BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ? This is Indiana, and because of that, it's always IU basketball season, even in the middle of the summer.
With that in mind, Bob Kravitz sat down with IU coach Tom Crean for a wide-ranging interview that touched on several subjects, most notably the prospects for his young team next year.
Based on your limited exposure to your players this summer, who on your roster is going to make us go, "Wow, he's really come a long way?''
Crean: "Among the returners, Will (Sheehey) and Yogi (Ferrell) just got back (from the World University Games). I would think that we're definitely going to see more from them. The key is that they continue to play the way they have ? only better. Not try to change what they need to do but do what they do better. Yogi was a solid shooter; now he needs to be an even better shooter. Yogi was a very good decision-maker; now be a great decision-maker. Will Sheehey was a very good defender; now be one of the best in the country. Not that they have to reinvent their games because their games; just be better at what they do.
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"I think Jeremy Hollowell, there's going to be a difference there. It's just a matter of him being the highest level of competitor he can be day in and day out because his work ethic has really come to where he's become a 365-day guy, which he wasn't before. It took a little time. The guys who played with Will, with Victor (Oladipo), with Jordan (Hulls), they get it. They get what that gym does for you and what the extra work does for you. The young guys, it takes a little more for them to understand that it's not just about what everybody else is doing. They think they're working hard; everybody works hard. It's what you're willing to do extra above and beyond and what you're willing to absorb from what you do extra that begins to separate you.
"And I think Hanner (Perea) will be a different player as he figures out the game. Hanner and we're hoping Austin Etherington has the kind of season we expect he can have."
Can you talk more about Perea? Everybody is waiting to see what he's all about.
Crean: "Well, it wasn't just the time he missed because of the suspension, he also missed a lot of time health-wise. After he became eligible, he never had that chance to build consistency of effort. It's a matter of developing a feel for the game, being able to play in tight spaces. This year's team will have to try to create more offensive possessions off offensive rebounds and off defense more than we did last year. We could have more depth potentially, so that could give us a chance to be more of a pressure team. I think the more the game is wide open, the better it's going to be for Hanner, but he's got to learn to play in those tight spaces against double teams and people who might be bigger. He's got to be able to slow himself down in the post and I think he can do that. The trick is, can he play as well in the half-court as he can in an up-tempo game."
Is Peter Jurkin ready to take a next step and become a contributor?
Crean: "Well, he's still dealing with health issues. He still can't do a full workout, nor can Etherington. But Peter could transcend into a new position, a stretch 5 man for us, because he can really shoot the ball. He's done some half-court stuff where he comes out of nowhere and blocks shots. Now it's just a matter of him playing to his level of athleticism. But he can really shoot the ball."
Is coaching this team going to be a significantly different kind of challenge for you?
Crean: "Yes, a lot. We're young so we're not as physically strong as last year's team, and that's only going to come through repetition and hard work. We don't have the experience and don't have the understanding what the league and this level is all about. It doesn't happen all at once. You've got to incrementally build your role. Doc Rivers said you can't move on to another role until you've mastered the one you're in. It's a matter of players understanding it's not about the position you play but the position you can guard.
"There's a very youthful enthusiasm which gives us, especially me, a cautious optimism about where we can be. I think we can be a good team because we're going to get better. There's a lot of room for growth. But the bad news is, the reality is, four 1,300-plus point scorers are not out there, guys who not only scored the points but knew what it took to win."
As we sit here in late July, do you think you know who your starting five is or what your rotation is going to look like?
Crean: "I don't know yet. Really haven't given it much thought. The one thing I thought we'd have last year, and I mentioned this to you in Atlanta, I thought we'd have a consistency of depth. We just didn't have that last year. We've got to get there. Whether it was injuries or guys not working as hard to beat out other guys, we've got to have true competition not convenient competition.
"I think what happens sometimes when you get locked into where you're going to play and you know you're going to be able to do this regardless of whether you bring your best effort or not, sometimes that can trick you into thinking you're pretty good. We can't have that. We can't have convenient competitions. The work ethic of the young guys, they think they're working so hard now, that's not even close to where it's going to be. And that's their opportunity, their opportunity to separate, is what they do extra. It's not what we do as a group, everybody is working hard, it's the time you spend pushing yourself, your grit and your will that makes you special. Sheehey and Ferrell have developed that. Noah Vonleh is the youngest player in this program and Stanford Robinson, those two are in the same ballpark as where Victor and Will were when they walked in here.
"Vonleh, I haven't been around a lot of players his age who have the drive that he has. When Troy Williams figures this out, the sky's the limit. When Luke Fischer figures this out, the sky's the limit. When Devin Davis figures it out, the sky's the limit. Collin Hartman, that's going to be the difference."
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Can you give me a short synopsis of each of your freshmen and your other incoming players?
Crean: Noah Vonleh, incredible work ethic. He fits the exact culture of what this program has become, and that's a large part of the reason he came he. He's going to have an opportunity to leave (for the NBA) at a young age. He's got a drive but there's a humbleness about him. There's a real desire to get better. He knows what he doesn't know, and there's a real hunger to learn.
"Stanford Robinson has got to get better with both hands and shoulders, make plays not only in the halfcourt but in the open floor. But he's got a work ethic that I'm betting on him to be extremely successful here.
"(Collin) Hartman and (Devin) Davis have both dealt with some injury issues; they're very good players, but this is a whole different level here. And their ability to be in the gym and to work on their skill level, for them to get into the mix, it's going to have to be nonstop. It really is.
"Troy Williams, in my mind, is the best overall athlete to walk in here in our six years. He's like one of those NBA halftime acts, a contortionist, the way he uses his body and goes to the basket. He's got some unique abilities. I've also not been around that many who've improved more at the fundamental parts of the game once he dives into it. He's a great young guy who's just got to develop an extra-work mindset to go with that talent. But he can be a high-, high-level player here, and we're going to play him right away because he's too athletic not to use.
"Luke Fischer, we got a chance to see him recently, and we're starting to see what we saw during recruiting.
"As for (Evan) Gordon (the Arizona State transfer), he brings a lot to the table. There's a lot to his game we're going to try to bring out. There won't be any acceptance of him just being OK. He can improve his shooting, his ballhandling, driving, his pick-and-roll game, but he really understands the game. He's got to be instrumental for us not just because of his age, but because he understand how to play, how to win and how to move the ball. Now the question is whether he can drag some people along with him. We're going to put him in some leadership roles I'm not sure he's been in in the past. We have no choice. We've got two seniors. He instantly became the older player on our team the minute he got here."
It sounds like you'll be playing a lot of freshmen.
Crean: "Absolutely. No question about that. Real GM made a list of coaches and the percentage of freshmen they use. Obviously, John Calipari was at the head of the list. We were at 25 percent last year, but we're getting ready to grow that number, absolutely.''
Losing Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Hulls and Christian Watford, do you feel like you have to manage expectations?
Crean: "The thing I've learned here is we never try to get caught up in outside expectations. Because if we had coached this team in the beginning to the lack of expectations, I'm not sure we ever would have improved. Obviously, we didn't win many games. But if you were going by the common wisdom, you'd hardly show up for the game. Expectations should never be able to match up with the expectations you have for your own players.''
Do you think having Victor and Cody going Nos. 2 and 4 in the draft helps your program down the line?
Crean: "There's no question, and it helps the families of players we're recruiting know they can get both (an NBA opportunity and a degree). When we're recruiting, the 2 and 4 stand out, but the fact that one (Oladipo) graduated on his 21st birthday after three years, and the other one (Zeller) left just 35 hours short and would have graduated, that stands out, too.
"That's the kind of thing you can sell to a recruit and his family, that you can get the complete deal here. That's not saying we wouldn't recruit a one-and-done or a two-and-out; I don't think you put yourself in a box recruiting. But you come here, you can accomplish what you want to accomplish and walk out with a future after basketball."
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With former Butler coach Brad Stevens having taken the Celtics job, have you thought about the NBA?
Crean: "Yeah, I had some opportunities as an NBA assistant at Marquette. I recently had a third party call me to ask if I'd be interested in talking to an NBA team's ownership group about a head coaching position. It took 10 minutes to say no. I think I have the best job in college basketball. I want to be at this for a long time. Hopefully it's the last job I ever have. I want to be here and have no desire not to be here. I look at this as a destination, the pinnacle of college basketball.''
Last thing, whenever your team loses, I hear the same things on talk radio or read it on Twitter or my email. Crean is a heck of a recruiter, but just an ordinary X's and O's game-day coach. Do you hear or see that? Does it get under your skin?
Crean: "Living in Milwaukee, we lived in a pro town. When you're at Indiana, the coverage for us is the same as the Pacers and Colts. People really care about the program. I don't feel judgment from that. The opinions that matter are the judgment of God and your family. Does that mean you like it? No. But my skin is a lot thicker than it was when I started and it better be. I've never felt I needed to defend myself. I read and study about other people in leadership positions, and all of them get criticized. It's not different when you're the coach of Indiana's basketball team. Honestly, it doesn't affect me.''
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett company.
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