Indiana University Athletics
Previewing Thursday's Big Ten Tournament Matchup Against Rutgers
3/10/2021 4:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Archie Miller met with the media on Wednesday to preview tomorrow's Big Ten Tournament game against Rutgers.
Opening Statement
MILLER: We are excited to get to Indianapolis and get started. It should be a great event. We are excited that the event was able to be pulled off as it moved to Indianapolis. It is a great thing for the league and the teams in the league. Even in an odd year, I think the Big Ten stood out above and beyond any other conference in college basketball this season. It probably had the most complete regular season of any league in the country to the credit of our administrators, doctors, and medical teams. It gave a chance to showcase what was probably the deepest league in the history of the Big Ten Conference in terms of the depth of the league and the quality of games. The tournament should be interesting. There are a lot of different teams playing well right now. I wouldn't be surprised right now to see a number of teams advance and have an opportunity to win the Big Ten Championship here in Indy. For us, we have a difficult match up with Rutgers. We have played them twice and haven't had a whole lot of success. In our most recent game, they dominated the back 10 minutes of the first half and in the second half after we got off to a pretty good start. For us we are really trying to concentrate on being as good as we can for the third time around as we approach them most importantly on both ends of the floor. They are a strong and tough-minded group with some veteran guys that have played a lot of games together. I know they are excited to get through the regular season just like everybody is and getting to this setting. We have to be ready to go on Thursday night.
Q: On practicing in Lucas Oil Stadium and adjustments you have to make when playing in a dome…
MILLER: I don't believe any team has an opportunity to get on the floor. I know we won't have an opportunity to get on the game floor until our warm-up. I think like every other arena. Most arenas this year were empty. This one will be big and empty as well. I have played in Lucas Oil before. I am not sure of the dynamics of the set-up, but it is a great event. I think Lucas Oil is one of the greatest sports facilities, and to be able to play a game there will be an awesome feeling for our players in the league in general. It will be a great set-up. Depth perception of playing in domes sometimes offensively they can make a bigger deal about it than it is when shooting the ball. At the end of the day, when the game is up it will feel somewhat normal because all of us have played in empty arenas all year.
Q: Updates on Armaan Franklin and Race Thompson…
MILLER: We are hoping these guys continue to improve. Race is probably a little bit more banged up than Armaan right now recovering with the nose and the face and having turned his ankle in the second half at Purdue has eliminated him from being able to work with us a ton. Knowing Race and how he has been all season, particularly these last few weeks as he hasn't been 100 percent. If he can go, he will go. He will definitely probably give it a try. Armaan is still a wait and see. He is more day-to-day. He hasn't done much, but a little bit of shooting. He did some shooting last week as well. We are not counting on Armaan being available.
Q: On the mental health challenges with you and the players and how you have addressed them…
MILLER: I think this is the one that is probably the most under-talked about. From a perception standpoint, I think these guys play the games, you watch the games, and you talked about them like it is a normal season, but the surroundings for players, our players in general, from a year ago last year when the season was canceled leading into 'Are we going to have a year? Are we going to come back to campus? Is it worth coming back to campus? Are we going to be able to work out?' Just a lot of uncertainty. No preseason with scrimmages, exhibition games a longer non-conference schedule to get your team prepared and give your younger players an opportunity to play. I think all of that was discussed when talking about how challenging it is. To think about a freshman class coming to college and never walking on the campus, never leaving their room. You get into a routine of the stress of the season of preparing and practicing, but where are their outlets coming from? You realistically are eliminating things that they would normally be due to the best of their ability which is go out with their friends or hang out with their families. You are really trying to keep guys in a smaller bubble than they are used to. For the younger players, I think it has been very, very different. For the older players who have had a normal college experience, it was probably frustrating. We kind of had to hang in there and get used to it. I think as you got used to it, you started to figure out that your players were exhausted. In and around Christmas time, it felt like late January. Guys weren't going home for the holiday breaks. We were practicing on Christmas Eve and Day. You are traveling on Christmas Day.
Just the onslaught of when it started and getting the games in and then getting to the regular season at that point in time was a little overwhelming. I think as the Christmas holiday was over and you started to move into late January or February, it think everyone was in a good routine as the second semester started. It was frustrating. I think waking up for six months and getting tested whether you get home at three or four in the morning, win, lose or draw. On a Sunday afternoon, you are not going home to see your family because you have a twelve, noon covid test. The nerves of contact tracing at some points in time during the year. There is just a lot of elements that come into play that didn't have anything to do with basketball or if we were going to be ready to practice or play today. You are constantly trying to keep your guys upbeat and pepped up. But at the same time, you are trying to warn them. Be careful who is coming to the games with you and after the game. You don't know where those people have been. Just conversations that you would never think about having. You had to constantly remind them. I think our team has done a great job with our administration and medical team. Number one with helping the guys along the wat, giving them the ability to communicate when there is problems and us communicating with them. I think going through the season and having the constant testing allowed us to have the games and the season the way it was. But I also think the restrictions over the last six months that have been put on 17,18,19-year-old kids is really almost unprecedented to try and board them up a little bit the way that we have to try and complete the year. A deep breath is probably coming for anyone who has been involved in winter sports. I know from our standpoint it has been a mentally taxing year. It really didn't have anything to do with basketball. A lot of it is knowing how to escape the monotony of the routine and what we had to do every day.
On Myles Johnson's game and how he stays out of foul trouble…
MILLER: I would say based on how they're playing from our standpoint in conference play, one of the advantages for him is staying between 15 feet and the rim. He doesn't have to get extended very much, they're not bringing him out and being as aggressive as they usually are at one time in his career. He doesn't have to be exposed as far away from the basket. I think if you keep a guy like him in between the rim and his man, that's where he's at his greatest strength. He has incredible hands, incredible hands. You also add in incredible reach, he can reach across people's bodies to one-hand offensive rebounds. Blocking shots across the lane, coming across, he has unique ability with great hands, shot-blocking ability. He's physical, he's very mobile and to me he's not being put in situations realistically where he's having to move around a lot. He's protecting the rim and the paint to me a lot more than in year's past where they've been more aggressive with him or their big guys. To me, they've kind of funneled everything a little bit to him, a little bit like Illinois does with Kofi (Cockburn) and you take your chances a little bit with some shooting or mobile front court players that give them problems. But when it comes to the overall game of being able to keep him where he's good, I think they do a pretty good job of that. At this point, he's also probably very experienced. He's played a lot of games; he goes against terrific players every night. To me his experience level of what he needs to do to be successful is good. I've said it before and I'll say it again I think he's one of the best if not the best interior defender in our conference. He's got to be right up there at the top.
Opening Statement
MILLER: We are excited to get to Indianapolis and get started. It should be a great event. We are excited that the event was able to be pulled off as it moved to Indianapolis. It is a great thing for the league and the teams in the league. Even in an odd year, I think the Big Ten stood out above and beyond any other conference in college basketball this season. It probably had the most complete regular season of any league in the country to the credit of our administrators, doctors, and medical teams. It gave a chance to showcase what was probably the deepest league in the history of the Big Ten Conference in terms of the depth of the league and the quality of games. The tournament should be interesting. There are a lot of different teams playing well right now. I wouldn't be surprised right now to see a number of teams advance and have an opportunity to win the Big Ten Championship here in Indy. For us, we have a difficult match up with Rutgers. We have played them twice and haven't had a whole lot of success. In our most recent game, they dominated the back 10 minutes of the first half and in the second half after we got off to a pretty good start. For us we are really trying to concentrate on being as good as we can for the third time around as we approach them most importantly on both ends of the floor. They are a strong and tough-minded group with some veteran guys that have played a lot of games together. I know they are excited to get through the regular season just like everybody is and getting to this setting. We have to be ready to go on Thursday night.
Q: On practicing in Lucas Oil Stadium and adjustments you have to make when playing in a dome…
MILLER: I don't believe any team has an opportunity to get on the floor. I know we won't have an opportunity to get on the game floor until our warm-up. I think like every other arena. Most arenas this year were empty. This one will be big and empty as well. I have played in Lucas Oil before. I am not sure of the dynamics of the set-up, but it is a great event. I think Lucas Oil is one of the greatest sports facilities, and to be able to play a game there will be an awesome feeling for our players in the league in general. It will be a great set-up. Depth perception of playing in domes sometimes offensively they can make a bigger deal about it than it is when shooting the ball. At the end of the day, when the game is up it will feel somewhat normal because all of us have played in empty arenas all year.
Q: Updates on Armaan Franklin and Race Thompson…
MILLER: We are hoping these guys continue to improve. Race is probably a little bit more banged up than Armaan right now recovering with the nose and the face and having turned his ankle in the second half at Purdue has eliminated him from being able to work with us a ton. Knowing Race and how he has been all season, particularly these last few weeks as he hasn't been 100 percent. If he can go, he will go. He will definitely probably give it a try. Armaan is still a wait and see. He is more day-to-day. He hasn't done much, but a little bit of shooting. He did some shooting last week as well. We are not counting on Armaan being available.
Q: On the mental health challenges with you and the players and how you have addressed them…
MILLER: I think this is the one that is probably the most under-talked about. From a perception standpoint, I think these guys play the games, you watch the games, and you talked about them like it is a normal season, but the surroundings for players, our players in general, from a year ago last year when the season was canceled leading into 'Are we going to have a year? Are we going to come back to campus? Is it worth coming back to campus? Are we going to be able to work out?' Just a lot of uncertainty. No preseason with scrimmages, exhibition games a longer non-conference schedule to get your team prepared and give your younger players an opportunity to play. I think all of that was discussed when talking about how challenging it is. To think about a freshman class coming to college and never walking on the campus, never leaving their room. You get into a routine of the stress of the season of preparing and practicing, but where are their outlets coming from? You realistically are eliminating things that they would normally be due to the best of their ability which is go out with their friends or hang out with their families. You are really trying to keep guys in a smaller bubble than they are used to. For the younger players, I think it has been very, very different. For the older players who have had a normal college experience, it was probably frustrating. We kind of had to hang in there and get used to it. I think as you got used to it, you started to figure out that your players were exhausted. In and around Christmas time, it felt like late January. Guys weren't going home for the holiday breaks. We were practicing on Christmas Eve and Day. You are traveling on Christmas Day.
Just the onslaught of when it started and getting the games in and then getting to the regular season at that point in time was a little overwhelming. I think as the Christmas holiday was over and you started to move into late January or February, it think everyone was in a good routine as the second semester started. It was frustrating. I think waking up for six months and getting tested whether you get home at three or four in the morning, win, lose or draw. On a Sunday afternoon, you are not going home to see your family because you have a twelve, noon covid test. The nerves of contact tracing at some points in time during the year. There is just a lot of elements that come into play that didn't have anything to do with basketball or if we were going to be ready to practice or play today. You are constantly trying to keep your guys upbeat and pepped up. But at the same time, you are trying to warn them. Be careful who is coming to the games with you and after the game. You don't know where those people have been. Just conversations that you would never think about having. You had to constantly remind them. I think our team has done a great job with our administration and medical team. Number one with helping the guys along the wat, giving them the ability to communicate when there is problems and us communicating with them. I think going through the season and having the constant testing allowed us to have the games and the season the way it was. But I also think the restrictions over the last six months that have been put on 17,18,19-year-old kids is really almost unprecedented to try and board them up a little bit the way that we have to try and complete the year. A deep breath is probably coming for anyone who has been involved in winter sports. I know from our standpoint it has been a mentally taxing year. It really didn't have anything to do with basketball. A lot of it is knowing how to escape the monotony of the routine and what we had to do every day.
On Myles Johnson's game and how he stays out of foul trouble…
MILLER: I would say based on how they're playing from our standpoint in conference play, one of the advantages for him is staying between 15 feet and the rim. He doesn't have to get extended very much, they're not bringing him out and being as aggressive as they usually are at one time in his career. He doesn't have to be exposed as far away from the basket. I think if you keep a guy like him in between the rim and his man, that's where he's at his greatest strength. He has incredible hands, incredible hands. You also add in incredible reach, he can reach across people's bodies to one-hand offensive rebounds. Blocking shots across the lane, coming across, he has unique ability with great hands, shot-blocking ability. He's physical, he's very mobile and to me he's not being put in situations realistically where he's having to move around a lot. He's protecting the rim and the paint to me a lot more than in year's past where they've been more aggressive with him or their big guys. To me, they've kind of funneled everything a little bit to him, a little bit like Illinois does with Kofi (Cockburn) and you take your chances a little bit with some shooting or mobile front court players that give them problems. But when it comes to the overall game of being able to keep him where he's good, I think they do a pretty good job of that. At this point, he's also probably very experienced. He's played a lot of games; he goes against terrific players every night. To me his experience level of what he needs to do to be successful is good. I've said it before and I'll say it again I think he's one of the best if not the best interior defender in our conference. He's got to be right up there at the top.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballFB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Bray Lynch - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Spring Practice - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Thursday, April 16