Notes from Tom Crean’s speech at Tailgate Tour in Jasper

  • 06/04/2013 8:47 am in

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Tom Crean made his first of three scheduled stops on the 2013 IU Tailgate Tour last Thursday night at the Riverwalk in Jasper. Crean will also appear at tonight’s Tailgate Tour in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium and Wednesday’s stop at Huber Winery in Starlight.

We’ve compiled some notes and quotes from Crean’s speech in Jasper below:

· On student tickets for next season: “This year, we’re probably going to have our student tickets somewhere around the 15,000 range. Last year, it was in the 12,000 range when we can really only get about 7,500 of them in there. There’s such a demand for people to come to the games and be a part of it that we’ve got to try to get everybody in.”

· On getting started with the seven new players coming into the program: “That mystery started to unravel today when we started our new player workouts. We had our first workout today with Noah Vonleh, Devin Davis and Collin Hartman. Tomorrow we’ll have it with Luke Fischer and end of next week we’ll have it with Troy Williams, Evan Gordon and Stanford Robinson.”

· On Vonleh: “When you look at his body. He’s 6’9.75″ with a 7’5″ wingspan. He weighed in at 230 pounds and did a max vertical jump of 38 inches. He is going to be a special, special player. Right now he’s got special talent. And as those skills and fundamentals go with him, he’s going to have a chance to be one of those guys that people are going to be writing a lot of stories about, doing a lot of specials on TV about and you’re going to know where you were when you got to see him play the first time.”

· On Williams: “I feel like Troy Williams is going to be a cross athletically between what Victor (Oladipo) and Will (Sheehey) were. He is a ridiculous athlete and a winner and a guy that gave up his senior year in high school at home to go to Oak Hill (Academy) so he could play against the best competition. Right now he’s been working out in Houston with John Lucas and I think he’s the only high school kid. It’s all college players and guys preparing for the draft. Anything to give himself an edge.”

· On work ethic within the program last season: “We had some situations on our team this year where we had a couple of guys who didn’t really work outside of practice the way they needed to work. And when you start the season, just like everybody else in college basketball, we’re even. We all get 20 hours a week or we get two hours a week in the summer time. We’re all even with that. It’s what you do above and beyond that separates you. Guys like Victor (Oladipo), guys like Will (Sheehey), guys like Jordan Hulls, guys like Yogi Ferrell. Those guys really did it every day. Jeremy Hollowell started to work into that. The work ethic culture and the player development culture that’s in there right now has got to be what we stand for.”

· On Oladipo’s upcoming schedule: “Victor called last night on his way back to the airport in Orlando (second pick in the draft). He’ll work out for Cleveland, they have the first pick in the draft. He’ll work out for Phoenix, they have the fifth pick in the draft. Washington will come see him.”

· On Ferrell and Sheehey trying out for the World University Games: “I’m hoping that both of them make it. I’m biased, but I hope that both of them make it. John Beilein is one of the coaches, Matt Painter is one of the guys picking the team, Jim Boeheim is one of the guys picking the team. I hope all of those guys give them a great look and I hope they have the opportunity to be on that group.”

· On Peter Jurkin and Austin Etherington: “Peter Jurkin and Austin Etherington are working hard and trying to overcome injuries.”

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