Here's What Archie Miller Had to Say During News Conference Tuesday Night
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For the first time since the college basketball season was abruptly canceled in mid-March, Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller met with the local media on Tuesday night to discuss a wide range of topics.
It was his first full gathering with the media since March 11, the night after Indiana had beaten Nebraska in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Here's what he had to say:
— on trying to figure out what might happen:
"Since we've been on this plan, we've kind of adjusted week-to-week. That's why we're so fortunate to have our guys back, because we're learning every week. We're moving into that next phase a little bit, what the fall might look like. We're operating on starting on time, but there's a lot of details still to be worked out. A lot of protocols have clearly changed. It's an uncharted territory, not only for me, but for everybody on the planet.''
— on the players grasping change:
"It's been great to watch the maturity level of this group. It's the best leadership we've had, an the new guys haven't missed a beat.''
— on what the players are doing now:
"We've been on the court twice a day with split groups, and they went without a hitch. (Head trainer) Tim Garl has done an amazing job. He's done a great job of policing everybody. We have a few workouts again today. All of the guys have been working out, except for Jerome (Hunter), who had some work on his tonsils. We have an off day (Wednesday) and then two more days of good work. We didn't catch up all the way, but there hasn't been one day where I was worried. I couldn't have asked for a better six weeks, other than the guys not playing five-on-five. I love what they've done. I was very surprised from a conditioning standpoint how well they did. We've had some really good workouts.''
— on giving credit to the players for doing things right:
"Part of the challenge right now, to our guys credit, there's been some discipline there and some accountability there in regards to being smart for those 18 hours they are away from us.''
— on recruiting with Zoom:
"When you sit on Zoom, it's hard, but it's going to be a way of life here for a while. This is going to be the new wave.''
— on roster adjustments after transfers:
"I feel like we can still play big. Jerome can play a big small forward role, but we can be more perimeter oriented, too. We'll play with some smaller stuff too, and it really opens up our flexibility. We'll be able to play more of a three-guard lineup when we want to. It's going to be a fun group to coach. I feel like we'll be a more skilled team.''
— on Trayce Jackson-Davis' growth:
"Trayce has to continue to evolve into that natural progression as a sophomore where nothing is new anymore. He's got to be a dominant rebounder for us, and scoring, there's got to be different ways for him to attack. We want him to be better in every area, but he has to become an elite defender, too. He played careful a little bit at times. He needs to be way more confident than he was a year ago. His attitude will allow him to keep getting better because he's so coachable. He had a lot of pressure on him as a freshman and he handled it well. He's got to take them up another gear.''
— on expectations for Khristian Lander:
"Khristian is 17 years old and he's been on campus for three weeks. That's so hard. You've got to be patient with him. He's just so gifted on the court. He has that 'it factor' on the court, and he knows how to play. Physically, he's going to have to get a lot stronger, and he'll have to learn how to play through mistakes and not get down on himself. He's a young guy, but he's very competitive.''
