Video: Tom Crean, IU players react to win over Laval

  • 08/08/2014 9:55 pm in

MONTREAL — Indiana opened its five-game Canadian tour with a comfortable 110-70 win over Laval University on Friday night at Brebeuf College.

Following the win, Tom Crean, Yogi Ferrell (22 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals), James Blackmon Jr. (14 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals), Robert Johnson (12 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals) and Troy Williams (21 points, six rebounds and a steal) met with the media to discuss the win.

Watch video of both press conferences below:

Player quotes are available below:

Kevin Yogi Ferrell

On the run to start the third quarter being a key to the win:
“That was it exactly. We know we just have to talk to each other and play team defense. We are still getting used to each other and how we play defense and different spots. But I think each game we play this week we will get better at it.”

On what impressed him the most tonight about how the team played:
“What impressed me the most was the spacing on the court. Since we had more shooters on the floor, the floor was spaced out and we got more drives and kick-outs. I was also impressed with our running, everyone pushed the ball – myself, James, Robert, Stan – we all got the ball and pushed it up the court.”

On the floor being more spaced out on offense:
“There was a lot of space out there tonight. It is definitely a lot of fun for myself, as a point guard, being able to dish it out to these guys (Johnson and Blackmon) so they can knock it down for me. So I can just go out there and do my thing, distribute the ball and find different guys to help us score.”

James Blackmon Jr.

On what he can bring to the game to help the team, besides scoring:
“For me, the main thing that I need to do is work on the defensive end and then everything else will come. Like Coach has said, we want to get deflections and we weren’t at first but we were able to get it going in the second quarter.

Robert Johnson

On what he can bring to the game to help the team, besides scoring:
“I think with (our team) being as small as we are and using 3-guard lineups, playing well on the defensive end is something that we have to do. Other teams might think they have a mismatch against us because of our size, so we have to hit the boards hard, offensively and defensively, and that will open a lot up for our whole team.”

On how the shooting has improved this year:
“I think we can help this team make a big jump, especially from the guard spots, where we can help Yogi. A lot of times last year, the other teams would pack it in because they might not have had as many shooters on the floor. That made it hard for Yogi. This year, it might be easier for him because James (Blackmon) and myself will be running the wings, it will open up the floor for him and allow Yogi to do what he does best.”

Troy Williams

On playing in smaller lineups:
“Really, I think everyone can play any position on any given night. We don’t really call out positions anymore, it’s just wherever you are on the court, do whatever you can do to your advantage. Tonight, I was one of the taller ones on the court for us. I am used to playing guard but it doesn’t really matter to me where I play because I can always get a rebound and push it up the court myself. We have a lot of players like that so we try to use that to our advantage.”

On the kids in the crowd enjoying the game:
“It was a lot of fun tonight. We were able to make some plays that got the kids up out of their seat. We just had a lot of fun.”

Filed to: , , , , ,