• 2 years ago
Iowa coach after exhibition game
Transcript
00:00 We'll go right into questions for Coach.
00:02 Fran, Josh Dix, zero turnovers, 10 points,
00:05 had a nice block down low.
00:07 It seems like he was really that stabilizing force with those four
00:10 freshmen.
00:10 How would you assess what he's kind of brought through?
00:13 You're right.
00:14 That's who he is.
00:15 He's rock solid.
00:16 He'll play the point, play the off-guard position,
00:18 can guard multiple positions defensively.
00:20 He's an underrated defender, slides his feet,
00:24 has a physical presence, makes shots,
00:28 makes plays, valuable member of our team without a doubt.
00:31 Talked with the freshmen, at least to an extent,
00:33 at media day.
00:34 But tonight we got to see a little idea of what
00:37 you were talking about.
00:39 Is this going to be the way it is with those four guys
00:42 being substantial players for you this year?
00:44 No question.
00:47 They were brought in here with that expectation by the staff.
00:52 And I think their expectation is they're going to play.
00:56 They've been terrific from day one.
00:58 I mean, there hasn't been much difference,
01:04 no matter how I split the teams up,
01:07 because it's not always the way it was tonight.
01:10 But those guys, they can all make plays for each other.
01:17 They can all make shots.
01:18 There's a sense of toughness.
01:23 There's a mindset that they have.
01:25 They were all winners in high school, big time winners.
01:29 So they have an expectation to win.
01:32 And obviously, it makes us a lot bigger.
01:36 Last year we did not have a big team.
01:38 It's amazing we did what we did.
01:41 When you look at Connor and Phillip and Chris,
01:45 those dudes were tough.
01:46 Play 3,000 minutes in this league
01:48 and get us to the tournament.
01:51 We just didn't have much size.
01:52 And this year we've got plenty of ways we can go.
01:54 With a smaller lineup, with a bunch of guards,
01:56 we can go with Owen and Lodgy, or one of those two with Ben.
02:02 There's a number of ways we can go.
02:03 So that was good to see.
02:06 Brandon, seven guys in double figures,
02:08 you had to really appreciate that.
02:09 Has that been kind of the theme?
02:10 Yeah, I mean, it was like that overseas.
02:13 It was like that when we had inner squad scrimmages.
02:15 It was like that when we scrimmaged Wichita State.
02:18 Yeah, multiple guys are going to score.
02:21 And some guys are going to have a little bit of an off night.
02:24 Like I thought Tony played well.
02:26 I mean, he's usually money from the line.
02:28 He would have been 15, 16 points.
02:30 He makes his free throws.
02:33 But I'm always impressed with how we move and share the ball.
02:36 We had probably a few too many turnovers.
02:40 14 is too many.
02:42 But out-rebounded them.
02:44 And they played hard.
02:46 They were physical.
02:47 I mean, they fouled a lot, but they were physical.
02:49 They were switching.
02:50 Hawk does a great job, always has.
02:57 They executed their stuff.
02:59 Made 14 threes.
03:00 We got to do a better job there.
03:02 But care business, we had to.
03:05 Fran, something that maybe for lack of better terms
03:09 that impressed me about the freshman group tonight,
03:11 they just seem like they're so self-aware, their strengths,
03:13 their weaknesses, even their teammates.
03:16 I guess is that just rare for those guys?
03:17 It just seemed like they really, really gel.
03:19 They have a great awareness on how
03:21 to play alongside one another.
03:23 Well, the other thing too is an awareness
03:27 of what's necessary when they go in the game.
03:30 So it wasn't going great when we put them in the first half.
03:36 So they needed to jumpstart the offense
03:38 with a little bit of defense.
03:40 We got consecutive stops.
03:42 And then we got some runouts.
03:43 And then they all can score.
03:45 So it's not like, OK, we have to go to one or two guys.
03:49 Go to any of them.
03:52 Price obviously has the green light.
03:53 He can pull from anywhere.
03:54 I'm not going to say a word to him.
03:56 But Owen and Lodgy, not only can they score,
03:58 they're very unselfish.
03:59 They can pass the ball to each other.
04:01 And they both rebound it.
04:03 So to consistently have fresh bodies out there,
04:06 all of whom can play and all of whom
04:08 understand the circumstances, it's
04:11 a great feeling as a coach.
04:13 The way they played the second half,
04:15 you hadn't been there a long time together.
04:17 What did you really like in that span?
04:20 Well, the start of the second half,
04:23 we did some things offensively that were pretty good.
04:25 Defensively, we were just OK.
04:27 And they were hanging around.
04:28 And they banked a couple threes.
04:30 And we're not shooting free throws because they're not
04:35 into the bonus yet.
04:37 They've got to get to seven.
04:38 So they were fouling a lot again.
04:40 So the same thing happened in both halves.
04:42 Now eventually, you're in the bonus.
04:43 Then you're in the double bonus.
04:44 It's a game changer.
04:46 But that group, I left them in there
04:48 because they deserve to stay in, quite frankly.
04:50 I'm not going to insult you by asking you
04:53 about preseason rankings.
04:54 But once again, you've lost an NBA first rounder.
04:58 And so it's understandable, I think,
04:59 that outsiders would assume a drop off.
05:04 What have you got here this season, at least in November?
05:09 And I really like our team, Mike.
05:11 I think I said this at media day.
05:14 I think it's really hard anymore for you
05:17 or anybody in this room or anybody
05:19 that writes for a magazine to pick any team.
05:23 So many teams have-- oh, they got eight new guys.
05:25 They have nine new players.
05:26 It used to be, OK, they lost this guy and this guy.
05:29 And they replaced them with this guy and this guy.
05:30 And these guys will be juniors.
05:32 And you could kind of predict.
05:34 But now, you've got teams that are picked high
05:39 that have a whole new team.
05:40 Maybe they're good.
05:42 Maybe they're not.
05:43 Maybe they don't gel.
05:45 So a lot of things are going to factor into who ends up where,
05:49 not the least of which is injury for anybody.
05:52 But I think we have a good mixture of talent,
05:56 athleticism, scoring, rebounding.
06:00 And we have a good mixture of character and the ability
06:04 to understand how to play the game the right way.
06:09 DeSante got the start at point guard.
06:11 What has he shown you leading up to this game?
06:13 He's been terrific.
06:14 But so has Josh.
06:15 And I think that's been the hardest one.
06:16 They both deserve to start.
06:18 And I talked to them yesterday.
06:19 I mean, they're best friends.
06:20 They're roommates.
06:21 And I just said, hey, I don't want
06:25 to pit one against the other.
06:27 I mean, you guys just--
06:28 you just hoop when you're out there.
06:30 If you're starting, you're starting.
06:31 If you come in off the bench and they're a coach,
06:34 we're fine with it.
06:34 We get it.
06:37 And there'll be games when one plays better than the other.
06:40 But there's going to be games when they both play great.