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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 19, 2015James Blackmon, Jr.Thomas BryantBloomington, Indiana Indiana - 86, Creighton - 65 Q. Thomas, I think everyone watching was evident of the passion you played with today. Where do you get all the passion from? THOMAS BRYANT: I've always had that passion in me, ever since I started playing in grade school. I had to do something. I wasn't the most talented player, so I had to do something to separate myself from others, and the passion, the will to drive and the will to play was the difference, and I've always kept it with me. Q. James, how much do you guys feed off Thomas' passion? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: So much, man. I'm kind of a laid-back-type of guy, but when I see him like that, that makes me want to bring more energy to the game. Guys like that on our team make it so much better for the fans and also us, we feed off that. Q. Do you feel like you didn't have that? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I feel like we've had it from guys, but Thomas bring it's on a whole other level. Q. Thomas, talk about being fed down low? THOMAS BRYANT: We've always had that standpoint of just going and playing inside the post and also with the three-point shooters that we have, it's emphasized in practice. But we've always played through what coach gives us and we just run through them. Luckily it was my game for me to get the game in the post, and I just went to work in it. The shooters were out there waiting to shoot. Q. James, you talked a lot about your efficiency last year and you guys were able to knockdown shots. How much do you feel like there is not a slump you can't break out of with the shooters you've got and having Thomas and Max? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I just feel like everyone on our team can bring scoring, shooting. I don't think there is one guy on our team that can't shoot. So that spreads the floor, and also having Thomas, Max, Juwan, O.G., guys in there on the inside who can go with the other big men, that helps us. Q. Thomas, is it going to take some time for the guards to get used to having the presence you haven't had in the last couple years? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: I feel like we're going well with it right now. Coach Crean works on it so much in practice and we gel so well, and Thomas is an easy guy to play with. Q. Were the defensive efforts tonight even more satisfying? THOMAS BRYANT: Oh, it feels good. With Coach coming out and giving us the personnel in practice and also on film. When you hold a team like that and hold them to that standpoint, that's a really good effort. With the guards going out and closing out into the corners, JB stepping up and Yogi and everybody else stepping up for the team, for the better of the team and always being with it, staying engaged with it, it helps a lot. That gives a lot of encouragement to us knowing that what we're doing is right. Q. Thomas, talk about the defense and being a lion in the gym? THOMAS BRYANT: Yeah, the lion came out of me. Q. Talk about what that means? THOMAS BRYANT: A person that works on his craft on and off the court, and a person that always brings it and always has the passion, no matter what. No matter the circumstances if you're down by 20 or up by 20, you're going to have that passion and that will to try to get that win or try to get that stop or always work with your teammates to get open shots for them or you scoring down low on the post. You always have that passion with it. Q. This team had its first true test of the season with Austin Peay, but what do you guys learn when facing a power conference opponent? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: It definitely was a huge test. You could tell the level of play that they brought. I feel like they're going to be a great team down the road. I feel like it got us going, the plan, they're so good offensively, I felt like if we wouldn't have had that defense, it would have been an up and down game and could have gone either way. So I feel like our game plan went well. Q. You've talked a lot about rebounding this season. JAMES BLACKMON JR.: That is the key to some of our games. Me, Yogi, Rob, Nick getting in there and getting those rebounds to take the pressure off of our big men. So I feel like every time we do that, we come out with the win. Q. Can you talk a little bit about (No microphone)? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: It's a huge opportunity. The location doesn't get any better. I don't think the teams will get any better. So we'll be playing tough competition, and it's just going to be a time for us to bring what we've been working on, and just get the wins out there. Q. Thomas, you've asked a lot of these guys that were here last, talking about rebounding and how much easier it is. From the standpoint, because there's been a lot of rebounding, how easy is it to work with guys that had to overemphasize rebounding as far as last year coming into a team like this? THOMAS BRYANT: Excuse me? One more time? Q. How easy is it working with a team that had to really work hard to get rebounding from its guards last year and now you're stepping in. How easy is it for you guys to basically just sort of fit into that on the rebounding side? THOMAS BRYANT: It helped a lot. With us rebounding and the guards rebounding, that gives us a lot of transition offense that will lead to rim runs that we had tonight and also open three-point shooters, also executing the plays faster and getting it to them faster to always attack the defense. Q. Why do you think you guys have been able to create so many turnovers? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: You mean like us on defense or offense? Q. No, on defense. Why is it you've created a ton of turnovers? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Ball pressure, knowing we have guys behind us that can block shots. We can get up in the ball, push the ball, and I feel like all of our guards can do that. So I feel like the ball pressure and knowing that we have people behind us. Q. Do you feel like you guys take chances? JAMES BLACKMON JR.: Yeah, we definitely can, it just comes down to personnel, who it is, and who coach trusts to take those chances. But we definitely can. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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