Quotes: Everything IU basketball freshman wing Vaughn Karvala said after Thursday’s practice
- Alex Bozich
- 2h ago
A top 65 recruit nationally in the 2026 recruiting class, IU freshman Vaughn Karvala committed to the program last fall after an official visit.
Karvala, a native of Oregon, Wisconsin, played at Bella Vista Prep in Arizona last season as a high school senior.
Here’s a full transcript of Karvala’s comments from Thursday’s media session in the locker room at Assembly Hall:
On how the summer has been going so far:
“The biggest thing for me is just putting on weight. That’s my biggest thing, getting stronger, trying to play with these guys that are three, four years older than me. I have to get stronger, I have to get faster and everything.”
On the adjustments he’s had to make:
“Getting used to how we play defense. You know, we don’t give up baseline. And at my high school, we gave up baseline.
So getting used to that and then just the physicality.”
On who he leans on in the locker room:
“Trent Sisley, just because of how much experience he has here already coming from his freshman year. And I’ve just been listening to him on what he has to say.”
On Sisley speaking up as the lone returning player:
“Yeah, he’s just been … whether it’s offense, defense, whatever he needs you to do, he will tell you.”
On whether the 3-point shot is an underrated part of his game:
“Honestly, yeah, I know my athleticism catches the eye a bunch, but I can still shoot it. But another thing is just working on just rebounding, trying to get extra possessions for us and getting rid of their offensive rebounds.”
On how many positions he feels comfortable defending:
“Two, three, and sometimes the four, depending on if they’re a roller four or if they’re a pop four, depends on which one it is, because a roller four, I’m going to have to fight a lot harder. Might need a little bit of help.”
On what he’s doing to put on weight:
“Just eat a lot and work out every day. Lots of steak, chicken, whatever we have in the locker room.”
On the biggest challenge he’s faced so far:
“Physicality, 100%. Just playing with all these guys that have 20, 30, 40 pounds on me. Just trying to fight with Samet (Yigitoglu), who is the biggest guy I’ve ever seen. Is some of that mental as well as physical? I mean, you have to prepare for the challenge. Just getting fully there mentally.”
On how he ended up at Indiana after growing up in Wisconsin:
“Honestly, whenever I got here on my visit, it was home right then. Just getting to know all the people that were there last year, getting to know Tucker, getting to know DeVries. Just getting to know everybody here, I just knew it was home for me.”
On whether he grew up a Wisconsin fan:
“I grew up a Duke fan.”
On why he grew up a Duke fan:
“Honestly, Coach K, I met him. I went to … I don’t know where I met him, but I met him at, like, some camp or something. And just everything he had to say just fit how I wanted to play basketball. It was how much he cared, because it fit how much I cared about basketball.”
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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