Crean, players talk IU-Michigan

By Nathan Brown | Nathan Brown, IDS men's basketball beat writer

Posted at 9:14 pm on February 1, 2013 | | | Comments (0)

Saturday, the IU men’s basketball team will take on the No. 1 team in the country for the second time at Assembly Hall in two seasons. The Hoosiers come in ranked No. 3, and with Michigan comes the ESPN College GameDay crew to publicize one of the biggest games ever played in Assembly Hall.

Thursday afternoon, the media talked to IU Coach Tom Crean and seniors guard Jordan Hulls and forward Christian Watford about Saturday’s matchup with the Wolverines:

Crean on bringing in College GameDay:

“It’s been a long, hard road to get to where we have a program that’s worthy of it in a sense, of having GameDay come in here like this, to have the national audience…It’s well earned by a lot of people; by our players, the athletic department, the administration, and without question by the fans.

“That’s what helped draw GameDay here, and at the same time, that’s why it’s going to be such an exciting day, and the world is going to get a chance to see Hoosier Nation at its finest, and hopefully tomorrow night inside of the game, we do our part to make it a good game.”

Crean on defending Michigan’s Trey Burke:

“He’s got great explosiveness. He keeps his dribble alive. He’s going to keep going until he gets what he wants for himself or for his teammates. He can play with either hand. He’s tremendous on the pick and roll, and he’s tremendous at not only scoring the ball but finding open people.”

Watford on playing on such a big stage Saturday night:

“We’ve definitely enjoyed this as a team. We know how crazy it is, but we have a job to do.”

Hulls on the atmosphere around Bloomington surrounding College GameDay:

“When you go out on campus, you can feel the buzz going around. Our fans are always great, and we definitely need them out in full force tomorrow.

“It’s pretty cool for Bloomington, being a townie myself. Growing up, you always want to go to Assembly Hall, and it gets pretty loud in here, so it’ll be fun.”

Nathan Brown is a junior majoring in journalism. A Noblesville, Ind. native, he is currently one of the men's basketball beat writers for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him on Twitter at @nathan_brown10.

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