HD Video: IU players react to win over Penn State
Yogi Ferrell (15 points), Victor Oladipo (19 points, six rebounds, five assists) and Will Sheehey (12 points) met with the media following Indiana’s 72-49 win over Penn State on Wednesday night at Assembly Hall.
Watch and listen to the press conference in the embedded media player below:
Victor Oladipo
On defense stepping up when offense might not be there:
“Definitely. We weren’t hitting all of our shots. We were getting some good shots but at the end of the day we were going to the other end and locking up and playing defense and that’s what it’s going to take for us to win and not only this game but throughout the season so we’ve just got to continue to keep making defense create for our offense.”
On stepping up when maybe Cody Zeller has an off day defensively:
“Cody did a lot of other things to impact the game and that’s why he’s such a great player. He might have a slow night today but he played tremendous defense. He still had 10 deflections and rebounded the ball. He might be having a slow night on offense but he’s doing what it takes to win. Sure we’ve got to step it up a little bit but when he plays like that we’ve just to play together.”
On Will Sheehey being able to come off the bench and impact the game:
“It’s big for our team. Ever since he came in here with me you know it’s been big that we impact winning and him coming off the bench and having games like that and impacting them on both sides of the floor is big for us going along and hopefully he just continues to keep doing that.”
On being able to close this game out:
“It’s a big emphasis on our team because it seems like everybody in the country thinks we don’t have good second halves. That’s their opinion and that’s fine. That’s what they see. At the end of the day we’re going to do whatever it takes to finish strong because we’re not trying to beat Penn State we’re trying to beat everybody in the country. We’ve got to realize that it’s going to help us down the road.”
On Kevin (Yogi) Ferrell hitting shots early in both halves and how that helps out the rest of the team:
“He can shoot. It was all in his head at first but he’s finally realizing that he can shoot the ball. A lot of the players were just coming off and they were just leaving him. I’m not just going to not kick to him and he knows that. He gets ready to shoot and it’s very hard for him to miss when he gets going and the confidence gets going and it all pours in after that.”
Kevin (Yogi) Ferrell
On if he was looking for his shot more tonight or just taking what the defense gave him:
“I was just taking what the defense was really giving me. (Victor) found me and Christian (Watford) in the second half a lot and I was open so I was going to shoot the ball.”
On how he’s evolved as a shooter since getting here:
“Just getting in the gym, especially with these guys, Vic and Will, they have a tremendous work ethic. They’ll pull me along with them just to get extra shots up so that’s what we’re always doing after practice.”
Will Sheehey
On the team’s defensive effort tonight:
“Points doesn’t win games, it’s your defensive effort. When you talk and are active on defense that’s what propels winning. I think we did a fantastic job tonight. We had 63 or 64 deflections which is I think the most we’ve had in the Big Ten. When you play defense, when you talk, when you have a complete defensive effort you’re not going to lose and if you do you’ve just got to tip your hat and say next game. I don’t think in our two losses that we’ve done that. I think that we’re working for it.”
On how important it was to get off to a quick start in the second half:
“Well if you noticed on the 8-0 run we had three stops in a row on defense. It’s basketball science that if you get a stop it’s at least easy baskets on the other end so that’s about it.”
On how much hitting that first three helped in attacking the zone:
“Yeah, I was really just worried about our defensive effort. If I’m open I’m going to shoot it and I think that’s all of our mentality. If you don’t shoot open shots you’re hurting the team. We don’t force anything but it’s all about the defensive effort.”
On if it was execution or effort that made a difference on defense tonight:
“I’m not going to talk about the earlier games but tonight we had a fantastic game plan. Our coach did a fantastic job of making sure that were prepared for the game. Our scouting report was fantastic. Coach (Kenny) Johnson put it together and he always does a phenomenal job and yeah we executed it and we took away things that we wanted to take away.”
On Hanner Perea’s play defensively:
“Hanner can come up and block some shots but he still needs to dive into the game plan and the film because he’s the most athletically gifted player I think I’ve ever seen besides Vic – so if he keeps bringing that out he’s going to be a fantastic player.”
On what they feel they took away from tonight’s game:
“We really just wanted to take away some guys strengths and what they do well. Some guys like left hand, some guys like the right hand, some guys like to shoot this shot, that shot so really if you watch a lot of film, which is what our team does, you’re going to find the tendencies of certain players and try and take them away.”
On his mentality when shots aren’t falling:
“I never think about that kind of stuff as long as I’m playing hard on the defensive end. If you ever see me not playing hard on the defensive end that’s when you know something is wrong and it’s never going to happen. The offense will come. The ball finds movement. The ball finds activity so if you just keep moving these guys will find me. I’m not worried about it.”
Filed to: Victor Oladipo, Will Sheehey, Yogi Ferrell