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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 5, 2014Nick ZeisloftQ. With everything that's happened, and all the attention that's come with it, what's the mood on the team? Do you guys feel like there are issues? Do you feel like you're being attacked from the outside? You've got an exhibition game tomorrow. What's it like being in the uniforms while this is going on? NICK ZEISLOFT: We are learning a lot day in, day out, from all of these experiences. We are very excited to play tomorrow and to get on the court today to prepare for tomorrow. And right now we're just learning as a team on and off the court, day in, day out. Q. As players, what can you do to stop the off‑the‑court incident, as players? NICK ZEISLOFT: Well, as a team, we feel like we have‑‑ we have a pretty good bond here. But we do need to have some growing up amongst ourselves. And I guess that would be the main thing is each and every one of us need to look out for each other and grow up as a whole.  I definitely see that happening with us, and I think that's one of the main things we've been working on. Q. Coach Crean mentioned that player leadership is kind of lacking right now. Is that something that's developed as a coaching staff or internally amongst the players, and are there leaders present on this team, do you think? NICK ZEISLOFT: Every week we're working at developing those leaders. It's just not something that's made overnight. That's a process. And we're definitely working towards that, whether it's myself, Hanner, Collin, Yogi, anybody, we lead throughout the day in different days in practice and off the court. And we're going to continue working on that and building that leadership. Q. I'm just going to ask this directly, because it comes from former players, there's some former players who have said they don't think you guys get what it means to play at Indiana, and they've openly questioned whether some of you guys belong here or not. Do you think this group gets it? NICK ZEISLOFT: I think so. We understand that all eyes are on us here at Indiana. The program is much bigger than anything we can do really. We've understood that since we signed here. And every day in practice moving forward we have to have that in mind and continue and build on that in every drill and every game. Q. I'm going to put a word in your mouth. You tell me if you agree with it or not. Are you, is the team, you mortified, embarrassed by what's been happening? NICK ZEISLOFT: We've definitely learned a lot these past few weeks and months. Q. Are you mortified or are you embarrassed? NICK ZEISLOFT: I would have to say that we're building a lot. We are working every day at becoming the best we can be. And I'd say it's a game for us, we have a game tomorrow, and that that definitely is going to happen for us. We're going to have a great practice today. Q. I know you guys are on campus together this season. I know you haven't been at Indiana for as long as some of these other guys, but I guess to ask this directly, Friday night, Saturday nights, whether it's Halloween or something else, do you feel like guys are doing a good enough job of saying all right, let's watch out for each other, let's make a good decision, let's not get in trouble, basically? Do you think you need to improve that? NICK ZEISLOFT: We do. There's always room for improvement in everything. Friday night was a prime example of what to improve on, we're going to continue and do that. Q. To see Devin in the state he's been in, I know Coach mentioned a lot of you guys have been to the hospital. Do you know if that serves as a wake‑up call or sent shockwaves to what the consequences to actions are? NICK ZEISLOFT: I will agree that we don't really know what to expect until you go in and see him. It definitely did get to us. And we have to respond accordingly. We all were moved when we saw him. There's no doubt about that. And I'm just glad right now that he's progressing. And we're continuing to pray for him and I'm sure other supporters are praying for him as well. Q. As a teammate, how is Emmitt doing mentally and emotionally? NICK ZEISLOFT: Emmitt is getting better. It's unfortunate that he was in that position. And a lot of us are lucky it wasn't us. It's very unfortunate for Emmitt, but he's got a great head on his shoulders, and we're fully behind him like I'm fully behind every one of my teammates and coaches. And Emmitt's going to continue and build as a basketball player and as a person on this team. Q. How do you go about building leadership on this team, is it about one person taking charge or is it about a collective group of upperclassmen? NICK ZEISLOFT: Well, it can be one. It could be two, the whole team. We need, one, to keep each other very accountable for our actions on and off the court. And whether that's helping someone figure out the right set to run, the right play to run, or the right way to talk to somebody off the court. Whether we're eating dinner. It's a big accountability factor, and we have to have that accountability 24/7. And it can't let up from that. Q. How much do you and Yogi and some of the other guys talk about making sure that everybody's kind of thinking about him day to day. I know Coach said how hard it is on him and you did too, having a lot of people think about Devin, how much do you need to focus, keep you guys focused on supporting Emmitt? NICK ZEISLOFT: There's no doubt. I mean, it would just be a terrible thing. I don't even know how Emmitt could feel in the situation. So I know Emmitt isn't doing too hot. But we're there for him. Whatever we need, we're going to have each other's backs. I know that. We have Emmitt's just as much as I have Collin's or Nate or Hanner's. Anyone's. We've got to look out for each other and we're truly brothers here. Q. Read a lot of comments from former players about what's been going on lately. Have you yourself heard from former players about what's been going on? NICK ZEISLOFT: No, I have not. I've not heard personally from them. I understand some things that have been said. And personally I couldn't agree more. And I mean they're correct. They've been here. We need to follow their example. They set the stones for us, and we need to keep building those stones and keep building this program up. Q. Being an IU basketball player, what keeps you from making bad choices? NICK ZEISLOFT: I don't know if it's just being a basketball player, we just need to grow up as men. I mean, yes, being an IU basketball player you have all eyes on you. We understand that from the day we get here. And we haven't been doing a great job of that. That being said, I can see each and every one of us as a team, all my teammates growing up from here on out and understanding that here at IU it's bigger than each and every one of us. Q. Question about the games coming up. Hanner and Yogi have been here for three years. You're (indiscernible). Are they going to step up, show some leadership (indiscernible) for this particular teammate? NICK ZEISLOFT: No, they definitely have. Not just with this, the past few weeks, but experiences that they've had. They helped me. They help the new incomers and the freshmen as well as me. I'm trying to do the same as well, showing them experiences and how to adapt to situations and adversity. Q. What do you know about the opponent and also a Vanderbilt transfer (indiscernible), what do you know about those two teams? And how does the guys you got, not counting the guys suspended here, but the group you've got, how does it match up? NICK ZEISLOFT: Well, can't really comment on the University of Indianapolis right now. We're focused on Northwood tomorrow. We've looked into their team. We've studied some of their guards that have two DivisionI players, former DivisionI players. And they're a talented group. They're ready to come in here and put their best show towards us and we're going to do the same to them. Q. You guys have nine guys (indiscernible)? NICK ZEISLOFT: Man, every day is a learning experience for us. So whether we have six guys out there, 15, a full 15, we're going to be learning everything. There's not one possession we're not going to be able to learn something from tomorrow night. Whether we have a full roster tomorrow, which we're not going to obviously. We'll take every possession down and learn from it, because at this point when you learn from everything and every little thing here. Q. How do you adapt to such a thin front court on Thursday? NICK ZEISLOFT: I mean, we're going to play our way our style, do everything we can every single possession, every pass, every drill, every shot, to win that game. And I mean it comes down to that, whether you have a lot of size up front or no size up front or no point guard or no center, doesn't really‑‑ you've got to win the game. Gotta do whatever it takes to win the game. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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