iowa basketball coach
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00:00 - All right, go right into questions for Coach.
00:03 Fran, looking at the stats,
00:10 how concerned are you right now about offensive rebounding?
00:12 I don't want to point out one thing,
00:15 but it seems like that is sort of an issue, right?
00:16 Or am I reading into it too much?
00:18 - Well, I think that's one component of things
00:21 that need to be addressed,
00:22 especially 'cause we're not shooting as well.
00:28 So we need to get to the glass more often.
00:31 Obviously, we started the season with a smaller lineup,
00:36 so you might be susceptible
00:37 to giving up more offensive rebounds.
00:39 So that's obviously, if you want to run,
00:44 you got to get the first miss.
00:46 So I don't know if you were talking about
00:49 their offensive rebounding or our offensive rebounding,
00:51 but they both need to be addressed.
00:53 - Okay.
00:54 (laughing)
00:54 - In the point guard situation,
00:55 I know you're searching, you're using four guys.
00:58 You don't want to keep doing that, right?
01:00 You would like to settle in on a couple guys.
01:02 - I would like to settle in, but in all honesty, Pat,
01:06 like those, all those guys are going to play.
01:10 So it's not like, okay, I'm going to pick one
01:15 and bench the other two guys, whatever.
01:17 They're all going to play and they all can play.
01:19 And they're not strictly one position guys.
01:23 And we need depth.
01:24 - Do you expect to continue to start O-ing moving forward?
01:28 Is that something you're still figuring out?
01:29 - Probably, yeah.
01:30 Yeah, I think he's earned it.
01:32 And I think, you know, at some level,
01:36 at some point we need to be bigger.
01:38 - In the past, you've had Connor to kind of, you know,
01:42 turn the ship, be that voice for the team
01:44 when there's a tough stretch,
01:45 or those in-game or losing streak.
01:47 Has anyone, you know, stepped up to be that voice?
01:49 - Yeah, Patrick and Peyton in particular,
01:52 really try him and Tony.
01:54 I mean, those are the three guys I've mentioned
01:57 as guys we need to be leaders on this team.
02:00 And all three of them have different personalities.
02:03 And they're all really trying.
02:05 Patrick has the most experience.
02:07 You know, Peyton has probably been the most vocal.
02:10 You know, Tony is not a vocal guy in that sense,
02:14 but he is a leader in terms of work ethic and determination.
02:19 So I think they can all function in that capacity.
02:21 - Do you see the rest of the team listening to those guys?
02:23 It seems like they're not--
02:24 - Yeah, oh no, they definitely, yeah,
02:26 they definitely have the respect
02:27 of everybody in that locker room, no question.
02:29 And obviously that's first and most important step.
02:32 - Coach, going back to Olin,
02:33 what did you make of his performance on Sunday?
02:36 His first start.
02:37 - Yeah, you know, obviously early he got
02:40 a little foul trouble and then didn't do as much,
02:42 but very much like the Iowa State game,
02:46 he picked it up in the second half.
02:48 I mean, he was a factor.
02:51 And he's better when he's running
02:52 and he's kind of playing free and easy.
02:56 You know, sometimes young guys,
02:59 they try to be too perfect
03:01 and they ultimately become a little more tentative
03:06 than they should be.
03:07 You have to follow the game plan,
03:11 but you can't be mechanical.
03:13 And when he's just playing free and easy,
03:16 he's pretty special.
03:17 And that's how I want him to play.
03:19 - Fran, there's no doubt there's a lot of peaks and valleys
03:21 over the course of the season.
03:22 I mean, the Eastern Illinois and Nebraska game last year,
03:24 you guys found a way to kind of right the ship.
03:26 I guess, what's the key to,
03:27 especially with younger team, significant players playing.
03:30 I mean, how do you kind of right that ship or keep them?
03:33 - Well, the first thing is they have to stay positive
03:36 and continue to believe in themselves.
03:38 And if they don't think that we do, then they won't.
03:40 So we stay positive with them
03:43 and we stay business-like in the sense that,
03:45 you know, it's our job to point out things
03:49 that they're maybe not doing
03:50 like they should, as well as they should be,
03:53 or as well as they're capable of.
03:54 So we'll get extra time with film or on the court.
03:58 And it's a diligent group in that sense.
04:02 So they'll put the extra time in.
04:04 They want to be good.
04:06 You know, you've got a lot of guys who want to play.
04:08 You've got a lot of guys playing,
04:10 but some of them obviously want to play more.
04:12 So they're constantly striving for that.
04:15 But they have to understand how that all fits
04:17 in terms of making us a better team.
04:19 So I've been impressed, you know, since Sunday
04:23 with the professionalism in their approach.
04:26 - You talk about the shooting.
04:28 You think you're getting good shots.
04:29 I mean, it seems like you are,
04:30 and it doesn't seem like you're rushing.
04:33 - We could all point out three or four
04:35 throughout the course of a game,
04:37 but I mean, you've watched us play a lot, John.
04:40 I mean, we're going to go
04:42 and we're going to shoot the first shot that shows
04:44 we're not going to milk the clock necessarily,
04:46 but sometimes you need longer possessions.
04:49 You keep the team on defense for a while.
04:51 You don't break them down
04:52 if you continue to quick shoot the ball.
04:54 So there's a right time and a wrong time
04:55 to quick shoot the ball, you know,
04:58 but I want my guys feeling really confident.
05:01 If they're open, go ahead and let it go.
05:03 But sometimes, you know, in the course of a game,
05:07 especially if you're behind,
05:08 especially if you're on the road,
05:10 that might not be the best decision.
05:12 - You talk about the peaks and valleys
05:13 and staying in the moment.
05:14 I mean, Northwestern beats Purdue and then loses to,
05:18 I mean, is that kind of what you're,
05:19 you just got to just not overreact to what's going on?
05:22 - You know, you think about it.
05:22 We talked about this before, Pat.
05:24 I mean, every night that happens.
05:28 It's not like, wow, it's really rare.
05:30 It happens every night.
05:31 You know, it's one game.
05:34 You know, I don't know Chicago State's roster,
05:36 but I know a kid got 30.
05:38 I mean, he was cooking and every team has guys like that,
05:44 especially now with complete free agency.
05:48 So they don't show up with young 18 year old freshmen.
05:53 Nobody does.
05:56 So everybody's old and everybody wants to hoop.
05:59 And you got guys that were double figure scorers
06:04 at a different location and that's what their expectation is
06:07 and they can go get buckets.
06:08 That's all right.
06:11 - Are you happy with that starting lineup
06:13 that you ran out with this past week?
06:16 - I like that group.
06:17 You know, I think that's what we'll go with again Saturday.
06:21 - You like Tony in the one there?
06:22 - Yeah, I thought in the second half, he really was good.
06:26 In the first half, you know, he's trying to run the offense.
06:29 I mean, yeah, we want to run the offense,
06:31 but he's got to go.
06:33 That's who he is.
06:34 - The maturity that I guess Peyton just kind of seems
06:37 to have like as a person,
06:38 when did that become obvious to you?
06:40 I guess either during the recruiting process-
06:42 - He knew at the end of last year
06:44 that he needed to be that guy.
06:45 He's always been a team guy, you know,
06:49 easy to like, I mean, the guys like him.
06:54 And you know, when you're someone who has proven
06:58 at this level that he's really good,
07:00 that gives you a different level of credibility
07:05 to coincide with his personality and his positivity.
07:08 - How important are these last couple of non-conference games
07:10 to just, you know, iron some things out,
07:12 get the confidence back going in the right direction
07:13 for a big time-
07:14 - Yeah, but you know, I think to Pat's point,
07:16 you can't look at it that way.
07:18 It's the next game and you got to take care of business
07:20 in that game, 'cause this team is well-coached.
07:24 They have really talented guys.
07:26 They're all older.
07:28 They're going to play 14 guys.
07:35 So, you know, 15 maybe.
07:38 And every one of them is athletic and competes.
07:43 So you got to take care of business in that game.
07:45 And we have to be better.
07:46 I mean, to your point, we have to be better
07:49 than we were on Sunday in all facets.
07:53 - And I know-
07:54 - And last question, David.
07:55 - I know Tony's had a hard couple of weeks off the court.
07:57 You know, Peyton, I think after the Iowa State game,
07:59 said guys are dealing with some things.
08:01 I guess just how is the team kind of rallying
08:02 around one another with off the court things
08:04 to just kind of meet the need?
08:06 How's he doing?
08:07 - You know, Tony had a tough week,
08:09 but I can't imagine anybody handling it
08:12 any better than he did.
08:14 You know, we go down to Purdue and he stays
08:18 and we had to fly him in on the day of the game
08:20 and move him into the starting lineup.
08:23 He's just, he's a tough guy that's smart.
08:29 He's got character.
08:31 He's got a great family and we rallied around him,
08:34 but they rallied around him in a tough time.
08:37 And I've been really impressed with his professionalism,
08:42 but it's not like we didn't know that already about him.
08:45 So that's fairly typical of any team
08:50 throughout the course of the year.
08:51 Nothing ever goes perfectly.
08:54 And that's when it's important that you have character
08:57 in the locker room and you have a group of guys
08:58 that are really good people that truly care
09:02 and love each other.