Big Ten Media Day: Verdell Jones, Will Sheehey and Jordan Hulls

  • 10/27/2011 4:37 pm in

Below, some selected quotes from Verdell Jones, Will Sheehey and Jordan Hulls from Big Ten Media Day.

Jones:

On Cody Zeller: “Having Cody’s going to help all of us because he’s going to be a presence that’s going to command a double-team every time. If you don’t double-team him he’s going to score, if you do double-team him, guys like Will, me and Jordy will get open shots so it’s going to help the whole team.”

And later, on Zeller: “The biggest thing is knowing that we have a 7-footer inside who’s a scoring presence. We had Tom [Pritchard] and Derek [Elston] last year who can score but didn’t look to score. And having a scoring presence like Cody in there going to really help our team — just feeding the post, cutting; he’s a good passer, too, so just reading him and playing from there.”

On defense: “I think it’s improved tremendously. Especially me, I feel like if your jumper’s not falling you can always play defense and that’s something that the coaches have harped on me about and something I’ve been keeping in mind every day in practice and every time we play.”

And later, on defense: “I think our defense has created a lot of offense for us right now. We’re really pressuring the ball, getting turnovers on each other. You’re not going to play good on offense every single day, but if your defense is still there, you’re always going to be in the game so I think that’s the biggest thing everyone’s keying on right now.”

On his chance to finish in the Top 15 scorers of all-time in Indiana history: “It’s pretty cool. But I think my biggest goal this year is to get to the tournament. That’s something I haven’t experienced, I haven’t got a chance to taste yet. That’s what I want to do.”

On who else has stepped up vocally besides Hulls: “I think Will has, Victor [Oladipo], Christian [Watford] is more of a laid back guy, but I think even he has stepped up a little bit more, too.”

On his weight and conditioning: “I’ve put on 15 pounds since the season’s [been] over … I feel good. Our team looks good, we’re really well conditioned, we’re getting up and down the court, we’re flying — so we’ll see how it goes.”

Sheehey:

On Zeller: “It affects me because he can make plays and by making plays it draws a lot of attention and it helps guys like myself get more open shots and also get to spots on the floor where we can excel.”

On if he has more confidence this season: “I think so. I kinda just got my feet wet last year and this year I got guys who I can really benefit off their game.”

On who he’s seen emerge vocally: “Jordan and Verdell have definitely stepped up … They make their presence felt and everyone listens to them when they talk. ”

On how he’s specifically improved his defense: “Just playing smarter. Last year, a lot of times I was over-aggressive, just trying to make the hero play instead of just playing solid defense. I remember plenty of times last year late in the shot clock I would foul and that’s just uncalled for. Really just playing smarter and under control.”

Hulls:

On how he feels physically and playing in the Summer Pro-Am in Indianapolis: “Physically, I feel a lot stronger. I can always [use the next years] to get bigger and stronger; I’m always going to be the smallest guy out there so it’s something I constantly have to work on. But playing in the Pro-Am this past summer was really good for me, just playing against bigger, stronger guards who have played at the next level and just working on my one-on-one defense and keeping the ball in front of me is something that I really wanted to work on.”

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