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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 12, 2017Aljami DurhamJustin SmithBloomington, Indiana Indiana - 86, Howard - 77 Q. Justin, you get a double-double, the way you played tonight, what do you think you did in practice that got you ready for this? JUSTIN SMITH: I would say just staying ready. I try to get reps at any position. So whenever my name is called that I am able to step into that position and do it well. Q. Al, same thing for you, what do you really feel (indiscernible)? ALJAMI DURHAM: I feel like my teammates pushed me every day in practice. Finding a spot that I fit into and just, when the opportunity presents itself, take it. My teammates have trusted me, and I just did what we do every day in practice. Q. After Friday night, how did you feel you guys bounced back and the days leading up to (indiscernible). JUSTIN SMITH: I mean, after Friday we kind of took a step back and watched some film, but we kind of just put it out of our minds. Obviously it happened but we're putting it behind us and we're looking forward and moving forward. Q. I think you were the intended recipient of Al's behind-the-head pass. But just how confident is he? As somebody who has obviously played with him since you were all recruits, just how much confidence do you see in Al's game? JUSTIN SMITH: I'd say endless confidence. He was out for a little bit, but right when he got back into practice he just went right back to it. Whenever he's out there, he's playing with confidence, he's shooting with confidence. And it's contagious and we all feed off of that. Q. Al, what maybe was the first thing that jumped out to you about Justin's game? You played with him even before IU? ALJAMI DURHAM: First thing I noticed about Justin's game is his high motor. If he is running, he knows I'm looking for him and my other teammates. But he was open, I fed it to him and then he finished the rest off for me. Q. Justin, when they went zone in the first half we saw you up in the high post. How did you feel you did running the zone offense tonight? JUSTIN SMITH: There was positives and negatives. Howard, they threw some different things at us. We haven't played a zone so far, even though it is two games. But there's a learning experience and we're moving forward. Q. Justin, can you talk about the alley-oop from Rob and what did it feel like on that play and what did it feel like to make a play like that? JUSTIN SMITH: It was nice. We got a fastbreak, I was running wide and Rob saw me, he threw it up. So it was just the normal dunk, I would say. But it was good getting out and running and getting my first one. Q. Can you both talk about the defense; you picked it up certainly from Friday night? ALJAMI DURHAM: Well, we just talked a lot about how we had to come back and have an aggressive mindset on defense and basically letting the defensive side flow into the offensive side and letting defense take care of the game for us. We let our energy feed off the defense and we played great defense tonight. JUSTIN SMITH: Yeah, I mean, exactly what Al said. We kind of just focused more on defense and guarding their stuff and then having the defense flow into the offense and get us going on that end of the floor. Q. Al, what were the key things that Archie has emphasized with you guys as freshmen when the summer ended and formal practice started? What are some of the key things that he gave you guys? ALJAMI DURHAM: Nothing real specific, just a broad thing of not turning the ball over and having a defensive mindset. If you can't play defense then you can't play really. Q. Coach has talked about this in the past just preseason about how a new coaching staffing, a new system, everyone is kind of starting the same even playing field. Does it feel like that some of the guys were here last year, years before -- they're learning a new system, new coaching staff? Does it feel like right now everyone is on that same even playing field? ALJAMI DURHAM: I feel like we are all are adjusting and learning, but I feel like we're all on an even playing field and learning on the floor. And we're all eager to learn and getting better as time goes on. THE MODERATOR: Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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