iowa men's basketball press conference
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00:00 All right, questions for Peyton.
00:01 How concerned are you about three-point shooting, not just
00:09 for the team itself?
00:10 I mean, it's been a problem now.
00:11 Is that just something you think will work itself out?
00:13 I think it will.
00:16 I think a lot of it isn't really necessarily
00:18 the shooters right now.
00:19 I think it's just kind of getting good looks.
00:20 And we're going to just keep working on our motion game.
00:23 And it's getting a lot better in practice.
00:24 And it's going to translate, which
00:26 is going to lead to, obviously, a lot better looks.
00:28 And I mean, I trust all the guys in that room to knock it down.
00:31 We have one of the best shooting teams I've ever been on.
00:34 And I think that's going to work itself out.
00:36 Peyton, I think after the Iowa State game,
00:38 you mentioned that there's some stuff going on off the court
00:41 for you guys.
00:41 Tony's had a hard, what, two weeks, probably,
00:43 with everything going on.
00:44 How have you guys just rallied together and stayed
00:47 the course with one another, going through a rough stretch,
00:50 kind of in both aspects right now, on and off the court?
00:52 Yeah, I think we've been really connected.
00:56 Obviously, we went on that Europe trip.
00:58 And it's one of my favorite teams that I've been on.
01:01 And honestly, I'm kind of just surprised
01:04 with how we've started.
01:05 I think we have a really together unit.
01:06 And you're going to continue to see that, which
01:08 means that we are going to figure it out.
01:09 And I think everybody loves each other.
01:13 And it starts with the coaches.
01:16 They've done a great job of just kind of keeping us together.
01:18 And so far, we've had a really good week of practice.
01:20 And I think it's going to translate.
01:23 And I'm really excited for the rest of the schedule.
01:26 How important is it that you guys have that camaraderie
01:29 right now, with maybe not an ideal start to the season?
01:32 Yeah, I think it's probably the most important thing we can do.
01:34 Because when people start getting egos
01:36 and start just thinking about themselves,
01:39 that's kind of when it can spiral out of control.
01:41 And ultimately, it was just one bad week.
01:43 And I think we're going to be just fine.
01:45 And that's because of the people that we have leading us
01:48 and the people that we have in our locker room.
01:50 And I'm really proud to be a part of this team
01:53 and a part of that brotherhood.
01:54 And that's going to help us in the long run.
01:57 Did this week feel like kind of a reset,
01:59 with no games, just kind of finals and everything else?
02:03 Yeah, I think it came at the right time
02:05 to kind of figure out what we were doing,
02:08 figure out kind of our identity again.
02:10 And so far, we've done a really good job of that.
02:12 I think it's been good for everybody,
02:14 just kind of to be away a little bit, but then figuring it out.
02:18 And I think it came right at the perfect time.
02:21 Not that you guys would take anyone lightly,
02:23 but when you see Northwestern losing to Chicago State
02:25 after they had beaten Purdue, does that just kind of
02:27 reinforce to everybody that every game is a threat
02:30 and you've got to be ready?
02:31 Yeah, I think we learned that the hard way last year
02:33 ourselves, playing Eastern Illinois.
02:36 But at this level, you really can't take anybody lightly,
02:39 because everybody has really good players.
02:41 And Florida A&M is going to have really good players,
02:44 and then whoever we have coming up after that.
02:46 And yeah, you can't take anybody lightly at this level,
02:50 or it'll bite you.
02:52 How do you just evaluate what you've done personally
02:55 so far this season?
02:57 I think I'm learning a lot about who I am as a person
03:01 and as a leader.
03:01 And I'm proud of the way that I've handled some situations.
03:05 I think, obviously, some of our failures
03:08 have started with the leaders of this team, including me.
03:11 And I'm going to continue to work on it.
03:13 And there's really no personal success without team success.
03:18 And I think that's the most important thing right now,
03:20 is just figuring out what we can do together,
03:22 and continue to keep everybody together.
03:26 You said you learned about yourself.
03:28 What have you learned?
03:30 Just what it takes, and how detailed
03:32 you have to be as a leader.
03:34 I'm putting a lot of effort and time
03:36 into just trying to learn as a leader.
03:40 We've had great leaders in the past
03:42 that I've been able to learn from.
03:43 And nothing comes easy.
03:45 You have to continue to reinforce points.
03:48 You have to meet with people individually,
03:50 and just talk everybody through what you're seeing,
03:53 what they're seeing, get everybody's perspective.
03:55 And I'm proud of myself.
03:58 And I think it's going to be great for me in the future,
04:01 even outside of basketball.
04:02 But I'm just going to continue to figure it out
04:06 in the short run.
04:07 Peyton, you've been through some tough stretches before here
04:10 at Iowa, whether personally or with the team.
04:13 Are there any moments-- you mentioned
04:15 looking back at leaders that you've had before.
04:17 Anything that you think back to in your experience
04:20 at Iowa that helps you right now,
04:22 but helps the team right now by way of your leadership?
04:27 Yeah, I think my freshman year, we won the Big 10.
04:32 But we also went 0-3 in that same stretch
04:35 that we just did that week right before finals.
04:37 And I think it was important for me
04:42 to emphasize that to some of the guys.
04:44 We've been through this exact same thing before.
04:46 And we can't lose our confidence.
04:48 I think that's what happened Sunday against Michigan.
04:53 The film really wasn't as bad as we may have thought.
04:57 And like it was against Iowa State,
04:59 we just weren't really confident in ourselves.
05:03 And I think I can keep emphasizing that to guys.
05:05 And we have a lot of really, really good players,
05:09 and a lot of them.
05:10 So we're going to figure it out.
05:11 And I'll just continue to train, stay positive,
05:15 and keep leading them.
05:16 You guys obviously have a young team, Owens now starting.
05:19 How have you seen him take that increased role so far?
05:22 Yeah, it's not an easy thing to get your first start
05:25 in a Big 10 game.
05:26 But I thought he came in ready.
05:28 He brought energy.
05:29 I was really proud of him for that.
05:30 He's going to continue to get better and just more confident
05:33 in that role.
05:33 It's kind of a new group and a new role for him.
05:36 So he's learning a lot right now.
05:38 And he's going to continue to improve.
05:40 I think you're going to see him make massive jumps
05:41 throughout the rest of the year.
05:43 Peyton, there's a lot of the players on the team
05:45 are still super young, freshmen playing a significant role.
05:48 I mean, you mentioned going 0 and 3 in the last stretch.
05:51 Maybe for freshmen, they start pressing a little bit,
05:54 maybe losing some confidence.
05:55 Being the leader that you are on this team,
05:57 I guess, what do you say to the freshmen
05:58 just to keep their heads level and keep their game confident?
06:01 Yeah, so I kind of talked about what
06:03 happened when we won the Big 10 that same stretch.
06:05 But honestly, none of them are really used to losing.
06:08 In high school, they won pretty much every game.
06:10 So losing three in a row is a pretty big deal to them.
06:14 And they take it hard.
06:15 And obviously, it sucks for everybody.
06:17 But it's just kind of something that
06:18 comes with playing at this level.
06:19 And the most important thing you can do
06:21 is rebound, which is what we did last year.
06:23 And we're going to do it again, because we
06:26 have a lot of guys in that room who do know how to do that.
06:28 And just continue to just tell those guys that we're just
06:32 playing basketball and to have fun with it.
06:34 And there's going to be some tough stretches.
06:35 But there's also going to be a lot of good ones this year.
06:37 So there's a lot to look forward to and better days ahead.
06:41 Last question.
06:42 With the offensive struggles, I know
06:44 we've talked about that a good amount with you.
06:46 And you mentioned starting off a little bit slow
06:48 in some of these games.
06:49 Playing from behind is hard and difficult, especially
06:54 making shots consistently after that.
06:57 How do you guys start off a little bit hotter
06:59 than you have been, so you don't have these deficits to come
07:03 back from early in the game?
07:05 Yeah, I think it just takes a different level of urgency
07:07 than we're showing right now in the first few minutes
07:10 of the game.
07:10 And as hard as it makes it offensively,
07:12 when you start like that, it makes it probably harder
07:15 defensively, because it's a lot easier
07:18 to shoot when you're ahead, which is how just the game
07:21 basketball works.
07:22 But just coming out with a lot more urgency
07:25 and being ready to go.
07:27 I think we've had some good stars.
07:28 We started pretty good against Michigan.
07:30 But before that, just being on the road,
07:32 you can't really start the way we did.
07:35 So we're going to just come out with a lot more energy,
07:38 and we'll be ready to go.
07:40 Thanks, dude.
07:40 Thanks, dude.
07:41 All right, questions for Owen.
07:49 Owen, Fran said that you were going
07:50 to be starting from going forward, at least for now.
07:54 Are you more comfortable starting as opposed
07:56 to coming off the bench?
07:57 Because I assume you've been doing that here.
08:00 Yeah, coming off the bench, it was
08:02 something I've never experienced before,
08:04 and I thought I did pretty well.
08:06 But it feels really comfortable in the starting lineup.
08:09 I feel really comfortable in the starting lineup.
08:12 Something that I've worked for, and it's really
08:13 a blessing from God.
08:15 And it took me a little bit, just
08:19 because obviously at this stage, it's a little different.
08:23 But yeah, I feel pretty comfortable.
08:25 How did you find out you were starting?
08:27 I was walking into film, and coach walked up.
08:29 He's like, hey, just going to put you in the starting lineup.
08:32 And that was really it.
08:33 You guys, I think Peyton said a couple weeks ago
08:39 that there's some stuff going on off the court for you guys.
08:42 Tony's had a hard couple of weeks.
08:44 I guess, how have you seen the leaders
08:45 and you guys just rally around one another
08:47 and stick together when things might not
08:48 be going the way you want on the court,
08:50 but there's certain things going on behind the scenes?
08:52 Yeah, I'm really proud of just the way this team--
08:55 we've stuck together through hard times.
08:57 Obviously, last week didn't go the way we wanted.
08:59 And obviously, Tony's had some family things that's happened.
09:03 And I'm really just proud of how we supported Tony
09:06 and how we have come together.
09:08 We kind of had to have--
09:11 basically, come to Jesus moment after last week
09:13 and address what we were doing wrong on the court.
09:17 And I felt like we've addressed it, and we've moved on.
09:20 And I'm really proud of how this group handled it.
09:25 What's this losing streak like for you first time,
09:28 first season?
09:28 What has this been like for you?
09:30 I mean, it's not fun at all.
09:32 It's not something that you come in wanting to do
09:34 and/or even expect to happen.
09:37 Obviously, it was a rough week, but we've worked past it
09:42 and moved forward, and we learned from it.
09:44 You lead the team in offensive rebounds
09:45 and actually have more offensive rebounds by one than defense.
09:48 Is that what you want?
09:50 Is that working the way it wants for you?
09:52 Yeah, Coach wanted-- that was an emphasis for me,
09:56 is to go and crash offensive glass every time.
09:58 I feel like I've done a pretty good job doing that.
10:01 And I feel like that just gives our team a better opportunity
10:04 to score and gives us more second chance points.
10:08 Well, you mentioned the come to Jesus moment.
10:10 Is that kind of a meeting that you guys had?
10:13 Is it just the fact that you guys have had
10:17 three tough losses in a row?
10:18 Was there a specific moment?
10:20 Yeah.
10:20 What was that?
10:22 I mean, we had a pretty rough film session just
10:25 because of how we played.
10:27 So we addressed it, and then we kind of, as a team,
10:30 just decided that we had some things to change.
10:35 And really, that was within each one of us,
10:39 and it needed to happen.
10:40 So it was kind of just after the Michigan game, the next day,
10:44 we all just kind of had to get in that mindset.
10:47 What are some of those things that need to change?
10:50 I mean, I feel like on the offensive end,
10:53 we're way too stagnant.
10:54 Like, in practice, we'll go through,
10:56 and we have a great pregame and a great scout practices.
11:00 And we're just not executing as well as we wanted to
11:02 on the court.
11:03 And on defense, I mean, we bring defensive intensity
11:06 in practice, but again, it doesn't really
11:08 translate during the game.
11:10 And those are just things that we really focused on
11:12 and really wanted to do moving forward.
11:16 I know Peyton said there's no such thing as personal success
11:19 without team success.
11:20 But kind of through your first 10 games for you,
11:22 I mean, what's the biggest one, maybe one or two things
11:24 you've learned about maybe the differences
11:26 between high school and Big Ten basketball now?
11:28 Yeah.
11:29 Yeah, just the physicality.
11:31 I mean, my first two Big Ten games,
11:33 I'm going against Zach Eaddy and Terrace Reed, who
11:36 are both great players and very physical.
11:40 And I've definitely had to learn that it's not high school
11:43 anymore.
11:44 I can't really play behind guys.
11:45 And just the speed of the game, it's 10 times different than--
11:50 or 10 times faster than it is in high school.
11:52 And just having to make that adjustment pretty quick,
11:55 and those are my two biggest changes or differences.
11:59 Comfortable for you, though.
12:00 It doesn't seem like you've really missed a beat,
12:02 especially you go from one end to the other,
12:04 the transition offense, transition defense.
12:05 Is it, I don't want to say more comfortable for you,
12:07 but is it pretty comfortable this month for you?
12:09 Yeah, I feel like I've adjusted pretty well.
12:12 I'm pretty comfortable.
12:13 Obviously, you have those moments where
12:16 you make those freshman mistakes.
12:17 And obviously, I want to move past those.
12:20 But yeah, I feel pretty comfortable out there,
12:21 just run the floor.
12:22 And I'm getting back on offense and defense and stuff
12:24 like that.
12:24 What's Peyton been like as a leader?
12:26 He's been a great leader.
12:27 I mean, I look up to Peyton, and I talk to Peyton a lot.
12:30 He's one of my closest friends.
12:32 So his leadership has been something
12:35 that I've been very impressed with,
12:37 just the way he's taking charge of the team
12:39 and tries to get us fired up.
12:41 It's really great, and I'm really proud of him.
12:44 Is there anything specific?
12:45 Didn't he speak to the team as a whole,
12:47 or is it more just individually?
12:49 He's spoken to the team as a whole,
12:51 and then we've had conversations within ourselves.
12:54 He tries to get us fired up during the game.
12:55 You kind of saw it during the Iowa State game.
12:57 He's sitting there trying to motivate us.
13:01 So he'll talk to the team as a whole,
13:04 but he can also pull guys aside.
13:07 Oh, and I know you guys are going
13:08 to continue to play a significant role in the freshman
13:10 class in general.
13:11 And I think Peyton said, you guys
13:12 aren't used to losing at any level of your life.
13:14 You guys won state last year.
13:16 As freshmen, how do you stay the course of the season,
13:19 keep level-headed, not get too high,
13:21 not press during a losing streak?
13:23 What's the key to maintain the level-headedness?
13:25 Yeah.
13:26 I think you were talking about not getting too high or too
13:29 low, and I think that's the arming thing.
13:32 No matter if we have a great game
13:34 or if we don't go out and play the best,
13:36 we know the goal that we have, and we know the work
13:38 that we've got to put in.
13:39 So it's kind of just keeping that even-keeled type attitude.
13:43 And no matter what, you know how good
13:46 you are in the confidence the coaches and everyone has in you.
13:50 And you kind of just ride the roller coaster,
13:52 and you don't get too emotional no matter what
13:56 is thrown your way.
13:58 Have you lost three games in a row in your life before?
14:01 Not since freshman year of high school.
14:02 So it's a little different, but we
14:06 got plans to change that.
14:07 You talk about Peyton addressing the team.
14:10 Did he do that after?
14:12 He's just called a couple of team meetings
14:14 just to kind of talk about just some things going on
14:18 and to kind of just get our focus right.
14:21 What are you saying?
14:23 Just kind of that.
14:24 I mean, just kind of getting our focus right
14:26 and addressing the problems we're having on the court.
14:28 Nothing too deep or anything.
14:30 Just kind of the problems that we need to fix on the court.
14:32 Is it like players only?
14:34 Yeah, kind of.
14:35 All right.
14:36 Thanks, Coach.