INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 7, 2022

CJ Gunn

Press Conference

Q. I know you were shooting the ball at a pretty good clip, curious how that's carried over in workouts and what's it been like getting your shot off against bigger college defenders.

CJ GUNN: It's been good. It's been an amazing experience. Shooting my size, it's really no difference. I've just been working on just keeping the same form and just keeping consistent. It's all about knocking it down on the next level, and it's translated.

Q. As far as your kind of attention to the defensive end, and the emphasis that you put on that, is that something that you've always had since you were a little kid? Is that something that you've had to really develop recently? How has that kind of developed?

CJ GUNN: I grew up always having that dog in me on both ends of the floor, and I feel like it's really important to me to be a two-way player and not only be the best player on the offensive end but to also guard the best player on the other team.

So I really pride myself on defense and keeping my defender in front of me and also playing the right spot off the ball.

Q. So far what have been the difficult adjustments, just being around a college program, basically playing pick-up with college guys, guys who have already been here for a little bit. What's the adjustment period been like and what have you had to get used to and is there anything you didn't expect that you've had to go through already coming?

CJ GUNN: I wouldn't say there was anything I didn't expect. It's just an adjustment to the speed of the game and how important it is to be in shape and to be conditioned. I think the every day work, multiple hours a day, more than once a day, I think that's the biggest thing and getting used to it. It's more like a job, a job now than high school.

Q. So you originally committed to Indiana under Coach Miller. Curious during the coaching change, did you ever consider reopening your recruitment, or I guess if not what about Coach Woodson made you want to stick with your commitment to Indiana?

CJ GUNN: The only time I really had questioned was the time period where Coach Archie got fired and before we knew who the head coach was going to be. That was my only question on what I was really questionable about what my decision was going to be.

But once we heard the decision that it was going to be Mike Woodson, it was kind of solidified from that point. We already knew -- we know some of Coach Woodson's family through friendships and relationships.

Once we heard Coach Woodson was going to be the coach, no doubt in my mind that I wanted to play for him, as he's just a legend at IU, legendary NBA player, NBA coach. I believe he can turn me into the best player for myself.

Q. Kaleb mentioned that the freshmen spend a lot of time together. Curious your impression, if you can go one by one of Kaleb, Jalen and Malik and their games and kind of what you've seen out of them so far.

CJ GUNN: Kaleb, I think he's more like a big guard. He can get his shot off and create his shot whenever he wants to.

Schifino, he's a great facilitator. He knows how to use his body real well to just affect the defense in so many ways.

And Malik, he's just a straight killer when it comes to post work and mid-range, and he also has a clip from the three-point line. So I think we all just are a versatile group and we can definitely make an impact right away. So I'm excited to see what happens.

Q. You've been around for about a month now. In this time period, what has kind of surprised you, if anything? Has anything really surprised you about the program at all?

CJ GUNN: I would just say how easy it is to get along with everybody. The coaches, even Timmy G, the athletic trainer, my teammates, just everybody is real fun. Everybody is easy to talk to, easy to get along with. I wouldn't say I didn't expect it but it just helps. Makes the process a lot easier.

Q. You mentioned that you've always had that dog in you. I guess as much as you're able to explain, like where did that come from or how did that -- how did that come about?

CJ GUNN: It really came from my pops. My pops, he's a really aggressive guy. So when it comes to sports, he taught my sister, me and my sister growing up to always be competitive. And I feel like that competitive drive, even going against my sister when I was little, that competitive drive that I always had growing up that he's implemented in me has definitely stayed with me to this day.

Q. Kind of asking about the freshman class, how do you see your play style working with all of them, and how have you guys been working together during practices so far this summer?

CJ GUNN: We've been working really good on offense and defense. On offense, we are all offensive players, so the offense take cares of itself. We really try to focus on the defensive end. All the freshmen coming in are learning the spots on defense and learning the rotations and stuff like that.

I feel like that's the biggest part we need to improve in, but offense, we all know the positions and we all know how to move the ball and we all play well off each other.

Q. You mentioned your dad and his impact that he's had on you and your sister. Curious if you have any memories growing up, competing with your sister, and maybe how that helped you in your development as a player?

CJ GUNN: I actually do. I remember we -- in Fishers, where me and my sister grew up, we used to bike down to this elementary playground, and our dad used to take us out there. And me and my sister used to go one-on-one, probably for about two, three hours out there. We used to scratch each other, make each other bleed, cry, fuss over, stuff like that. Just doing that with my sister and having that competitive spirit since a young age, I can have that against anybody if I did it with my sister. So I can do it with anybody.

Q. Who would usually win those games?

CJ GUNN: My sister was older than me. She was bigger than me when we was little, but it got to a certain age probably around like 12 where it didn't happen anymore.

Q. I know you've only been with them for a short period of time, but talked about your relationship with Coach Woodson. What is he like as a motivator, and what he does to get guys pumped up, if you have any stories or anything with other teammates in how he gets guys pumped up?

CJ GUNN: Coach Woodson, he really just -- different guys are motivated in different ways. Some guy, you have to talk trash to them to get them motivated. Some guys you have to uplift to get motivated. Coach Woodson, he really takes the time to know us and know what we prefer. He knows how to motivate us all in different ways.

With me specifically, he gets on -- I'm a hard-nose. I learn through hard nose, like my dad is really aggressive. Coach Woodson, he just knows how to make me focus and dial in more.

Q. What are your goals in terms of much just physical development? How much have you learned already of how important it is, and how important it's going to be for your game to put some muscle on?

CJ GUNN: It's really important to me. Me and Coach Clif, we really been focusing on getting me to 200 pounds where we go back home in August.

But yeah, getting to 200 pounds, and nutrition is really important. Nutrition, sleep, it's really all a part of the process, so you have that take in all of those factors and really lock in on staying disciplined to those. So that's what I really learned over this summer.

Q. How much do you weigh right now?

CJ GUNN: I weighed in today. I was 199.

Q. Just continuing on that point, I know when I talked to you before you arrived, you were already focused on weight training. Curious how much more intense is what you're doing now than what you were doing before, and also, how do you balance that not impacting your game negatively, like keeping your shot where you want it to be and things like that?

CJ GUNN: Courtney Roby down at Sparx, he definitely did a good job preparing me to get down here. We actually had a meeting with Coach Clif before I came down to IU and he told us the keys that they were going to focus on during the weightlifting program.

The weightlifting with Coach Clif from what I was doing during the summer is definitely more intense, more energy in the weight room. But Courtney did a good job preparing me for that. I'm getting used to it, but I love it.

Q. And that's former IU wide receiver Courtney Roby, right?

CJ GUNN: Yes, sir.

Q. A lot of talk about Indiana needing a shooter, Indiana needing a shooter, and you're coming in, you've one of the people that comes to mind, having seen you play last year, and you like to play in the fourth quarter. You have a great opportunity on this team because one of the greatest needs they have is a shooter; the guy that can be that knockdown guy who can knock down the shot when they need it, especially in tight games. How are you setting yourself up to be in that position and to handle that mentally and to be the guy that that's shooter?

CJ GUNN: Yes, sir, I think I've set myself up to be that shooter. Obviously we are still getting that work in. It's a day-by-day -- not all days are good days and not all days are bad days. It's just all about listing each other up and keeping a positive mindset and looking at the end goal and just treating every day to get better.

I believe I set myself up for that, and I'm going to continue to put in the work so you guys can see it translate on the floor later this year.