HOOSIERS

IU’s Tom Crean looks back at season of frustration

Zach Osterman
zach.osterman@indystar.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean spent 30 minutes with Indianapolis Star IU beat reporter Zach Osterman on Thursday evening discussing the Hoosiers’ season. Crean detailed some of his frustrations from 2013-14 and what he expects for next year:

Question: When you look back at this season, what were the frustrations for you? What were some things you felt were underappreciated?

Answer: We got better, but we never got consistent, and I think that’s maybe an answer to both those questions. There’s no question guys got better. We can go right on down the line, whether you’re looking at the individual aspects, whether it was Noah (Vonleh)’s shooting, or the way Troy (Williams) got better near the end of the season with his scoring.

Any time the season ends, you want to build on the strengths. There’s no question about that. But you certainly want to improve those weaknesses. To me, we improved. We were never consistent, and we did not finish close games at the level that we needed to. Those are the things you can really attack, some of the reasons the consistency wasn’t there. I never thought we shot the ball very well as a whole, and we were still third in 3-point shooting in the league (in Big Ten play).

One area where the numbers bear it out and the visuals bear it out — we got better defensively. Now, we didn’t get enough key stops to win some of the games that we needed to win. …

But the elephant in the room was always our turnovers. It was there and we worked very hard to correct it. We had different procedures in practice to finish situations, to hold accountable guys that turned it over. But at the end of the day, we were not a good enough decision-making team; we were not a good enough passing team.

Q: When you talk about how to finish games, how to reduce turnovers, is that what you attack most this offseason? How do you attack it?

A: The ending (of games) is where you’ve got to have incredible grit. You have to have tremendous determination. You have to have just that absolute connectedness, offensively and defensively. It’s that grit and toughness of getting that big stop or getting to the foul line, making that next pass, whatever it is.

There were games where we made the wrong decision, and it was right there to make the right decision. It was too obvious to make it, and we missed it. Some of that speaks to inexperience, some of that speaks to youth, some of that speaks to just making poor decisions.

Q: I know inexperience was a theme this year. As you get the team back in individual workouts, have you seen recognition especially in your younger players of how to go about making those kinds of corrections?

A: There’s a hunger. There’s no doubt about that. But there’s a hunger in a lot of these guys. We had guys even leaving that spent a lot of time in the gym.

Our time in the gym has been very, very strong. But our ability to retain what we absorb is the next step. That’s where the inconsistency comes. How much are you applying it on a daily basis? That’s what you’ve got to continue to work toward. …

Our season ended on a Sunday night. They all went on spring break (for a week), and by that next Monday, we were right back at it in the weight room, and the next day in individuals. That’s why I’m here right now, and not in Dallas (for the Final Four). The offseason program is in full swing, and it will be again tomorrow morning at 6:30.

Q: You mentioned on Twitter recently that you saw some of the same leadership qualities in Yogi Ferrell that you see in UConn guard Shabazz Napier. How does Ferrell get to that point, for you? And how important is it for him that leadership won’t be new next season?

A: We learned this firsthand from Shabazz Napier. Think about it — he led his team in rebounding, all year long. That’s a guy that is absolutely gonna do what it takes to win. ...

But Yogi is key. The growth and education of Yogi as a leader is a big key to this team, because it was this year. And he did a phenomenal job.

When we watch films of the last two years versus last year, so much defense was centered around stopping Yogi. ... Five guys are guarding Yogi. Those days are going to be over.

Q: You’re welcoming some solid shooters, but you’re also losing your most obvious post presence in Noah Vonleh. How do you make that transition in terms of team identity?

A: It’s all about the spacing, and the three guys that we’re bringing in have got tremendous skill, and they provide tremendous spacing. I’ll be shocked if those three guys coming in right now don’t become three of the absolute hardest-working guys that we have.

I know James (Blackmon Jr.) the best; I know Robert (Johnson) pretty well. I’ve known Max (Hoetzel) the least, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of his work ethic. We took Max because of what we felt his upside was and because of what we felt his work ethic was. Everybody wanted Robert Johnson for the very same reason: He’s just scratching the surface of where he’s going to be. And James Blackmon Jr., all you have to do is see that stroke, just two shots. That’s not just a product of having a great dad and mom that raised him; that’s not just the product of having a gym in his house. That’s a guy that has worked extremely hard to get that good.

They’ll get into this 24/7 environment and I think they’ll be fantastic.

Q: Does it concern you at all to think about youth, having been an issue last season in so many ways, now suddenly looking like it’s going to be a defining characteristic of your team again next season?

A: Oh yeah, absolutely. No question. And there’s no way around it. That’s just the way that it is. But I think the young guys are going to continue to get better. I think Yogi will continue to grow his leadership. Hanner (Mosquera-Perea)’s growth, the light bulb has got to go on, and it is now time to be absolutely committed, and he’s showing those signs. Has he always? Well, obviously not. But he is showing those signs.

Where we’re at right now, everything is about this team right now, this group. It’s got to become so bonded. It’s all right that it’s a smaller group. That’s not a bad thing. Because as the new guys come, you’ve got to get them cemented in.

One thing we’re exploring is taking a foreign trip. We haven’t done it here yet. We’ve saved it. And if I had to do all over again, we’d have done one last year.

I think we’re definitely looking at doing one this year. You’ve just got to keep taking every step you can. We’re going to explore the team building you can do, the leadership training that you can do that the NCAA allows you to do.

We’re young and we’ve got to come together. And when those other guys come, we can’t start over. We’ve got to get them up to speed, but we’ve got to help them get up to speed.

We really, really missed Will and Yogi not being here last summer. I don’t think we had any idea. And would we do it again for them? They got coached by good coaches, and it was a good experience for USA Basketball, so yeah. But it was not good for Indiana.

There was an open vacuum of leadership in here when those guys were gone that nobody filled, nobody. Some didn’t know how. Probably most didn’t know how. Some didn’t attempt to. And we missed them.

And this is not excuses. This is just what you try to work through the next time.

When you’ve got a new, young team, those (summer) days are invaluable. They do play into it. And again, those aren’t excuses at all about losing games in the last possession, but it doesn’t help. It doesn’t help you, and every day matters in this game. If you take too many days without playing and thinking it, you’re going to be behind.