be the leader on defense, push our ball, make guys better, shoot when you are open. Tonight, he kept it simple. I think he worked really hard against a really good player in a difficult scheme. It wasn't like he got a lot of help. He was on a lot of islands tonight. He is going to be able to do that down the stretch for us to do what we want to do."
Q. On what has held Rob Phinisee back…
MILLER: Probably a combination of things. I think part of it he cares and he is a thinker. He processes things. He worries. I think part of it is, it is hard when you don't play well to avoid the noise. There is a lot of noise. A guy doesn't play well they get impacted sometimes. You have to try to block everything out and stay focused on the task at hand and do your best. Some guys get down. I think Rob, sometimes when he doesn't play well he lets it carry over a little too much. He thinks about it a little too much. I told her yesterday at practice, I don't care if he goes 0-for-10 at this point. It really doesn't matter to me, because his value to our team when he is aggressive defensively, when he is driving like he was today, when he gets six assists during the game, that is what we need Rob to do. We need more guards to do that to be honest with you. It's not about, did I make my first shot or our guards were 2-for-21 in the game, that stuff is out. It doesn't matter. Go 0-for-30, I don't care. Play hard as you can. Shoot it when you are open. Pass to someone who is open and just worry about competing like crazy and that is what we need to do. When we do that it will turn itself around. Rob is a key cog in the wheel coming down the stretch and we needed him to play well tonight. If you look at the line I see Armaan ended up getting 11, I think Al got 16 and he got 10. If our guards put together some production our team can be better. The production starts with Rob with his role and what I'm asking him to do. It is defend like crazy and that is to be honest with you, take care of the basketball, make guys better, if you are open shoot it and get back and get ready. He is going to guard guys like Marcus Carr tonight and he has to hold his own and he can do it."
Q. On the attitude that the team played with against Minnesota…
MILLER: I didn't think we were very good in one-on-one situations most of the night. They were hard to guard off the bounce. I thought when it mattered the most tonight we started to get some key stops. We started to make some plays. Our toughness level is questioned because we are slow to the ball. We don't get loose balls. We don't get long rebounds. They go over our back and grab the ball and lay it in. We are that team that is a little bit slow in terms of how hard you have to play to get on the floor and do some things. We are trying to get our team to focus in on doing more of the little things. The little things matter. I thought we made the little plays tonight that were needed. The key plays, tie-ups on the floor. Jerome got on the floor two or three times. We had a couple great defensive rebounds by guard late. Our offense is part of toughness as well. You are tough with it. You drive it hard. You don't get the ball stripped from you. You make a good pass. You go to the line. You step in and make two. Our physical toughness, our physical size to me is in question. Our attitude and the way we approach things as a group is not. This team worked really hard coming into this game, coming off of this last week on the road. They are going to come back tomorrow and be ready to go. That is what this team has a chance to continue to keep being good at the right time."
Indiana Players Jerome Hunter and Aljami Durham
Q: On what you've done to change your mindset…
HUNTER: I just feel like I let my team down. I've come back with a bigger chip on my shoulder to show everybody that I apologize and that I am here to help us win some games. That's really it.
Q: On Minnesota testing you and how you responded to the physicality…
HUNTER: They did try to test us. I think every team from here on out is going to test us. Just because of the team they think we are. If they keep doing that, we are going to keep showing them that we are not going to be pushed around down there. We are not going to be pushed around and we are not soft down here.
Q: On how much Jerome adds to the team offensively…
DURHAM: Most definitely. Jerome works hard. Jerome showed you guys a glimpse of what he can do and I look forward to seeing it from him as we continue out the season.
Q: Thoughts on how Rob Phinisee played tonight…
DURHAM: Rob played his behind off. Rob played defense. Rob scored when he needed to. Rob made the right decision when he needed to. He made the right passes. Rob played a great game and I am proud of him. He had a couple of games where he wasn't playing like himself, but tonight he showed you Rob Phinisee. He did everything for us.
Q: On how important the defense was going down the stretch late in the second half…
DURHAM: We played good defense. I feel like we were spread out most of the game, but in the last couple of minutes we finally locked in. We strung a couple of stops together and it led to our offense. It led to that gap that we made at the end of the game.
Postgame Quotes
Feb. 17, 2021
Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller
Opening Statement…
MILLER: It was a hard-fought game. I feel for Richard Pitino over there. They are having a terrific year and to lose Gabe Kalscheur in a practice that is unfortunate. To play them a man down tonight shows the depth that they have. Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Tre' Williams I thought were really good. Marcus Carr is one of the premier players in the country and he is hard to deal with. Their perimeter guys did a really good job for them. They are hard to contain off the bounce. Offensively we were pretty efficient when we did not turn it over and we got some good shots. We made some shots tonight which was good. We were able to make free throws again at the end of the game to keep our cushion. The big stretch of this game was from the offense to the defense. We were able to get some stops and were able to transition. Both Armaan Franklin and Aljami Durham hit back-to-back 3-pointers which was a big turn in the game.
Q. Talk about Jerome Hunter's career high 16 points….
MILLER: Jerome is playing well and he is playing hard. He is playing very physical and he has brought that back to practice when he has gotten his opportunities to go to work. He is playing like he is practicing right now. He is playing to win. Has great confidence in his shot, he is not hesitating. He is playing through mistakes and he is giving us a little bit of physicality, a little bit of ruggedness that we need. He will hopefully play a big role for us down the stretch. He can shoot the ball which has given us an added weapon. He is shooting the ball better this year at this time than he was last year. I think as Jerome has become a little more comfortable in his role, he has embraced it here recently. There was production from Northwestern, Ohio State, and then this one I think he is averaging double-figures.
Q. Thoughts on Rob Phinisee and the ball movement…
MILLER: I thought in the first half we got too stagnant. In the second half we committed to moving the ball more. I thought our guards did a good job of the reads and I thought our big guys did a good job of making the second read. When you get an advantage, you have to take advantage of it. Race Thompson hit Al in the left corner. Trayce Jackson-Davis did a good job as well. They found Jerome in some pick and roll situations when they did not switch. We were able to get the ball hopping a little bit. That is what we have to do as a team. Right now, our biggest thing is turnovers. We went a month and some change without turning it over and right now we are turning it over way too much. We were able to rebound the ball decent tonight but Minnesota still had 13 offensive rebounds. In our last few games, in my opinion, that is our one negative. The turnovers and rebounds in our last two games is going to hurt us down the stretch if we cannot get it cleaned up.
Q. Is this player that you saw in Jerome a couple years ago…
MILLER: Jerome has had a tough go of it. His injury was not one most people have. He is not the same athlete that he once was. He does not have the same ability that other guys have to recover. Jerome is a confident player and when he a coachable confident player and embracing what he is doing he is very competitive. The thing I like most about Jerome is he competes every day. He brings a competitive spirit to practice and right now he is not messing around. I think he knows his time has come to step up and play for our team. His attitude is good and what he has been doing the last two weeks of practice he has been able to do for us in the game. Jerome is a confident guy. He does not shy away from taking a shot. Does not shy away from plays. He is doing a decent job for us defensively. I would like to play him a little bit more with Trayce if I could because the issue is we need a bigger team out there at times. He has to stay with it, has to hang in there but he is showing signs in the right direction of helping the team.
Q. On the play of Rob Phinisee…
MILLER: Rob did what we needed him to do tonight. Rob, I thought was much more aggressive off the dribble. He was able to get to the basket three or four times. I don't care if he missed a shot. I really don't. I just want him to be aggressive and make the right reads offensively. If he is open shoot it, if someone else is open pass it and guard like crazy. He is trying. I thought he was much better today, much better than the last couple of games, last couple of days. In my opinion he has been worrying about offense too much, on it he shot is going to go in, worrying about a turnover here and there. He is starting to get dead on his feet. He don't need Rob, to be honest with you to be anything other than try like crazy to be the leader on defense, push our ball, make guys better, shoot when you are open. Tonight, he kept it simple. I think he worked really hard against a really good player in a difficult scheme. It wasn't like he got a lot of help. He was on a lot of islands tonight. He is going to be able to do that down the stretch for us to do what we want to do."
Q. On what has held Rob Phinisee back…
MILLER: Probably a combination of things. I think part of it he cares and he is a thinker. He processes things. He worries. I think part of it is, it is hard when you don't play well to avoid the noise. There is a lot of noise. A guy doesn't play well they get impacted sometimes. You have to try to block everything out and stay focused on the task at hand and do your best. Some guys get down. I think Rob, sometimes when he doesn't play well he lets it carry over a little too much. He thinks about it a little too much. I told her yesterday at practice, I don't care if he goes 0-for-10 at this point. It really doesn't matter to me, because his value to our team when he is aggressive defensively, when he is driving like he was today, when he gets six assists during the game, that is what we need Rob to do. We need more guards to do that to be honest with you. It's not about, did I make my first shot or our guards were 2-for-21 in the game, that stuff is out. It doesn't matter. Go 0-for-30, I don't care. Play hard as you can. Shoot it when you are open. Pass to someone who is open and just worry about competing like crazy and that is what we need to do. When we do that it will turn itself around. Rob is a key cog in the wheel coming down the stretch and we needed him to play well tonight. If you look at the line I see Armaan ended up getting 11, I think Al got 16 and he got 10. If our guards put together some production our team can be better. The production starts with Rob with his role and what I'm asking him to do. It is defend like crazy and that is to be honest with you, take care of the basketball, make guys better, if you are open shoot it and get back and get ready. He is going to guard guys like Marcus Carr tonight and he has to hold his own and he can do it."
Q. On the attitude that the team played with against Minnesota…
MILLER: I didn't think we were very good in one-on-one situations most of the night. They were hard to guard off the bounce. I thought when it mattered the most tonight we started to get some key stops. We started to make some plays. Our toughness level is questioned because we are slow to the ball. We don't get loose balls. We don't get long rebounds. They go over our back and grab the ball and lay it in. We are that team that is a little bit slow in terms of how hard you have to play to get on the floor and do some things. We are trying to get our team to focus in on doing more of the little things. The little things matter. I thought we made the little plays tonight that were needed. The key plays, tie-ups on the floor. Jerome got on the floor two or three times. We had a couple great defensive rebounds by guard late. Our offense is part of toughness as well. You are tough with it. You drive it hard. You don't get the ball stripped from you. You make a good pass. You go to the line. You step in and make two. Our physical toughness, our physical size to me is in question. Our attitude and the way we approach things as a group is not. This team worked really hard coming into this game, coming off of this last week on the road. They are going to come back tomorrow and be ready to go. That is what this team has a chance to continue to keep being good at the right time."
Indiana Players Jerome Hunter and Aljami Durham
Q: On what you've done to change your mindset…
HUNTER: I just feel like I let my team down. I've come back with a bigger chip on my shoulder to show everybody that I apologize and that I am here to help us win some games. That's really it.
Q: On Minnesota testing you and how you responded to the physicality…
HUNTER: They did try to test us. I think every team from here on out is going to test us. Just because of the team they think we are. If they keep doing that, we are going to keep showing them that we are not going to be pushed around down there. We are not going to be pushed around and we are not soft down here.
Q: On how much Jerome adds to the team offensively…
DURHAM: Most definitely. Jerome works hard. Jerome showed you guys a glimpse of what he can do and I look forward to seeing it from him as we continue out the season.
Q: Thoughts on how Rob Phinisee played tonight…
DURHAM: Rob played his behind off. Rob played defense. Rob scored when he needed to. Rob made the right decision when he needed to. He made the right passes. Rob played a great game and I am proud of him. He had a couple of games where he wasn't playing like himself, but tonight he showed you Rob Phinisee. He did everything for us.
Q: On how important the defense was going down the stretch late in the second half…
DURHAM: We played good defense. I feel like we were spread out most of the game, but in the last couple of minutes we finally locked in. We strung a couple of stops together and it led to our offense. It led to that gap that we made at the end of the game.
Players Mentioned
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