Recap of Tom Crean’s weekly radio show on Monday night.
All quotes are from Crean unless otherwise noted. All listener questions are via e-mail.
Host Don Fischer started with a recap of last week, beginning with IU’s win over then-No. 4 Iowa.
“The crowd was so energized and we have three more opportunities with our crowd.”
Said key was that IU kept coming against Iowa. “That’s the thing that has to happen … Sometime it’s a rebound. Sometimes it’s a made basket. Sometimes it’s a charge taken.”
Thought freshman forward Juwan Morgan and freshman walk-on guard Harrison Niego did an excellent job with that, so did freshman forward OG Anunoby in the first half.
“And Yogi in the second half. … He didn’t allow his lack of effective shooting affect his effective play … The bottom line is, are you impacting the game?”
“The older I get, the less I use the term ‘great.’ Iowa has a great team.
“Our guards are playing too many minutes. That happens when you are short as we are without James (Blackmon). You have to cover that. Harrison has proven he belongs out there.”
Niego showed toughness at Michigan State and will continue to get minutes in the future. “He will have a different impact than OG with the minutes. He will have a similar impact in the backcourt but he won’t be out there as much.”
Iowa and Michigan State’s fast breaks are very good because their wings are running hard and they’re throwing the ball ahead.
“They’re throwing it ahead better than we are … Our wings are not running as hard as they need to run consistently. They need to do a better job of that. We have to have a break that can score after a make.”
Host Don Fischer asked if games are being officiated differently now than earlier in the year.
“If they called a foul every time there’s contact under the basket, games would last three hours. … deal with it.”
Responding to a question from Fischer, Crean reiterated his postgame comments that IU let Denzel Valentine get too comfortable.
“Then we did some ridiculous stepping up in the lane to allow drop-offs, which we just don’t do. That’s no part of our defense. …
“I wouldn’t say it was the communication. We didn’t stay true to what we needed to do.”
Crean added with a short turnaround, you can’t go over every play run by a team like Michigan State, which has a pretty lengthy playbook. “Your kids won’t be able to fathom it all.”
On another question about officiating. “It’s a very physical game. I don’ think there’s any question about that.”
He used screening as an example, referencing a foul called on Collin Hartman at the start of the Minnesota game. “I could pick that screen out 40, 50 times in a game. You just have to deal with it. You’re never sure if it’s going to be called again. …
“You want it to be as consistent as it can be that night. Do you want it to be that way every night? Sure, but that would be utopia.”
Listener question on Robert Johnson’s improvement last week:
“He’s getting better every time … We have huge expectations for him. He has tremendous talent, tremendous work ethic. When you work the way he works, that’s a huge, huge thing. We need that consistency. We need him to be ready to shoot. We need him to make simple plays.
Listener question: Is Robert Johnson Indiana’s best defender?
“I’d put Yogi Ferrell up defensively,” Crean said, adding he mainly watches teams IU is preparing to play and doesn’t watch a lot of random games nationally. “I’d have to be convinced not to put Yogi Ferrell up as the best defensive guard in being able to guard numerous people.”
Listener question: What was Cody Zeller’s message to the team on his visit.
Nothing in particular, talked about Zeller’s games in the NBA. “I think he enjoyed being around. He probably spent more time with the players. I know he was shocked how short the walkthrough was. I know he wished he had a few of those.”
“He’s very confident. There’s no arrogance, but he’s very, very confident. But there’s a humbleness to him, a humility because there’s a realness to him.”
Listener question: What is the advantage or disadvantage to playing a team in the NCAA Tournament you’ve played during the season?
Crean said a team can lose a little bit of an edge if it’s a team they beat but also can lose a little bit of an edge if they lost to that team and aren’t confident they can beat them.
“Our best teams were when they had a tinge of fear: Are we good enough.”
Crean said teams really look forward to the freshness of the NCAA Tournament, especially coming out of the Big Ten to see how they stack up against the rest of the country.
Listener question: Twenty years down the road, is there anyone who played for you at IU you could see being a head coach in college.
“I would have to think through that one. I’m not going to name anybody. I’d invariably name three or four people and miss six or seven. I’ll say an affirmative yes, but not name anybody.”
Listener question: When was the first time you met Tom Izzo?
Crean said the first time was watching a Michigan State practice when Jud Heathcote was the head coach and Izzo was an assistant.
Crean said that was one of his two early great experiences, the other was watching a Doug Collins walkthrough with the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan was playing.
Crean also told a great story about what Izzo did for his ailing mother on Sunday. Story here: https://indiana.n.rivals.com/news/tom-crean-praises-tom-izzo-for-kindness-shown-to-his-ailing-mother
General comments on this week’s opponents, Nebraska and Purdue.
“Nebraska’s good whether Shavon Shields is there or not. Andrew White is a big-time player. We were lucky we caught them early … They’re very fast, very fast. We need to play extremely well, same thing with Purdue.
Jackson Tharp, the manager who became a walk-on, was the player guest.
Crean did say that Tharp was moved to a player when “it became clear we weren’t going to get anybody from football.”
Fischer asked Crean what earned Tharp the spot on the team.
“To sum it up, it’s three things. One, he’s an outstanding person. He’s been from the day he got here. He earned his way up the ladder. We were taking him on the road as a freshman and in IU manager lore, that’s not common.
“Two, he can wear a lot of different hats … He made us better all the time whether it was keeping charts or in the film room …
“Three, I thought he was going to help our team, not on the court in games yet but he’s helping us in practice. I thought it was a reward. When it became clear we weren’t going to get anybody from football, it was something I was thinking about. There were times we were having a hard time guarding him in practice.
“You want somebody who has gone through the rungs of your program and this is what happens when you earn it. … He’s earned it every day. He’s going to be an outstanding Indiana University graduate when the time comes.”
All quotes are from Crean unless otherwise noted. All listener questions are via e-mail.
Host Don Fischer started with a recap of last week, beginning with IU’s win over then-No. 4 Iowa.
“The crowd was so energized and we have three more opportunities with our crowd.”
Said key was that IU kept coming against Iowa. “That’s the thing that has to happen … Sometime it’s a rebound. Sometimes it’s a made basket. Sometimes it’s a charge taken.”
Thought freshman forward Juwan Morgan and freshman walk-on guard Harrison Niego did an excellent job with that, so did freshman forward OG Anunoby in the first half.
“And Yogi in the second half. … He didn’t allow his lack of effective shooting affect his effective play … The bottom line is, are you impacting the game?”
“The older I get, the less I use the term ‘great.’ Iowa has a great team.
“Our guards are playing too many minutes. That happens when you are short as we are without James (Blackmon). You have to cover that. Harrison has proven he belongs out there.”
Niego showed toughness at Michigan State and will continue to get minutes in the future. “He will have a different impact than OG with the minutes. He will have a similar impact in the backcourt but he won’t be out there as much.”
Iowa and Michigan State’s fast breaks are very good because their wings are running hard and they’re throwing the ball ahead.
“They’re throwing it ahead better than we are … Our wings are not running as hard as they need to run consistently. They need to do a better job of that. We have to have a break that can score after a make.”
Host Don Fischer asked if games are being officiated differently now than earlier in the year.
“If they called a foul every time there’s contact under the basket, games would last three hours. … deal with it.”
Responding to a question from Fischer, Crean reiterated his postgame comments that IU let Denzel Valentine get too comfortable.
“Then we did some ridiculous stepping up in the lane to allow drop-offs, which we just don’t do. That’s no part of our defense. …
“I wouldn’t say it was the communication. We didn’t stay true to what we needed to do.”
Crean added with a short turnaround, you can’t go over every play run by a team like Michigan State, which has a pretty lengthy playbook. “Your kids won’t be able to fathom it all.”
On another question about officiating. “It’s a very physical game. I don’ think there’s any question about that.”
He used screening as an example, referencing a foul called on Collin Hartman at the start of the Minnesota game. “I could pick that screen out 40, 50 times in a game. You just have to deal with it. You’re never sure if it’s going to be called again. …
“You want it to be as consistent as it can be that night. Do you want it to be that way every night? Sure, but that would be utopia.”
Listener question on Robert Johnson’s improvement last week:
“He’s getting better every time … We have huge expectations for him. He has tremendous talent, tremendous work ethic. When you work the way he works, that’s a huge, huge thing. We need that consistency. We need him to be ready to shoot. We need him to make simple plays.
Listener question: Is Robert Johnson Indiana’s best defender?
“I’d put Yogi Ferrell up defensively,” Crean said, adding he mainly watches teams IU is preparing to play and doesn’t watch a lot of random games nationally. “I’d have to be convinced not to put Yogi Ferrell up as the best defensive guard in being able to guard numerous people.”
Listener question: What was Cody Zeller’s message to the team on his visit.
Nothing in particular, talked about Zeller’s games in the NBA. “I think he enjoyed being around. He probably spent more time with the players. I know he was shocked how short the walkthrough was. I know he wished he had a few of those.”
“He’s very confident. There’s no arrogance, but he’s very, very confident. But there’s a humbleness to him, a humility because there’s a realness to him.”
Listener question: What is the advantage or disadvantage to playing a team in the NCAA Tournament you’ve played during the season?
Crean said a team can lose a little bit of an edge if it’s a team they beat but also can lose a little bit of an edge if they lost to that team and aren’t confident they can beat them.
“Our best teams were when they had a tinge of fear: Are we good enough.”
Crean said teams really look forward to the freshness of the NCAA Tournament, especially coming out of the Big Ten to see how they stack up against the rest of the country.
Listener question: Twenty years down the road, is there anyone who played for you at IU you could see being a head coach in college.
“I would have to think through that one. I’m not going to name anybody. I’d invariably name three or four people and miss six or seven. I’ll say an affirmative yes, but not name anybody.”
Listener question: When was the first time you met Tom Izzo?
Crean said the first time was watching a Michigan State practice when Jud Heathcote was the head coach and Izzo was an assistant.
Crean said that was one of his two early great experiences, the other was watching a Doug Collins walkthrough with the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan was playing.
Crean also told a great story about what Izzo did for his ailing mother on Sunday. Story here: https://indiana.n.rivals.com/news/tom-crean-praises-tom-izzo-for-kindness-shown-to-his-ailing-mother
General comments on this week’s opponents, Nebraska and Purdue.
“Nebraska’s good whether Shavon Shields is there or not. Andrew White is a big-time player. We were lucky we caught them early … They’re very fast, very fast. We need to play extremely well, same thing with Purdue.
Jackson Tharp, the manager who became a walk-on, was the player guest.
Crean did say that Tharp was moved to a player when “it became clear we weren’t going to get anybody from football.”
Fischer asked Crean what earned Tharp the spot on the team.
“To sum it up, it’s three things. One, he’s an outstanding person. He’s been from the day he got here. He earned his way up the ladder. We were taking him on the road as a freshman and in IU manager lore, that’s not common.
“Two, he can wear a lot of different hats … He made us better all the time whether it was keeping charts or in the film room …
“Three, I thought he was going to help our team, not on the court in games yet but he’s helping us in practice. I thought it was a reward. When it became clear we weren’t going to get anybody from football, it was something I was thinking about. There were times we were having a hard time guarding him in practice.
“You want somebody who has gone through the rungs of your program and this is what happens when you earn it. … He’s earned it every day. He’s going to be an outstanding Indiana University graduate when the time comes.”
