Dec. 30, 2005
Ball State Notes
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana men's basketball team held an open practice on Friday, Dec. 30, in preparation for its game at Ball State on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. Below are quotes following practice.
Indiana head coach Mike Davis
On the team:
MD: "We are trying to move the offense faster, but I don't want to go to quick. I want to make sure they understand how to play together. I just feel good about the team. It doesn't matter if you are winning or losing, if you feel good about your team that is a bright spot. I like these guys because they work hard and they respond to everything we are trying to teach them. I really like that."
On shooting uncontested shots:
MD: "The only game that we took a lot of contested shots was against Indiana State. Against Duke, we missed shots because they really played us differently than anyone else by guarding our wings and letting Marco (Killingsworth) go one-on-one. So far about 90 percent of our shots have been uncontested. I don't care who you play against if you shoot uncontested shots your percentages are going to be high. I think our guys have bought into that."
On what the team has improved on compared to last season:
MD: "It is moving the basketball, making the extra pass and shooting open shots. We are second in the country in assists. We are leading the country in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. That should win some games alone when you are shooting a high percentage. Now our defense has stepped up a lot here lately. When you put that all together, it will add up to wins. The two losses we have, we didn't score 70 points and we didn't shoot a high percentage."
On the team's goals:
MD: "It is just take it one game at a time. Our game Saturday night is more important than any game we have played because it is our next opponent. We just have to focus on that game, how they are going to play us and how we are going to play against them. The thing I like about this team is that we have a long way to go before we reach our peak. If we continue to get better day-by-day, we have a chance."
Sophomore forward D.J. White
On playing more with Marco Killingsworth:
DW: "I think Marco and myself will start playing full time together. I was subbing in and out, and I just came back after having only practiced two times. It was good to get me in the mix with the starters, who have been playing a lot. I feel like we will get a lot of time together."
On his relationship with Marco:
DW: "It makes it much easier for me. For a guy like him and of his caliber to think highly of me and take his time out to help me, I would do the same for him. We are good friends off the court and that helps our relationship on the court."
Sophomore guard/forward Robert Vaden
On Big Ten play starting next week:
RV: "We are very excited. The Big Ten is up from last year and there are four or five ranked teams. We play three ranked conference teams in the early part of the schedule. After we play Michigan, we play three straight ranked teams in the Big Ten. It is going to be a tough challenge for us, but I think we will be up to the task."
On what the teams has improved on:
RV: "Last year, we only averaged 60 or 65 points a game to this point, but this year we are one of the top scoring offenses in the country. We want to keep our pace up and create more opportunities for our offense while keeping the defense on its heals. We haven't reached our goals yet defensively. We want to limit our opponents' field goal percentages, and hopefully, that will help out our offense."
