With the team already up in West Lafayette, we received some quotes from IU coach Tom Crean. One thing Crean addressed was the growth of his three 6-foot-9 freshmen forwards: Christian Watford, Derek Elston and Bobby Capobianco.
Considering IU has no big men locked up for 2010, this trio is critical to the Hoosiers going forward:
There are three freshmen in Bobby, Derek and Christian that are on that front line that are making progress. They all need to gain weight, they all need to gain athleticism, they're going through experiences right now. They need to develop confidence.I think Derek Elston is really just scratching the surface on what kind of player he's going to be. We definitely need him to continue be an integral part as we move forward this year.
Christian has to develop an ability to guard different people on the perimeter, to be able to get by people. Once his athleticism really takes shape, I think you'll see even a different player there.
And I would say Bobby Capobianco has probably has improved his mindset, and I mean that in a good way, in being able to understand how hard you have to play at this level.
