• last year
Iowa big man
Transcript
00:00 All right, questions for Ben.
00:03 Ben, your first game, you guys score the most
00:05 in an opener in the McCaffrey era.
00:06 What does that feel like?
00:07 How'd you guys execute tonight?
00:09 Yeah, I mean, I think Peyton just hit on it,
00:11 like our depth, we have so many scoring threats
00:14 and we just run the floor super well,
00:17 get a lot of possessions in a game.
00:19 That leads to more scoring and guys that can hit shots
00:22 like Peyton does and a number of other guys do.
00:25 Like we're a very deep team that has a lot of threats
00:28 and yeah, I think that positions us well.
00:32 Ben, you guys had 21 points off turnovers in the first half,
00:35 but it just seems like when you guys get going
00:37 in transition, the half court game
00:38 even just comes easier for you guys.
00:40 I guess, how would you kind of just sum that up?
00:42 I mean, we work on that every day.
00:44 Just, you know, we start our practice
00:46 with a little transition segment.
00:47 We work on sprinting the floor every single day,
00:49 getting to positions, posting up early.
00:52 And I think a lot of teams struggle with that.
00:54 You know, they get tired and we just don't.
00:57 So it's great to our coaches.
00:58 I mean, that's just huge emphasis and we've played that well.
01:02 - Did it feel good to get a three?
01:04 - Yeah.
01:05 - You talked in the other night about it.
01:06 - Yeah, it did.
01:06 It did.
01:07 I think that was probably the first time
01:08 I received a flare in my life and I knocked it down.
01:11 So it felt good.
01:12 - You talk about the depth, you know,
01:16 having two units of five guys
01:17 that you can trust to run the court.
01:19 How does that push you guys and help you guys get better
01:21 as the season goes on?
01:23 - I mean, practices have been super competitive.
01:25 I mean, everybody's fighting for, you know, a spot,
01:27 fighting for minutes and, you know,
01:29 everybody's been holding their own in practice,
01:31 hitting shots and that just makes for a better team.
01:34 If everybody's bringing the effort every day
01:36 and being competitive,
01:37 it just makes the whole situation better.
01:40 - Do you have to play for a team that hung 110 on anybody?
01:43 - Besides high school, probably not.
01:46 Definitely not in college.
01:48 Trying to think back to Valpo.
01:50 We might've had 100 on a D3 or D2 or something, but.
01:56 - What's it like going up against Owen in practice?
01:58 - I mean, he's a great player.
01:59 He's, for a freshman, super strong, super crafty.
02:02 He's got a good left hand.
02:04 He's been very impressive and expanding his range
02:08 and just working on shooting
02:09 and obviously a great defender too.
02:11 Shot blocker, good positioning, long, athletic.
02:14 So he'll be special.
02:16 - You guys got started quite a bit hotter tonight
02:19 as opposed to the other night against Quincy.
02:21 Specifically on offense,
02:23 obviously Peyton goes for 13 in those first five minutes.
02:25 What was different tonight?
02:27 - Yeah, I mean, we talked about it as a team,
02:28 just after that Quincy game of, you know,
02:31 we don't want to get off to a slow start like that again.
02:33 It's just, it's not who we are.
02:34 It makes it tough to claw back into a game
02:37 and really just kind of throws off our rhythm.
02:39 So we were super intentional about that all week
02:41 of just, you know, coming in and punching first.
02:43 And I thought we did that.
02:44 Peyton led the way.
02:45 And the rest of the guys kind of brought defensive energy.
02:50 - Ben, you've played a lot of college basketball.
02:53 You know, it seems like the freshmen
02:54 are going to play a pretty significant role with this team.
02:57 I guess, you know,
02:58 I know you're a new guy coming into the program,
03:00 but I guess, how do you kind of keep them level-headed
03:02 and how do you kind of guide them
03:05 as their journey kind of begins and keep them grounded,
03:07 whether they have a good game or bad game?
03:09 - I mean, like you said, I have a lot of experience.
03:11 I've played with a lot of teammates.
03:12 So it's just about encouraging guys and, you know,
03:16 making sure the efforts there in practice
03:19 and, you know, no reason to hang your head
03:21 if you have an off night or whatever.
03:23 You just come back the next day, practice hard,
03:24 and let's be better the next game.
03:26 So I think just encouraging guys.
03:28 - I always had some really good big men
03:30 in the last few years,
03:31 whether it be Chris Murray, Phillip Rocha, Luka.
03:34 When they were recruiting you, did they mention that?
03:37 Did they show you any film of them?
03:38 Kind of what was the vision?
03:39 - Yeah, they showed me a lot of clips
03:41 of kind of all three of those guys.
03:42 And I really appreciated, you know,
03:45 what they've done with their bags.
03:47 And, you know, I thought it was a good place for me
03:49 and Coach McCaffrey's put me in great positions thus far.
03:52 And, you know, I couldn't be happier.
03:54 - All right. Thanks, man.
03:56 - Thanks, man.