Crean talks IU’s four seniors in advance of senior night

  • 03/04/2014 11:14 am in

On his weekly radio show Monday night, Indiana coach Tom Crean talked about his four seniors on this year’s roster heading into Wednesday’s senior night against Nebraska.

Below are Crean’s entire comments on Evan Gordon, Jeff Howard, Taylor Wayer and Will Sheehey:

Evan Gordon

“Evan Gordon is a guy that wanted to be back at Indiana, has a great future in front of him. And I just wish we would have been able to coach him longer because he would be even more indoctrinated into what we’re trying to do. But he’s getting better, he’s working at it and he’s spending time improving. And with his intensity level this high, we’re a better basketball team.”

Jeff Howard

“Jeff Howard has earned his way into being a guy that we can count on and has done a great job in practice, as has Taylor (Wayer). But Jeff has gone in and been instrumental in games. And to see where Jeff has come from from his freshman year to the point where he’s at now has been tremendous. And we feel very, very confident. I mean, Jeff is a play on-demand guy. He is the pitcher that can come in and he can start the game and give you six innings. He can come in in middle relief and get you two or three innings. And he can come out and get the last batter out. And that’s what he’s done a little bit with closing games. We really trust him.”

Taylor Wayer

“Taylor Wayer has shown leadership. He’s shown his teammates what it means to go through adversity and challenges and to continue to be the same person and continue to get better. He was coached by Travis Daugherty, who coached Derek Elston, so he came highly recommended. And he’s continued to work, and he’s like all the other walk-ons. They don’t get the accolades and they don’t get the playing time that maybe some of the guys on scholarship get and some of the better players get, but they get all the (inaudible). And they get all the coaching. And I think he’s responded really well to that. ”

Will Sheehey

“When it’s all said and done, long after this is done and years pass and decades pass, everyone will remember Will Sheehey for being a huge part of the comeback of this program. Not just the comeback of the team, but the comeback of a program. The program always stayed strong because the foundation was so strong — because of the tradition, because of the fans, because of the former players, because the winning was there. But the culture had dropped, I think everyone knows that. And it didn’t come back easily. And it was guys like Will that changed that culture with their work ethic, with their energy, with their edge. And he continues to do that to this day.”

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