Normally, basketball practice is closed to the media. But IU coach Tom Crean was nice enough to invite some of us to Assembly Hall this afternoon to show what really goes on behind-the-scenes.
And while we are not allowed to go into specifics in what we saw on the court, Crean did meet with the media following the practice to answer a few questions.
NOTE:
*Maurice Creek is still recovering from his knee injury. Crean said he will typically practice hard one day and scale back on the next. Derek Elston did not play because he suffered a minor ankle injury that will keep him out for only a few days.
Here are some highlights from what Crean had to say after practice:
ON COMPETITIVENESS IN PRACTICE
"I think the biggest thing for us right now is every day, are we getting smarter, tougher, more physical and more fundamental? And at the same time, are we creating a sense of urgency in what it means to win? I would do that with a team that was coming off a big time winning season, but when you haven't won, you've gotta continue to understand the value of winning. You've gotta understand the value of game point. You've gotta understand how to come back. You've gotta understand how to put somebody away. We don't have enough fire-breathing, I'm-gonna-get-this-done mentalities out there just yet. So you gotta try to cultivate that and build it. I know it's extremely early, but the sense of urgency has got to be something that we're attacking every day, and that's what we are."
ON FRESHMAN ADJUSTING TO THE COLLEGE GAME
"They are learning a lot. I'm sure they think that their heads are swimming, but it's not like either one of those two have come out here and put together back-to-back bad days. They are going to play. They have a real opportunity to play because they are athletic, because they have toughness, because they are trying to excel. Again, a lot of things that we are doing offensively are things that we haven't done in the past, so it's a little bit new for everybody. We are trying to understand that they are freshman, but we aren't trying to treat them like they are."
ON THE OVERALL TEAM MENTALITY
"There's a vulnerable spot in every practice. There's a vulnerable spot in every game. The teams with the sense of urgency, the teams that have the most competitive mindset and the most guys inside of that, they're the ones that win. You can't lower your expectations just because a few people aren't as competitive as they need to be. You've gotta keep raising the level. We haven't been able to do that in here as well in the past. We have to be able to do that now. It's even harder when you take three bonafide players out today, like we had, and it makes it a little harder."
ON IF THERE IS A CHALLENGE OF GETTING THE FRESHMAN TO HAVE THE MENTALITY OF VETERANS
"I think so. I'm not looking at this like there's five sophomores, or five returning starters or two freshman. You break down their teaching to where they are all brand new. We didn't do our defensive stations today, but everything you do, it's like you are reteaching. You are treating it from ground zero. I don't think you can do differently, and it's how quick people pick it up. We want it to be competitive. We aren't out here talking a lot about, 'well, you've done it in the past, so you should do it. Or you haven't done it so wait your turn.' There's none of that. I hope there never is at Indiana."
ON WATFORD ADJUSTING TO THE SMALL FORWARD POSITION
"It's a process and it's a mindset change. But the one thing he can't get away from is that he can score at the rim, and he can rebound. He's gotta be able to guard smaller people constantly. We want to get to the point where whether we're man or zone, that you're gonna guard all kinds of people. you might be switching man-to-man, you might be in a different spot in the zone. Transition defense, there's no guarantee who you're going to guard. So he's constantly gotta be challenged in those areas to bring out that athleticism, to bring out that mindset. It's a good process. I have no disappointment in that whatsoever."
ON GUY-MARCMICHEL'S PERFORMANCE SEVEN PRACTICES IN
"Head's swimming a little bit. Head's swimming. he's getting tired. The aches and pains of it are kicking in a little bit. It's just a process for him as well. We've gotta get him to be more intense for longer periods of time, but it's not like he's trying to take himself out. He's got a real strong sticktoitiveness, a real strong want-to. He's just gotta get the conditioning aspect of that, the confidence to go with it. When he gets tired, he stands straight up. When he gets tired, he dribbles the ball up above his knee. When he gets tired, he sometimes might travel. But you put that kid a couple of weeks down the road, a couple of months down the road, those things are going to be gone and he's going to be playing pretty well."
