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INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 1, 2019Juwan MorganBloomington, Indiana Q. Juwan, start with the Michigan State game. What did you feel when you guys went up there and beat them? What did you feel when you walked away from that, like, okay, these were the things that were different for us in this game? JUWAN MORGAN: I think everybody just played hard. Nobody was really trying to think too much logically about the game. Everybody was just out there trying to play their hardest, defensively, offensively, just going out there and doing what we practice every day. Q. Coach was talking about just the accountability level in practice going on the last week or two. Where did that start and where did that come from? Where did that need to raise that accountability start? JUWAN MORGAN: Honestly, there's no defining moment where it just happened. Kind of it was just one practice, and I think red team had won like six or seven straight segments, and then the next day we were talking about it in the locker room, and then after that practices were just ultra-competitive like nobody wanted to lose, nobody wanted to run. There was no defining moment, it was just something that just happened. Q. What's it like going up against Race in practice? JUWAN MORGAN: It's like looking at myself almost. I think I was the same way coming in, just going out there playing hard, not really looking to score, which we all got on to him for that because he's able to score. But at the same time, he's just -- you know what you're going to get from him. He's going to play defense, he's going to get rebounds, and he's going to do all the little things that nobody really wants to do. Q. From that standpoint, whether it's a guy like Race or a guy like Clifton, how much do you try and take hold of these other players, kind of mold them after yourself and model their game the same way you were brought up through the program? JUWAN MORGAN: I wouldn't say that I try to make their games the same way as me, but I just try to tell them that you're not going to come in and just be an All-Star immediately. I told them that they're going to have to work for it and that they have to find basically what they're good at and just make it something that's undeniable by the coaching staff, and in Race's case it was just that you knew he was going to play defense and you knew he was going to get rebounds, and I think they couldn't ignore it, and as you can see in the game, he was doing just those things. Q. I know we talked about this through the years, but give me a few examples of growing up in a military household with parents who sort of instilled that in you. What were some of the big takeaways? JUWAN MORGAN: Well, growing up in a military family, things only had to get asked one time. After that, there wasn't going to be anything more asked, it was just going to be discipline. But at the same time, I think that helped me in every aspect of life, just being able to listen to directions and carry those things out, and then at the same time, just being able to accept all types of criticism because I watched my mom and how she interacted with some of her privates, PT and things like that, and if any of them stepped out of line, there was like a drill where they had to pretty much like subdue her, and she had on boxing gloves, so she just got to take off on them as much as she wanted and they had to subdue her without punching back. So I just kind of learned from watching those things where if you step out of line then you'll be dealt with, and I think just growing up, I really just never tried to step out of line, and that's just something my mom and dad instilled in me, and I think it's helped me in class, just in life and in basketball, with everything I do. Q. Correct me if I'm wrong, you were like in middle school or maybe you got into junior high or high school but you went out there and did PT with the guys? JUWAN MORGAN: That was elementary school, but yeah, I was doing that all the way up until like seventh grade when I started playing football and basketball for the school and it would be like 4:00 a.m., 5:00 a.m. and we'd go out there, and I wouldn't run as much as they did, but I would try to keep up with them, and just going through all the physical things they were doing, and I just realized like what camaraderie can do for a unit and just seeing how they were all up at like 4:00 a.m. and nobody really wanted to be up, but they just were out there laughing, talking, having a good time all doing it, and that just made me realize things that we learn later in life early in life in my case. Q. And your family was stationed where at that point in time? JUWAN MORGAN: It was Texas at first, Fort Hood, Texas, and then Fort Leavenworth, Missouri. Q. Any fond memories or fondest memory from your time here with the program? JUWAN MORGAN: My favorite game would probably be freshman year against Wisconsin here. I remember all the coaches and players, especially with Yogi and Troy telling me that was my best game, and I remember looking at them like they were crazy because I remember I played 20 minutes, the most I played all freshman year. I had zero points, like two rebounds, one block and five fouls. So I was confused. I was like, how is that my best game, and they were telling me like because of the way I guarded Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes that day really helped us come through with a win, and that's kind of when I realized that it's not all about scoring, rebounding, things like that. It's just about doing your job. Q. How do you want to be remembered? JUWAN MORGAN: I just want to be remembered as somebody that never gave up, regardless of who we were going against, what we were going against or anything like that. I never gave up, and every time I went out there, people knew what they were going to get from me, and I was going to give 110 percent every night. Q. Going back to the family childhood, understanding the discipline, understanding to follow orders, do you think maybe that helped you more in a pressure-cooked environment at Indiana compared to had you gone elsewhere? JUWAN MORGAN: Yeah, I think it did. Again, I think applies to all aspects of life, but at the same time, just dealing with the pressures of being here, you hear it every day, regardless of where you're at, how important it is being a basketball player here, and I really don't let those things get to me, and I know it's a lot of pressure. But I think just -- I'm just putting a ball in the hoop. The pressure those guys felt every day, having to protect their country, things like that, it's nothing compared to what they were doing. So I just take it and look at it from a different perspective. Q. You're a guy who's gone through some coaching changes, gone through some injury stuff. Has been there a lowest point or most difficult point of your Indiana career that you look back on the past few years? JUWAN MORGAN: Yeah, there definitely was. Pretty much any time my shoulder came out, I never knew if it was going to go back in sometimes. You know, I think any time that happened, I was really at a low point, and then I remember Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament in Indy freshman year, I was in the game, and it was -- it pretty much came out any time I went to like stride and my left arm went back, it came out, and I remember sitting there talking with Coach Crean worried about the surgery that was coming up, and I remember telling him that I wasn't too sure about it. I told him I'd rather just deal with it coming out all the time than get the surgery and it not fix the problem. And just thinking back to that, that was probably the lowest point I was at, but I think after surgery after all the confidence from the doctors, things like that, I think I was just in a better place mentally, and I think that's helped me going forward. Q. You talked about your memory of that Wisconsin game freshman year and how you guarded Happ. Did those memories come up before the game the other day and kind of remind you of a similar game where you did foul out but you did the stuff you did on the court to help your team win? JUWAN MORGAN: Yeah, I kind of do that with every game. If we've played the team before, I definitely think of moments I've had against those teams, whether it was good or bad, and I think I'm not going to try to let those memories determine what I do out there because it's a new game, every player is better, so I just tried to go out there and really just demonstrate what was going to need to be done in order for us to win the game. Q. People don't really get to see guys like Johnny and Quentin a lot in games, but what can you tell people about those guys in practice behind the scenes? JUWAN MORGAN: They're definitely probably one of the biggest parts of this program. Those guys, they always keep the spirits up, and we always tell them that they're like the most important people on the team. Whenever one of them is not traveling with us, we always recognize it. We always tell them we wish they were there, and I think just the way they go about every day knowing that sometimes they're not going to get in the game; obviously when it's coming down to the wire, Coach isn't really looking that way, but at the same time, they give just as much as everybody else does knowing that. So I think that just deserves admiration on their part. Q. When Johnny first transferred here, he was talking about wanting to come here and learn about coaching at this level with hopes of maybe becoming a coach one day. Do you see some things in Johnny that might lead to a successful coaching career down the line? JUWAN MORGAN: I definitely do. Just even when we're going through practice, if he sees something, he'll let whoever it is know, and he'll do it in a way that you can almost see him being a coach. I don't know how to really explain it, but if you saw it, you would know exactly what I was talking about. Q. You mentioned a little bit the impact that Yogi and Troy had on you. Is there anything you learned from those guys that you tried to pass on to some of the younger guys as you've stepped into a leadership role the past couple years? JUWAN MORGAN: Yeah, especially just about working hard. I told them they're not really working hard until you meet somebody that's actually working hard. Like for myself, I knew I wasn't going to lead after freshman year, but Yogi and Troy, those guys were going that direction, and so I knew what they were working for, and they were working extremely hard. I always thought -- I considered myself a hard worker, but it was nothing compared to what those guys were doing. We would go through a two-and-a-half-hour practice, and right afterwards they would either be extra stretching, in the weight room or shooting or doing whatever, playing one-on-one trying to get better with certain moves or things like that. Back then, I couldn't see myself doing that at all, but now I do. Q. Is there anything that you wish you had known going into freshman year that could have helped you through your journey? JUWAN MORGAN: Well, there's a lot of things, but I think the main things would be I wish I knew what real hard work was. Like I said before, I thought I always was, but I didn't really realize it until seeing those guys. And then I also wish I knew how to take criticism from my peers. That was a big thing with me, especially because just hearing from my mom and dad and people around them in the military, I could always take authority from those, but it was when my peers tried to talk to me where I just had an attitude problem. I really don't know where it came from or why I had it, but I just couldn't do it, and even sometimes I would just blankly stare at Max and Yogi, and they would wonder what was up, and I wouldn't tell them because I just didn't want to hear from them, just because I was like, dude, you're only like two or three years older than me, you don't get to tell me what to do. But it was just something I had to overcome, and I think I've done that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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