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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DES MOINES

March 16, 2016

Des Moines, Iowa

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome the student-athletes of Indiana, Yogi Ferrell, Troy Williams and Nick Zeisloft. Questions for our student-athletes?

Q. Yogi, have you taken time to think about the long road you've traveled and what this last run really means to you personally?
YOGI FERRELL: Yeah, yeah, I have. I feel like I've came a long way since my freshman year, and I've had a wonderful time at IU playing under Coach Crean. He's taught me a lot of different things, met a lot of great people. But I feel like this last year has been very special to me. It's definitely been one of my most fun years at IU. So I would say this last push that we have coming up here, playing in the NCAA Tournament, just grateful to be here.

Q. Yogi, curious to get your thoughts on the city. Have you guys had a chance to get out and look at the city and your impressions? Obviously this is the first time the city has hosted something of this magnitude and also the thought on having Kentucky, Kansas, UConn, you guys here, that's 20 national titles all in one spot.
YOGI FERRELL: We haven't got out much really. It's a business trip, so no time for fun and games right now. We're in a very, very great bracket with a lot of great teams, a lot of history in it. So that's just what makes the tournament so special is that you are playing high-level teams every single night.

Q. Yogi or any of the players, you've not faced a lot of full court pressure, it's not a thing you see from a lot of Big Ten teams. What are the keys for you against Chattanooga's press tomorrow?
YOGI FERRELL: The key to that press is you can't be timid. They're a great team when they press. They're definitely one of the longer teams we have played all year, haven't played a Big Ten team as long as them, just across the board. So with that press you've got to make great passes, pass fakes, but you can't be timid, make sure of your passes because their press is pretty good.

NICK ZEISLOFT: I think Yogi hit it on the dot. They're a long team. We've gotta attack them in terms of that because their length can be very pesky out there. Don't be timid and attack it with the ball and the pass.

THE MODERATOR: Troy?

TROY WILLIAMS: They both answered it.

Q. Nick, I saw you play early in your career at Illinois State. Can you elaborate on your journey to get here as well as a player playing at this stage?
NICK ZEISLOFT: It's been a long journey, long process and just sticking with the process every day has got me to this point and it's got all of my teammates to this point as well. We've been training for this all of our lives and as long as we put in every day in the best we can, we're prepared for the next day. Just as long as we stick with each other and the coaches that is really what I've been doing my whole career and that's what we've been doing here as a team here at IU, so that's been the key to success.

Q. After the rough start at Maui and Blackman's injury to then winning the conference in the regular season. Can you all speak to a moment in which you came together as a team, saw the team rally together and recognize what needed to happen for success?
TROY WILLIAMS: I mean as a team we've always been together. I think those moments that happened in Maui and things brought us closer. Since the summer we first came together we always rallied with each other and those moments just made us closer and made us more together and put us more into the same mentality. It opened our eyes, really, with the success we have been having so far since those moments it brought us even closer.

NICK ZEISLOFT: Like Troy said it wasn't one specific moment it was a bunch of moments together as a team that really got us as close as we are now. You know, there's tough times that brought us all closer together and that's what happened.

YOGI FERRELL: In my opinion, when I saw we came together it was kind of like what Troy said, in Maui after we lost to UNLV we watched film just as a team and since then I feel like we're basically a player-driven program. We hold guys accountability. We're out on the court critiquing each other, complementing each other, and that's when we're at our best when we are listening to our teammates and listening to what they have to say because it helps our teammates and it helps the game as well.

Q. Yogi, you've been in the tournament two other times. What have you imparted to your teammates and what have you learned from those two other tournament experiences that either you apply successfully from before or you avoid from other tournaments that weren't as successful?
YOGI FERRELL: Yeah, well, you know playing out there, you know, I just told these guys just to play free. You can't play with any jitter bugs, you've got to go out there and play the game just like it's any other game. Our coaches say the game is imperfect, so people are going to turn the ball over and you gotta get on to the next play.

In order to have success everything has got to be clicking, offense, defense, rebounding, knock down free throws, and when everything is clicking on all cylinders, you can go deep into the tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else? Okay, gentlemen, good luck tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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