Crean, Elston and Zeller talk Butler
Indiana media relations issued the following quotes earlier today from Tom Crean, Derek Elston and Cody Zeller as the Hoosiers prepare for a Sunday night meeting with Butler at Assembly Hall:
Crean
On the tournament (Hoosier Invitational) and scheduling:
“We saw this as an opportunity to get four home games. We have to play so many home games every year because the department is dependant on the revenue.
“We really look at scheduling on a year to year basis and we already have the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Kentucky series, and the Crossroads Classic for next year, so we have to look for an exempt tournament and home games each year moving forward.”
On whether Andrew Smith will be the best post player Cody has had to face thus far:
“Andrew Smith presents a number of challenges and as a team we have to do a good job of not letting him get comfortable.”
On what concerns he has about Butler:
“Their veteran guys have experienced winning at the highest level and have done a great job of transferring their experiences to their younger players. They play very well together. They execute their offense and they cut hard. Defensively, they will get into you and make you work for everything you get.”
On whether this stretch of games begins a new segment of the season:
“We haven’t looked beyond the next practice or next game. We have done some good things thus far, but we are far from a finished product. We have to stay humble and hungry and look to improve individually and as a group each day.”
On what is the next step in development for the team:
“We have to continue to make sure we remember that our defense will make it easier on our offense. We have to always play with that mindset and that has to become our identity. We have to continue to move the basketball on offense and be relentless on defense.”
Elston
On what impresses him the most with watching Butler on film:
“I think what impresses me the most is their willingness to have three guys go to the board every time. Each time we have watched film on them, no matter what shot goes up, even if it’s on a fastbreak, there are always three people trailing the play and three people ready to rebound. I think what we have to do is keep Andrew Smith off the boards and keep a couple of their more physical players off the boards.”
On what strides the team needs to make:
“Right now, we are pretty set on taking it one game at a time. Our steady flow has been good. We take each game seriously and we are not going to try to do anything differently. We are going to get out and play our game and I think that’s what we need to keep doing – play our game. We need to let the game come to us and not force anything and I think we will be OK.”
Zeller
On what impresses him with watching Butler on film:
“They play hard, that is the best thing they do. They have a bunch of Indiana guys that know how to play. Obviously, the last two years they have made it to the national championship game so this is going to be a tough game for us.”
On viewing this game as a new segment of the season:
“We just try to take it one game at a time and we are going to prepare for Butler just like we have the first five games.”
Filed to: Butler Bulldogs, Cody Zeller, Derek Elston, Tom Crean