Bo Ryan went off first as we're going in reverse alphabetical order by school name. Bo spoke mainly to the rule changes including 30-second shot clock. Didn't seem to have any big problems with rule changes.
One interesting thing Bo said was this year he's doing a lot of "teaching" where last year he was doing a lot of "managing" with a much older team. Sounded happy with what he's seeing early.
Eddie Jordan followed and did seem a bit nervous and quickly mentioned the need to replace three key guys (Jack, Mack, Etou) but feels his team has more depth and is more athletic. Just has to overcome the youth issue
Matt Painter says his most improved player thus far is sophomore Vince Edwards and that he seems to be flying under the radar (media coverage wise). Says he knows the publicity of how tough the league is going to be but won't really find out until the non-conference play is really underway.
Pat Chambers says he really feels his "program is building momentum." Pointed to a "dynamic freshman class" and "one that is following it up." Chambers says he has the biggest team he's had in terms of height across the frontline and that means getting the ball inside is a priority. Has reached out to NBA people to try to understand how to best use the "arm bar" in the post, something that is now allowed when offense has back to the basket (with or without ball).
Thad Matta was asked if he agreed with media portrayals that this is a rebuilding year for OSU and he said he couldn't disagree to a point. Mentioned that he has some juniors but light on seniors and everything will depend on how fast some of the young guys pick things up.
Chris Collins praising Alex Olah's progress over his four years in reshaping his body and how important it will be for him to be a huge presence for them this year and possibly be a "double-double" guy. Also said it is a matter of when not if in terms of Northwestern getting into the NCAA tourney. Believes his team's trip to Spain helped staff get a head start on establishing priorities.
Tim Miles took some ribbing from Chris Collins for being a Cardinals fan (Collins is a Cubs fan). Miles started with "I'm just here so I won't be fined." Mentioned how excited he was to bring in Glynn Watson since he's a true playmaking type guard. Says he agrees with talk about how underrated Shavon Shields is and thinks he has a chance to be an NBA player. Miles later joked that John Beilein only guys here more upset than him with the Cubs eliminating the Cardinals.
Richard Pitino says he's going to try to not discuss how young his team is today and moving forward, doesn't obviously want that to be an excuse this season. Pitino said Bakary Konate was recovering quickly after missing last week with stress fracture in his foot. Expected to be out another three weeks. Sounded happy with progress Carlos Morris has made with shot selection and other mistakes that plagued him last season.
Tom Izzo says he "has a completely different" team but likes his athleticism and shooting ability and depth. Joked about how much his team has practiced free throws the last few months since "We were the worst free throw shooting in captivity" last season. Izzo convinced Big Ten has been best league in the nation the last 4-5 years. Tom Izzo says Maryland "cream of the crop" based on who they have back but sees Indiana "making a major jump" this season. On rules changes said if he was the guy in charge he would like to work with the NBA to have the rules be the same. Would improve the "working relationship" there and make things more simple and he added he likes most of the NBA rules.
John Beilein hyped up the leadership being shown right now by Caris LeVert. Said they've erred on the side of caution with the rehab of his foot. Added that LeVert is young for his class and still really developing as a player. But added that "we have a lot of gap" to make up with his young team -- pointing out how far down the standings UM was last season. Mentioned the better depth this season and some guys will have to adjust to having fewer minutes.
Mark Turgeon says his team has just worked harder because of the huge expectations. Says an unusually hard Big Ten schedule and a tough non-conference slate too and that will help keep his team humble. Says despite low expectations a year ago he felt at media day in 2014 he felt he had a pretty good team, though would not have expected 28 wins. Pointed out that Diamond Stone has taken off some weight and "offensively he is already there." "Defensively is where he will really have to improve." Says "kind of a buzz" in an understatement for the non-conference game next month against Georgetown. DMV area people really looking forward to the game.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says he has a unique team because he has 4 starters back and a near starter in Anthony Clemmons but then a bunch of inexperienced young guys. Doesn't see 30-second shot clock impacting his offense much since they generally play fast paced basketball. Praised soph Dom Uhl's development since last year and indicated walk-on Brady Ellingson is actually quite a good player that nobody knows about.
Tom Crean just finished. Live tweeted most of his more interesting comments:
IU coach adding that on paper the league is as tough as it is on paper and the IU non-conference schedule toughest in his 8 years with IU.
Crean says challenging non-conference schedule includes two really tough exhibition games to start things off with Bellarmine and Ottawa
Crean says Thomas Bryant brings "tremendous athleticism" and team obviously has missed him since he's sat out since the first full practice
Crean says "improvement, especially with freshen and sophomores, will be imperative" - as team works to get a good two-deep situation.
Crean indicated that Thomas Bryant has been limited due to arch issue with his foot.
Crean says Collin Hartman took a charge on Troy Williams the other day and took a shot to ribs and will be out for a little bit.
Tom Crean says his team "is the product of injuries" right now and has a lot of work to do to improve depth.
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John Groce talked about dealing with all the injuries including a new one this week with Kendrick Nunn. He hurt his left thumb this week in practice and not yet determined if he broke a bone. Meniscus surgery for Leron Black but he'll be back next month.
Mike Thorn completely different big man versus Nnanna Egwu. Not as good a defender but better in other ways.
----
A few more notes …
Tom Crean said IU would have scrimmaged West Virginia, but IU has a need to have a certain number of home games, including exhibitions.
… I asked Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany if there is conversation about protecting certain rivalries — such as Indiana and Purdue — so each school gets a home game each year.
Delany: “Yes, there’s been conversation.”
Me: Is it going anywhere?
Delany: “No. It never seems to win the day.”
… Tom Izzo had an interesting comment at the end of his roundtable session.
While discussing Indiana’s place on the basketball map with five national titles, the level of intense fan interest and historical success, Izzo said: “They’re the Kentucky of the Big Ten.”
... From Zack Miller of the Wisconsin Rivals site: Bo Ryan on this possibly being his final year: "It's like being at a picnic and saying I'll have one more hamburger. How many people have three more?"
One interesting thing Bo said was this year he's doing a lot of "teaching" where last year he was doing a lot of "managing" with a much older team. Sounded happy with what he's seeing early.
Eddie Jordan followed and did seem a bit nervous and quickly mentioned the need to replace three key guys (Jack, Mack, Etou) but feels his team has more depth and is more athletic. Just has to overcome the youth issue
Matt Painter says his most improved player thus far is sophomore Vince Edwards and that he seems to be flying under the radar (media coverage wise). Says he knows the publicity of how tough the league is going to be but won't really find out until the non-conference play is really underway.
Pat Chambers says he really feels his "program is building momentum." Pointed to a "dynamic freshman class" and "one that is following it up." Chambers says he has the biggest team he's had in terms of height across the frontline and that means getting the ball inside is a priority. Has reached out to NBA people to try to understand how to best use the "arm bar" in the post, something that is now allowed when offense has back to the basket (with or without ball).
Thad Matta was asked if he agreed with media portrayals that this is a rebuilding year for OSU and he said he couldn't disagree to a point. Mentioned that he has some juniors but light on seniors and everything will depend on how fast some of the young guys pick things up.
Chris Collins praising Alex Olah's progress over his four years in reshaping his body and how important it will be for him to be a huge presence for them this year and possibly be a "double-double" guy. Also said it is a matter of when not if in terms of Northwestern getting into the NCAA tourney. Believes his team's trip to Spain helped staff get a head start on establishing priorities.
Tim Miles took some ribbing from Chris Collins for being a Cardinals fan (Collins is a Cubs fan). Miles started with "I'm just here so I won't be fined." Mentioned how excited he was to bring in Glynn Watson since he's a true playmaking type guard. Says he agrees with talk about how underrated Shavon Shields is and thinks he has a chance to be an NBA player. Miles later joked that John Beilein only guys here more upset than him with the Cubs eliminating the Cardinals.
Richard Pitino says he's going to try to not discuss how young his team is today and moving forward, doesn't obviously want that to be an excuse this season. Pitino said Bakary Konate was recovering quickly after missing last week with stress fracture in his foot. Expected to be out another three weeks. Sounded happy with progress Carlos Morris has made with shot selection and other mistakes that plagued him last season.
Tom Izzo says he "has a completely different" team but likes his athleticism and shooting ability and depth. Joked about how much his team has practiced free throws the last few months since "We were the worst free throw shooting in captivity" last season. Izzo convinced Big Ten has been best league in the nation the last 4-5 years. Tom Izzo says Maryland "cream of the crop" based on who they have back but sees Indiana "making a major jump" this season. On rules changes said if he was the guy in charge he would like to work with the NBA to have the rules be the same. Would improve the "working relationship" there and make things more simple and he added he likes most of the NBA rules.
John Beilein hyped up the leadership being shown right now by Caris LeVert. Said they've erred on the side of caution with the rehab of his foot. Added that LeVert is young for his class and still really developing as a player. But added that "we have a lot of gap" to make up with his young team -- pointing out how far down the standings UM was last season. Mentioned the better depth this season and some guys will have to adjust to having fewer minutes.
Mark Turgeon says his team has just worked harder because of the huge expectations. Says an unusually hard Big Ten schedule and a tough non-conference slate too and that will help keep his team humble. Says despite low expectations a year ago he felt at media day in 2014 he felt he had a pretty good team, though would not have expected 28 wins. Pointed out that Diamond Stone has taken off some weight and "offensively he is already there." "Defensively is where he will really have to improve." Says "kind of a buzz" in an understatement for the non-conference game next month against Georgetown. DMV area people really looking forward to the game.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says he has a unique team because he has 4 starters back and a near starter in Anthony Clemmons but then a bunch of inexperienced young guys. Doesn't see 30-second shot clock impacting his offense much since they generally play fast paced basketball. Praised soph Dom Uhl's development since last year and indicated walk-on Brady Ellingson is actually quite a good player that nobody knows about.
Tom Crean just finished. Live tweeted most of his more interesting comments:
IU coach adding that on paper the league is as tough as it is on paper and the IU non-conference schedule toughest in his 8 years with IU.
Crean says challenging non-conference schedule includes two really tough exhibition games to start things off with Bellarmine and Ottawa
Crean says Thomas Bryant brings "tremendous athleticism" and team obviously has missed him since he's sat out since the first full practice
Crean says "improvement, especially with freshen and sophomores, will be imperative" - as team works to get a good two-deep situation.
Crean indicated that Thomas Bryant has been limited due to arch issue with his foot.
Crean says Collin Hartman took a charge on Troy Williams the other day and took a shot to ribs and will be out for a little bit.
Tom Crean says his team "is the product of injuries" right now and has a lot of work to do to improve depth.
-----
John Groce talked about dealing with all the injuries including a new one this week with Kendrick Nunn. He hurt his left thumb this week in practice and not yet determined if he broke a bone. Meniscus surgery for Leron Black but he'll be back next month.
Mike Thorn completely different big man versus Nnanna Egwu. Not as good a defender but better in other ways.
----
A few more notes …
Tom Crean said IU would have scrimmaged West Virginia, but IU has a need to have a certain number of home games, including exhibitions.
… I asked Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany if there is conversation about protecting certain rivalries — such as Indiana and Purdue — so each school gets a home game each year.
Delany: “Yes, there’s been conversation.”
Me: Is it going anywhere?
Delany: “No. It never seems to win the day.”
… Tom Izzo had an interesting comment at the end of his roundtable session.
While discussing Indiana’s place on the basketball map with five national titles, the level of intense fan interest and historical success, Izzo said: “They’re the Kentucky of the Big Ten.”
... From Zack Miller of the Wisconsin Rivals site: Bo Ryan on this possibly being his final year: "It's like being at a picnic and saying I'll have one more hamburger. How many people have three more?"
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