Q. Fran, with regard to Jack Nunge, what did his year away as a redshirt do for him and his game, and what do you expect out of him this winter?
FRAN McCAFFERY: I think it did for his game exactly what we all hoped it would. Number one, he got after it in practice and went against Cook and Garza every day. He went to an accelerated weight training program, which clearly changed his body, and when you see him, you'll see what I mean. Physically, he is in a completely different place, especially as it relates to his ability to do things in the post. He was always a good post player, but he was on the thin side. He's not on the thin side anymore. He's finishing plays. Defensively, he's always had tremendous defensive instincts, so now you have a bigger body to combat talented players in this league.
I think it also helped his confidence level. He's making shots at a high percentage. He's running the floor. Physically, he's really in a good place, not only in terms of size and strength but also in terms of stamina. When you have a skilled big man like that and his strength and stamina are in a good place, you end up with somebody who's productive.
Q. Does Nunge match up better with Brian and Luka?
FRAN McCAFFERY: They're all up right around 250. Kriener is a little heavier, Luka is right around there, and so is [Jack Nunge]. It gives us three players that are big and strong physically but also each of them can stretch the floor and make threes.
Q. Now that you've had Joe Toussaint here, is he what you expected? Is he doing stuff on the court that has surprised you?
FRAN McCAFFERY: Joe has done really well. He came in with a tremendous attitude. He wants to get better. He pushes the ball. He's got great speed. He gets in the lane, creates opportunities for his teammates, great vision on the floor. But, he's also a guy who can score. He's not what you would call a pure shooter, but he can make threes. He can make pull-ups. He finishes really well getting to the rim. He's making good decisions. Not a big mistake guy.
I think in time, he'll be even better, in particular with his ability to impact the game defensively with his speed, but he defends ball screens really well. In our league, there
Q. How has Joe Wieskamp grown as a player this off-season and as a leader?
FRAN McCAFFERY: I think Joe does need to be more vocal. He wants to be more vocal. He's always led by example with his work ethic and his productivity, but he has to understand that he has a voice that in the locker room, at crunch time, people are going to listen. As you become a veteran, the communication that you exhibit on the floor is also something everyone is going to listen to because they know you know what you're talking about, and he's got to be that guy, as well. Last year he just kind of fit in as a freshman. Even though he's only a sophomore he's a veteran guy and he's a guy that we're all going to lean on.
I think he's really worked on becoming a little more versatile off the dribble. He could always do that, but he was kind of a rip-and-drive, drive pull-up, catch-and-shoot guy. He's always going to be terrific at those three things, but I think you're seeing him do more off the dribble, not only for himself but for other people.
Q. You have like four point guards if Jordan is healthy. Can Connor McCaffery and Jordan Bohannon both play the 2?
FRAN McCAFFERY: Well, certainly they both can. I think Jordan [Bohannon] in particular, we played him a lot there last year, we played Connor [McCaffery] a lot at the one and Jordan at the two, sometimes coming down the stretch and to get Jordan [Bohannon] going. Connor can also play the three. He's 215 pounds and really strong at this point. He's always been a good offensive rebounder. He can guard threes and fours, gives us versatility there to get more guards playing time. Bakari [Evelyn] has been playing both spots, shooting the ball well, but also, a very good point guard, good decision maker, very good in pick-and-rolls, as is Joe [Wieskamp].
We have versatility there. We have depth there. The critical thing as we found out two years ago, we need depth in the backcourt. We had none.
Q. CJ Fredrick, what does he bring to the table after a year off and do you see him fitting into the 2-3 rotation?
FRAN McCAFFERY: He's really more of a two, two/one. I don't know that we'll need him at the one this year with what we have, and it depends on Jordan's situation, but he can play the 1. CJ is shooting the ball extremely well. He's a big-time scorer. He's a bucket getter. He can create his own. He can get baskets within the offense.
The thing that really makes him difficult to guard is he's really good at getting rid of the ball. You look at him and say, well, surely he can play the 1 because look at the plays he's making off the dribble, and that's a weapon. He moves without it, curl cuts, fades, shot fake drive, shot fake rip-and-go, one-dribble kicks. He sees the floor extremely well and gets the ball out of his hands quickly when somebody is open.
Yesterday's practice, he was on fire, and he's been like that a number of times, but there's times when he won't shoot as much and just make plays for other people, and that's what I love about him.
Q. You haven't taken a graduate transfer during your career, but now a couple months in, how has that experience gone for you, and what has Bakari Evelyn brought to the team?
FRAN McCAFFERY: It's gone about as well as we would have hoped, and it's one of the main reasons why we wanted him. Bakari is really mature. He's somewhat well traveled in terms of the fact that he went to Nebraska right out of high school and then transferred to Valpo, so he's played in two different leagues already. He's had different roles already. He comes in, and while he's new and we have new faces, he's just a veteran guy in terms of how he prepares, how he thinks, how he performs on the floor.
I've been really impressed with him. A lot of times you bring a guy in and you think he can play both spots and you find out he really can't, but he can. And that's not only from an offensive standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, as well.
Q. What do you see in terms of your team chemistry? You lost four of your top six guys, a lot of new faces.
FRAN McCAFFERY: It's a much different team than I think we had thought it might be. I kind of thought we'd lose Cook, knew we were going to lose Baer, expected to have Jordan. Felt like we had enough depth with Isaiah's departure. But you have essentially three new players and three players sitting out, so six new bodies. Three of them have been here, they know the offense, they know each other, so it's not that bad. Patrick has been around, he knows these guys.
The toughest adjustment has been for Joe Toussaint, but again, he picked an institution where the style fits his game perfectly. It's a group that I think off the floor gets along well and doesn't seem to have many issues there. It's always been a team that shares the ball, and our offense is predicated on that. Moving the ball, moving the ball side-to-side, getting it out of your hands, catch, turn and face, look at the post. A lot of times, I think offenses have become very perimeter-oriented in terms of shooting a ton of threes.
We have players who can score in the low post. We're going to go in there and throw it in there and go in and out a lot, but then also utilize those guys as perimeter shooters, as well, to set up opportunities for our other players to drive the ball. Joe Toussaint, Bakari Evelyn, Connor McCaffery, Joe Wieskamp, Patrick McCaffery, they can get the ball in the lane and make plays off the dribble, as can CJ Fredrick. He's very good at it.
Q. We know what's not coming back and possibly what we think is not coming back, but where do you think you should be better this year just in what you do?
FRAN McCAFFERY: What you'll see is a team that plays like a veteran team, that's not a turnover team, that's not a mistake team. We're going to push the ball. We're going to get good shot opportunities. IWe're going to defend.
A lot of times a team's inability to defend is not so much that they're not good at it, it's they're showing some fatigue and they're resting on defense as opposed to saving themselves on offense. You have a team that will defend because we'll have enough fresh bodies to put out there to play the way we want to play consistently on offense, and it's a team that will rebound. That's another way that I look at this team and say, this should be a really good rebounding team, which limits the other team's opportunities and keeps them at a lower percentage and gives us more fast break opportunities.
FRAN McCAFFERY: I think it did for his game exactly what we all hoped it would. Number one, he got after it in practice and went against Cook and Garza every day. He went to an accelerated weight training program, which clearly changed his body, and when you see him, you'll see what I mean. Physically, he is in a completely different place, especially as it relates to his ability to do things in the post. He was always a good post player, but he was on the thin side. He's not on the thin side anymore. He's finishing plays. Defensively, he's always had tremendous defensive instincts, so now you have a bigger body to combat talented players in this league.
I think it also helped his confidence level. He's making shots at a high percentage. He's running the floor. Physically, he's really in a good place, not only in terms of size and strength but also in terms of stamina. When you have a skilled big man like that and his strength and stamina are in a good place, you end up with somebody who's productive.
Q. Does Nunge match up better with Brian and Luka?
FRAN McCAFFERY: They're all up right around 250. Kriener is a little heavier, Luka is right around there, and so is [Jack Nunge]. It gives us three players that are big and strong physically but also each of them can stretch the floor and make threes.
Q. Now that you've had Joe Toussaint here, is he what you expected? Is he doing stuff on the court that has surprised you?
FRAN McCAFFERY: Joe has done really well. He came in with a tremendous attitude. He wants to get better. He pushes the ball. He's got great speed. He gets in the lane, creates opportunities for his teammates, great vision on the floor. But, he's also a guy who can score. He's not what you would call a pure shooter, but he can make threes. He can make pull-ups. He finishes really well getting to the rim. He's making good decisions. Not a big mistake guy.
I think in time, he'll be even better, in particular with his ability to impact the game defensively with his speed, but he defends ball screens really well. In our league, there
Q. How has Joe Wieskamp grown as a player this off-season and as a leader?
FRAN McCAFFERY: I think Joe does need to be more vocal. He wants to be more vocal. He's always led by example with his work ethic and his productivity, but he has to understand that he has a voice that in the locker room, at crunch time, people are going to listen. As you become a veteran, the communication that you exhibit on the floor is also something everyone is going to listen to because they know you know what you're talking about, and he's got to be that guy, as well. Last year he just kind of fit in as a freshman. Even though he's only a sophomore he's a veteran guy and he's a guy that we're all going to lean on.
I think he's really worked on becoming a little more versatile off the dribble. He could always do that, but he was kind of a rip-and-drive, drive pull-up, catch-and-shoot guy. He's always going to be terrific at those three things, but I think you're seeing him do more off the dribble, not only for himself but for other people.
Q. You have like four point guards if Jordan is healthy. Can Connor McCaffery and Jordan Bohannon both play the 2?
FRAN McCAFFERY: Well, certainly they both can. I think Jordan [Bohannon] in particular, we played him a lot there last year, we played Connor [McCaffery] a lot at the one and Jordan at the two, sometimes coming down the stretch and to get Jordan [Bohannon] going. Connor can also play the three. He's 215 pounds and really strong at this point. He's always been a good offensive rebounder. He can guard threes and fours, gives us versatility there to get more guards playing time. Bakari [Evelyn] has been playing both spots, shooting the ball well, but also, a very good point guard, good decision maker, very good in pick-and-rolls, as is Joe [Wieskamp].
We have versatility there. We have depth there. The critical thing as we found out two years ago, we need depth in the backcourt. We had none.
Q. CJ Fredrick, what does he bring to the table after a year off and do you see him fitting into the 2-3 rotation?
FRAN McCAFFERY: He's really more of a two, two/one. I don't know that we'll need him at the one this year with what we have, and it depends on Jordan's situation, but he can play the 1. CJ is shooting the ball extremely well. He's a big-time scorer. He's a bucket getter. He can create his own. He can get baskets within the offense.
The thing that really makes him difficult to guard is he's really good at getting rid of the ball. You look at him and say, well, surely he can play the 1 because look at the plays he's making off the dribble, and that's a weapon. He moves without it, curl cuts, fades, shot fake drive, shot fake rip-and-go, one-dribble kicks. He sees the floor extremely well and gets the ball out of his hands quickly when somebody is open.
Yesterday's practice, he was on fire, and he's been like that a number of times, but there's times when he won't shoot as much and just make plays for other people, and that's what I love about him.
Q. You haven't taken a graduate transfer during your career, but now a couple months in, how has that experience gone for you, and what has Bakari Evelyn brought to the team?
FRAN McCAFFERY: It's gone about as well as we would have hoped, and it's one of the main reasons why we wanted him. Bakari is really mature. He's somewhat well traveled in terms of the fact that he went to Nebraska right out of high school and then transferred to Valpo, so he's played in two different leagues already. He's had different roles already. He comes in, and while he's new and we have new faces, he's just a veteran guy in terms of how he prepares, how he thinks, how he performs on the floor.
I've been really impressed with him. A lot of times you bring a guy in and you think he can play both spots and you find out he really can't, but he can. And that's not only from an offensive standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, as well.
Q. What do you see in terms of your team chemistry? You lost four of your top six guys, a lot of new faces.
FRAN McCAFFERY: It's a much different team than I think we had thought it might be. I kind of thought we'd lose Cook, knew we were going to lose Baer, expected to have Jordan. Felt like we had enough depth with Isaiah's departure. But you have essentially three new players and three players sitting out, so six new bodies. Three of them have been here, they know the offense, they know each other, so it's not that bad. Patrick has been around, he knows these guys.
The toughest adjustment has been for Joe Toussaint, but again, he picked an institution where the style fits his game perfectly. It's a group that I think off the floor gets along well and doesn't seem to have many issues there. It's always been a team that shares the ball, and our offense is predicated on that. Moving the ball, moving the ball side-to-side, getting it out of your hands, catch, turn and face, look at the post. A lot of times, I think offenses have become very perimeter-oriented in terms of shooting a ton of threes.
We have players who can score in the low post. We're going to go in there and throw it in there and go in and out a lot, but then also utilize those guys as perimeter shooters, as well, to set up opportunities for our other players to drive the ball. Joe Toussaint, Bakari Evelyn, Connor McCaffery, Joe Wieskamp, Patrick McCaffery, they can get the ball in the lane and make plays off the dribble, as can CJ Fredrick. He's very good at it.
Q. We know what's not coming back and possibly what we think is not coming back, but where do you think you should be better this year just in what you do?
FRAN McCAFFERY: What you'll see is a team that plays like a veteran team, that's not a turnover team, that's not a mistake team. We're going to push the ball. We're going to get good shot opportunities. IWe're going to defend.
A lot of times a team's inability to defend is not so much that they're not good at it, it's they're showing some fatigue and they're resting on defense as opposed to saving themselves on offense. You have a team that will defend because we'll have enough fresh bodies to put out there to play the way we want to play consistently on offense, and it's a team that will rebound. That's another way that I look at this team and say, this should be a really good rebounding team, which limits the other team's opportunities and keeps them at a lower percentage and gives us more fast break opportunities.