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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 27, 2017

Bloomington, Indiana

FRED GLASS: Wow, what a crowd. Welcome to Indiana basketball. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Fred Glass, and I'm the athletic director here at Indiana University, and on behalf of everyone affiliated with Indiana University, I want to welcome you and thank you for coming out today.

It's a very exciting day, and it's been a really exciting time for me to get to know Archie throughout this process. I also want to welcome him specifically as well as his wife Morgan and beautiful daughter Leah to the Indiana University family.

By getting to know Archie, I'm even more confident than ever that he is the right coach, the right basketball coach for us to lead us to meet our very high expectations here at Indiana University, and I've got to say, Archie, after observing your first team meeting, I'm even more confident than ever that you're the right guy for us.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's my great honor and pleasure for the first time ever to introduce to you the new head men's basketball coach at Indiana University, Archie Miller.

ARCHIE MILLER: Thank you. Thank you very much. First and foremost, this is why you want to be at Indiana University right here if you're a basketball person. Honored, my family and I, Morgan and Leah, are honored and excited to represent Indiana University in what we consider now one of the finest basketball traditions in all of college basketball.

I'd like to thank president McRobbie and Fred Glass for their confidence and faith that our vision, as we talked through it, and what we're about fit the University and also met their expectations in terms of how they want this program to be run.

I have to thank my family in general, Morgan and Leah, who made the trip over here, and it's not easy to be a coach's wife, in particular one that moves around quite a bit. But this was one opportunity I think we all are really, really excited about joining the community and doing what we can to help any and everyone.

My immediate family, my mom and dad, two sisters, Lisa and Dana, and my brother Sean, we have a very tight family, and they've meant a lot to me in terms of helping me and supporting all of us on our journey.

I've been a part of some great staffs, and I've worked alongside and worked for some great coaches. I played for Herb Sendek at NC State and worked for him and taught me and a lot of others just how to be organized and prepared and ready for anything. My dad is a Hall-of-Fame high school coach, probably the best coach that I've ever been around, and probably caught me more about coaching than I realized way before I wanted to become a coach. The conversations in the car, at the dinner table or wherever we were really centered around the game.

Thad Matta over down the road at Ohio State, he's a dear friend. He took me in, and he changed my perception of what coaching is all about. It's about our players, and he's the very, very best at convincing you how to invest your time in them rather than anything else because if they're enjoying themselves and their experience is something that is going well, then you're going to get great, great productivity back.

Obviously I finish up with Sean, my brother Sean, and he's the most instrumental person in my life when it comes to basketball. He's tied a lot of things together for me. What we were able to accomplish in Dayton started with a blueprint that started at Arizona probably about eight years ago, and in similar fashion to IU, storied past, great fans, great University. I think what we were able to accomplish at Dayton with that blueprint with some tweaks can work here, as well.

I have to say that obviously I must -- and our family is forever grateful to the University of Dayton. They took a chance on me when I was 32 years old and I was 0-0, and that's hard to do. They walked alongside of me for six solid years, and we were able to have some special moments.

The reason I'm here, and I really believe this, is the state of Indiana. You know, the state of Indiana in many ways is me. It's how I grew up. You know, I'm from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, right outside of Pittsburgh, and I'm the son of a coach who sat around all day long with a ball in his hands from about five or six years old, and the only thing that was ever preached to me was, you have to outwork everyone. You have to be the hardest working person or player every day.

Character, how you treat people, especially the ones that can do nothing for you, that really is what it's about. You have to love the game more so than anything, and you must operate with an element of toughness in everything you do. You can't make any excuses, and you have to earn the right to be good. And I feel like it's simple to me. You know, Quinn Buckner told me on the phone the other day, he used the term OKP, our kind of people. I think it's kind of simple; I'm just like everyone here, and I want everybody to have that feel as we keep moving forward that someone really respects the way that the state operates, the kids in this state, the high school coaches, the families. They all grow up wanting to be here, and for me, I hope to be able to represent it in a big way.

We're going to approach our program -- I think Fred and I discussed this probably more so than anything, we're going to approach the program on three levels, and those three levels are going to really be embraced and attacked very hard. The first level is obviously our past. Every player, every former coach, every former manager that laid the groundwork for this place to be what it is today, we owe them a lot, and our effort level and our give-back has to be really unmatched, and they have to feel that they're a part of everything that we do, and our players have to feel that power. That's something we are going to really fight hard for.

The current, which is our current team, who sits before you. They're our players. I didn't recruit them, and as I told them, they are my players. We invest in everything, and they all matter right now, and I think that there is value to every single individual on our team. They deserve the very best. They deserve the very best from not only our academic support and our staff, our strength coaches, you name it, but they deserve the very best because of what they're representing, and they're going to be pushed very hard in everything they do on and off the floor. There's an expectation that comes with being an IU player, and they're going to understand that every day.

But the word "dream" was used, as well, today, and I think a lot of it can be misguided. We're going to do everything in our power as we deal with them to help them reach their dreams, which they're all going to be different, but at the same time, if we work like that to help them reach their dreams, then in return we're going to have an opportunity to reach our dreams because we're going to get maximum commitment back, which is what everybody expects here.

The last part for our current guys is an expectation as a student and a degree. A degree is very important. It'll be something that we talk about regularly. To graduate from Indiana University and play here, your avenues and your doors are open much wider than most probably realize, and nothing will be more important off the floor other than a degree.

The last part of the level, the third level, is the future. And the future is the recruiting. And we're going to have a great way about us, and the term that we'll use is called inside-out. We have to start inside this state of Indiana, and we have to start moving outside very slowly, because the footprint is there. The inside-out approach means that we have to dedicate ourselves to the high school coaches in this state, the high school talent in this state, the grass-roots programs in this state, and they must feel like they're being dominated by Indiana University. You're not going to get every player; you understand that. But if we want them, we should have a great chance of getting them because of the commitment level that we're putting forth 24 hours a day at home.

As you move further out, you have our great footprint of the Big Ten. Some of our best players that have ever played here aren't from Indiana, and we have to be able to capitalize on that, as well.

And then the third thing as you go outside even a little further is how can you find those difference makers that come from all over the place, New York, overseas, I don't know, but if they fit the profile and we have an opportunity to bring a difference maker here, then that will always trump us to try and bring a championship player.

But inside-out is the theme, and I think if you start with the past, you deal with our current, and you work that hard at those three levels, I think you can deliver all what we want because it's been done before.

I told our players this, as we finish, to everyone who loves Indiana University and our program, the identity of an Indiana Hoosier reads like this within our walls: "They'll embrace high standards both in the classroom, on the basketball court; they'll compete for excellence in both. Represent yourself, your family, and Indiana University in a first-class manner at all times. Tell the truth, and make no excuses, regardless of the circumstances. Respect your teammates, take responsibility for their well-being and treat them as family. Understand our team's attacking mentality. Pursue relentlessly a competitive edge in all that you do in our program, and focus on team goals more than individual goals. Know your role on our team and take great pride in it." If we can get our players to buy into that code and we stay circled around that identity of who we are every day and who we bring in here every day, then I think at the end of the day, the main goal will happen, which is to make this great state, all of our alums, former players, this University and everyone who has grown up in the state of Indiana very, very proud because the expectations are set high and they're achievable.

I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe that.

Thank everybody for coming out. It's been an awesome, awesome experience to come here. I'm looking forward to getting started immediately, and we look forward to trying to have moments like you've had in the past and just trying to make them as regular as we can. Thank you.

Q. What's your vision for crafting the non-conference schedule? What are some of the components you weigh when you're looking at opponents to get on early season schedule, and with that, would you also like to pursue restarting the Kentucky series?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, the non-conference scheduling component is probably the second most important thing you do as a coach other than recruit. Here at Indiana University, non-conference scheduling is about finding a way to put yourself in a great position in terms of seeding. You know, you have to be the master of creating a non-conference schedule that, one, creates great excitement with your fans; two, challenges you at the highest level as you enter the Big Ten; and three, puts you in a non-conference rÃ©sumÃ© that stacks up with the best teams in college basketball. That's what will be our goal.

And in terms of the series with Kentucky, that's far removed from where I've come from, so that's something that down the line I think Fred and I will discuss and see how that happens. I know it's an important piece to the puzzle here with our tradition. But right now we'll just focus on the day at hand.

Q. As much as you can or as much as you're comfortable, can you sort of talk about the how the process unfolded on your end with Indiana, when did it kind of start, and just what led to today?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, I'll leave the process and the search kind of to Fred to talk about. There really wasn't a whole lot of time frame. I know this: Two things happened when I was able just to talk to Fred. I felt like we had an amazing conversation on all levels. I thought our conversations matched up with, so to speak, some of the questions and answers, and I felt really comfortable about it at the end, and I was very, very happy with how things turned out.

Q. Have you finalized your thoughts on formulating a new staff?
ARCHIE MILLER: We're going to build the best staff in college basketball. That's my goal. How all that unfolds is by the minute. You know, I'm the head coach at Indiana University, which we all know is one of the proud, proud places, and there's a lot of expectations around here, and our current players, as I told them, are going to play for a tremendous staff. They're going to be diverse, versatile, completely eyes wide open at the level, and at the end of the day, they're going to be able to totally develop our guys. It'll go day by day, and as things happen, they'll be announced.

Q. You mentioned recruiting in the state of Indiana. When you look in the state of Indiana, what do you see as far as talent level, and what do you see as far as the programs and the coaches that you'd be able to recruit from?
ARCHIE MILLER: First of all, top-notch coaching. I think that's the greatest thing about the state of Indiana is the high school approach, tremendous high school programs, starts all over the state, not just in Indianapolis, and you have tremendous talent all over the state. We all know that.

I think it's a state that is renowned for putting out players that do well in college because they're prepared, and I've had a couple instances to recruit the state in my time, all over the different parts of my journey, but every time I've ever went in and come out, you always get the same feeling of that is a high-level operation going on right there. It starts with the state of Indiana; it's going to go from the high school coaching, the high school talent, the grass-roots talent, and we have to invest a lot more of ourselves to get in return. We don't expect anything. We're going to have to earn a lot of respect in the state.

Q. As you know, relationships are so important with current players, recruits, coaches. They can't be forced, but how do you build those in a timely manner to get this thing rolling the way you want it to?
ARCHIE MILLER: It's going to take time. There's only one of me right now, but as these guys know, I've already had a lot of conversations on the way. We're going to start having a lot of conversations as we keep moving forward. I have to invest in their families. I have to invest in the important people in their lives, and like I told them, I didn't recruit you, but you're mine, so at that point, if you're mine, then you have to do everything in my power to make sure that you understand there's great belief and value in you here. There's a clean slate. It's going to take time. I think every coach goes through that when they show up at a place. It's an awkward moment not only for them but for me, as well, but I think we're off to a good start.

Q. You've had a lot of opportunities to take other jobs over the last couple of years; why was this the right place and the right time for you?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, I was at a special place, and I never talked to one school in my six years at the University of Dayton other than Indiana University. I think that speaks sort of volumes about the power of the brand of basketball. I'm a basketball guy. I love the Big Ten. I think it's an excellent league with the best coaches, the best road venues in college basketball, and in my time in the league, I was blown away. I was blown away by this place the most, though, my first instance here, or really my lasting impression here was nine years ago in Coach Crean's first year when things weren't off to a good start. He had inherited something that wasn't very easy to take over.

I remember being in here and feeling the power of this building on that team, and I left saying, I wonder what it's like in there when they're really good. I've always come back to that.

Q. People would ask, style of play, how would you define an Archie Miller basketball team?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, I just told these guys the same thing. Style of play for me is always on the run offensively. I think the more we're on the run in the full court and the half court, which means a lot of movement and a lot of pace. I think our teams at Dayton were known for great ball movement, unselfishness. But I told these guys, it's going to be pace, it's going to be player movement, flow, and it's going to be an attacking, aggressive style. They're already terrific offensive players. They've been used to some great offensive teams here in the past, and I think our style will fit with a lot of different personnels. Versatility is something we look for.

Defensively, it's something to take great pride in. We have to become a tough, nasty team on defense, and I think at the end of the day, if you looked at our teams at Dayton, we may not have been the biggest, but there wasn't very many days that I left that I said that's not one of the toughest-minded groups of people. We have to become a tough-minded group because to win at the level that we want to win at, you have to be able to beat different styles. You can't be one-dimensional. You have to have some versatility, not only on offense, but you have to have some versatility on your defense. We're aggressive; we're going to be very physical; and we're going to try like crazy to be very disciplined. It's not going to be very frantic.

But it's a tough-minded approach on that end.

Q. There's not a lot of schools you can say this about, Indiana is one of them, where the fans, some of them, say we'd like an IU guy. They're going to be happy with you, I know it, but in the meantime you're not in the fan base. How important is that, and how possible is it?
ARCHIE MILLER: It's vital. When these guys feel the power of a united anything, they're going to be better for it. I've got to work very hard. I have to work very hard to earn a lot of trust. It's going to take a lot more out of me to get what I want out of people than just asking. I know that. They have to feel good about the way things are going.

Our former players and our fans have to look at our program like it's being run at a high-class, high standard, and at the end of the day, that's going to take some time, as well, but I think the ability to unite a fan base comes down to productivity. Any time you're successful, people are happy, and when you're not, that's the case.

But I feel like we had a united fan base at Dayton. It's one of the most passionate fan bases in the country. I know what this one is about, too. They loved the way our kids competed. They loved the unselfishness. I think they loved the class that we operated with off the floor and in the classroom. I think we'll have the same approach, and like I said before, Indiana are kind of like guys like me. I think if you're doing things the right way, I think they'll appreciate it.

Q. You mentioned about Sean's influence on you. I know he had other things to occupy himself while some of this was playing out, but what guidance did he give you about taking this step into Indiana?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, you know, Sean is the very, very best. He probably develops his coaches probably even more so than his players without him realizing that. You have an approach, you have a plan, and you have to look at yourself and say does your ability to execute your plan work at Indiana, and I think his unwavering response would have been with absolute confidence. He thinks it's a great place. He understands that. He also gives me great confidence because when we entered Tucson I guess eight years ago together in a similar approach but in much worse shape, you had to unite the former players. You had a great legacy of what's going on. You have all this tradition. You have expectations. And we were coming a long way not knowing anyone.

We basically put the plan down, and without hesitation just worked extremely hard, and I think you're seeing a program out there that's sort of operating the same. You're dealing with high expectations. You're dealing with great players. You're dealing with tremendous former players. You're dealing with an unbelievable fan base.

So they're similar in that regard in the way you take things over. But I will say this: This program has been run really, really hard on the way in, and this is a much higher starting point facilities wise than they had there, and this has much more of a quicker fix just due, I think, to the familiarity with the area.

Q. You were asked about putting your coaching staff together; is it important to have an Indiana tie on your coaching staff, or is it more important to have a cohesive unit that works well with you?
ARCHIE MILLER: I think both could play a part. The most important thing as a team are coaches. You'd better have a team of coaches if you want to have a great team. You have to have an unbelievable commitment to one another. You have to be completely united, and the message is always the same, and if that group is working like that, regardless of where they're from, the current players, the guys on your team, are going to give great effort and they're going to get better.

But I do think this is a unique place with tremendous pride in the state, and there's a lot of things that go on around that we want the best players here from our state here because that's what's going to make everyone so excited to watch them grow up in front of their eyes at IU like it was a long time ago, I think. All to be discovered, but there's some important decisions to be made.

Q. You touched on it a little bit, the high expectations that surround this program and have always surrounded this program, but is that maybe one of the reasons why you took this job, because you embraced those high expectations and you understand maybe some of the pressure, good or bad, that comes with it?
ARCHIE MILLER: I don't think you come to Indiana if you don't want to live in the neighborhood. If you don't want to move into that neighborhood, then you shouldn't be here. If you like the neighborhood, then you come, and I think, like I've been at a high level at a lot of different spots. I've been with great people. I think I'm very confident that what we do works, and I'd like for the opportunity to try and make it work here.

I think the Big Ten is an excellent league with great coaches to be with, to be against, and you're going to get better. They're going to make you better, and you're going to be better for it.

To me, I know where we're at, and I know what the job is. That didn't waver me. I think more than anything, this is what you want if you love the game.

Q. Out of all the coaches that you've worked with, whether it be a head coach or assistant coach from your staff at Dayton, who do you feel has had the greatest influence on your coaching philosophy and vision to this point in your career?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, they've all had their moments of impactfulness. I think Coach Matta changed my complexion of what college basketball was all about. It used to be, hey, I'm going to scout all these plays and get these guys ready to go. His approach was, you need to spend all that time not on the plays, you need to spend all that time on the players, and that was different. I loved it. I spent more time with the guys and had the ability to work with great players.

But I think when it all really comes down to a philosophy standpoint of putting it all together, running the program from scheduling to recruiting to development, how you do it year-round, that clearly comes from Sean, and I think he's the very best at it.

Q. You mentioned the Dayton fan base a couple times. Since Saturday, the most, the vast majority of them on social media or the ones that we've interacted with have said the same thing, thank you for reviving the program, and then wishing you and Morgan and Leah well on your next chapter here in Bloomington. I wonder what you would say to them as you move on to this next chapter.
ARCHIE MILLER: I wouldn't expect anything different from our fans. They're the classiest group of people I've been around, and they took us in, like I said, very early on and they helped us along the way, and we worked very, very hard to get to where we were at. Upon leaving, I'm very proud. They're tremendous people there. I'll always root for them. I'll always be somebody I hope they would call if they needed anything.

It's bittersweet. You know, you have a lot of disappointment when you're in Dayton before you get on the airplane, and then you have a lot of excitement here. It kind of balances itself out.

But I would hope to think that our family did everything we could within the community and obviously at the University to make them proud.

Q. How hard was Saturday saying goodbye to your players, and what kind of group do you think you left behind for the next coach?
ARCHIE MILLER: It's very hard. As these guys know, man, you're with them in many cases more than I'm with her. Years at a time, you bring them in, over years that you're working with them. You've seen some of the ultimate lows. You lose a -- death of a player, Steve McElvene, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and you watch the hurt amongst them all, but then you watch some of their best moments, which is winning conference championships.

A lot of them have reached back out since the meeting. I don't think the meeting was a lot of fun. But I've been very, very proud of the responses. I think all of those guys are better. I think they all feel good about themselves, and they're winners, and they have a great, great culture right now in terms of the pride in what they do.

So whoever the next head coach is at Dayton, I think he's getting off to a great start, and it starts with their administration, as well.

Q. The resources Indiana has, just Assembly Hall, Cook Hall, just all the money that goes into this program, how much did that play into your decision and make it easier to come to a school like IU?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, yeah, I think IU in general and the brand is something that excites me more so than bells and whistles, but clearly when you have this at your disposal, especially on game night, that's something that really drives home. I've played at a great home court, UD arena, and if you can get this thing here going, this is maybe your biggest asset in anything you do is winning games, recruiting, you name it.

And then you add in the Cook Hall, which is fantastic. Our players should, quite frankly, be in there 24 hours a day. They should be in there 24, 24 hours a day, all day long, seven days a week, because they want for nothing.

From a facilities standpoint and a resource standpoint, these guys hurt for nothing, and to have this at your fingertips is something that you've got to feel good about.

Q. For you personally, what does this mean, and have you directed Fred for some home-and-homes with Arizona?
ARCHIE MILLER: For me personally, and Morgan and Leah involved in it, as well, this is really almost -- I don't want to say too much right now, but it's eye-opening. You feel it right now. You feel where you're at.

You know, being at the stops I've been along, I never really said, hey, one day I'm going to be the head coach at Indiana University. I've never really thought that way. But to be here, a lot of people had to help me, and a lot of players had to break their back to get us here, and that's the thing that needs to be said the most. Home-and-home with Arizona, I don't know if Fred is actually going to have the ability to communicate with Sean as easily as me, but I think that's something that down the line would be really cool. He actually mentioned it to me; we can do that. It's just got to be right for both places.

Q. Some coaches like to use full scholarships 13 or 14 or over-sign. Some coaches like to leave a couple scholarships for roster management reasons. What is your philosophy in that regard?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, I think in this day and age with the fluidness of the NBA, early departures, also the transfers that happen, in my estimation, it's not to your full advantage to have 13 guys that are playing in the game on scholarship. You're not going to play 13. You may have 13 on scholarship and have a couple guys, whether they transferred in, if they can impact Indiana University or you redshirt a potential kid one day and look down the line in his fourth and fifth year as being an all-conference player. There's some of those. But I don't think we want to be a team that straps ourselves and limits options. That would be what I would tell you. We're always going to be comfortable playing between nine and ten guys, and if you have 12 or 13 on scholarship, you're probably going to see some unhappy guys, and sometimes less is more in that.

Q. You talked about the importance of Indiana recruiting; what is your pitch to an Indiana high school coach, an Indiana-based AAU coach to make Indiana the go-to spot for them for recruits in this state?
ARCHIE MILLER: Well, I think the way that their kids would be treated would be something that I would put down right away. I think that we spend an abnormal amount of time with our guys, and not just on the floor but off, and care about their total development as a person. I think if you look at our time at Dayton, I think most of our guys would leave and say, I got the most out of that experience because they spend so much time, they work so hard for me on and off the floor and helping you in all your areas, and I think that's number one. They have to feel -- the state of Indiana has to feel when they give one of their sons to IU, they're going to get treated with the utmost respect and class, and they're going to deliver the very, very best they can for them.

When it comes to the basketball, we're not going to have a hard time selling our style. We're not. What we have to sell is the way that we can deliver 365 days a year in terms of making them better and helping them achieve what they want to achieve, and we've seen a lot of guys come in one way, leave another, and I think that would be our goal here.

The way we treat them, I think from a basketball perspective, will be how we develop within our style.

Q. Fred, how much of a plus was Archie's previous recruiting experience in the state?
FRED GLASS: First of all, I really wish I didn't have to go now. If I was practicing law, I'd just rest my case.

But Archie really brings the whole package and certainly the recruiting generally and the bread basket, the inside-out that he espouses with focusing on Indiana and the region first was a big positive.

Q. It's not rest your case, it's you drop the mic.
FRED GLASS: Right. I was going to do my moonwalk, but I was having trouble getting that going.

Q. When is the first time you got in touch with Archie? When did you first start negotiating, whatever?
FRED GLASS: Yeah, I'm not going to really get into all the ebbs and flows and this and that; it's about the search. I think the most important thing about any search is who you end up hiring, and you guys have just seen what I've seen over the last several days in this process, and I'm thrilled with the coach that we hired.

The only things I'll say about the search is, number one, Archie was on my short list from the very beginning, and number two, he's the only person to whom I've offered the job.

Q. How receptive are you to resuming the Kentucky series even if it means or probably will mean playing in Indianapolis?
FRED GLASS: Yeah, I'm very receptive to restarting the Kentucky series. I'd like to play one of the games in the cycle here, but I think the most important thing is we get that thing going again.

Q. You said you've been wowed by it when you talked with the team, but during the process when you were meeting him for the first time, was there a lightbulb moment or a number of things in a row? When did you know this is the guy I want to offer the job?
FRED GLASS: Yeah, I think it was an evolution. As we were putting the list together, I really was focused on him because of the objective data that you could just find out at your desktop, son of a coach, basketball family, 5'9" point guard who played very well at the major college level and is in the record books at North Carolina State. Even at a young age, having a very deep and broad coaching experience under a number of significant coaches and major programs, proven winner, proven recruiter, proven player developer, the defense-first mentality, defense travels, defense wins championships. So all that stuff I think propelled him high on my initial list.

The next wave was really more subjective stuff, so reaching out to basketball people around the state and around the country, and I'm fortunate to have developed some relationships with people who I trust who are very discreet who were able to find things out that I might not be able to find out, and those all came back in a very, very positive way.

But the most compelling piece was when we met personally, and a lot of what he shared with you today, he shared with me then. He sees this as the great opportunity that I see it. The vision that we laid out when we started our search 10 days ago or whatever is the opportunity that Archie sees. He embraces the expectations, as Trish was referencing. He's focused on the state of Indiana. He wants to recruit inside-out. He's a plain-spoken, real person that I think is really going to connect with the guys and future guys, and our former players, as well.

It was really that evolution, and that's why I stand here today very confident that we have the absolute right person.

Q. How many conversations would you say you had with former players and maybe what kind of feedback did they give you?
FRED GLASS: Yeah, I probably reached out to a couple dozen former players, several of them in response to them reaching out to me, offering assistance, some frankly who were interested in the job themselves, and some that I just cold-called kind of through the different eras. It was so invigorating because all of them had a little different perspective and some of them had different ideas on particular people or whatever, but the conversations almost always concluded, look, I just care so much about Indiana basketball. Go get the right person. And I won't say that some didn't have a strong feeling that it should be an Indiana person and all that. I'm not going to say that's not the case.

But there was an overall selflessness to it where they just really wanted to see Indiana basketball get back and go out and hire the right guy, and a lot of great tidbits from the different players, much of which I've been able to share with Archie, so that was a really rewarding experience.

Thanks, everyone. Appreciate you coming out very much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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