Indiana Pacers Summer League Postgame Media Availability (vs. Minnesota) | July 14, 2024

Indiana Pacers Summer League Postgame Media Availability (vs. Minnesota) | July 14, 2024

yeah I felt uh more confident definitely I think you know just kind of feeling out the pace of the game a little bit more um getting adjusted to the more kind of like physical physicality of the game but yeah I did feel more comfortable comfortable today what is the challenge like in learning this offense which is so much read react and and free flowing out there yeah I think I mean it’s a great way to play when you know we haven’t had much time together I think um you know we’ve shown a lot of some glimpses of things like when it works how we play um but yeah it’s it’s tough to do when we’ve only had you know a handful of practice practices together so um yeah I’m I’m happy with having how the guys have kind of approached approach this all Mar it looked like you were attacking the rim a little more today was that a focus for you did you want to do more than just get up some threes in this one uh yeah I’m always looking to just stay aggressive that’s kind of my mindset heading into these games just trying to be as aggressive as as possible and just trying to trying to rebound and defend what what feels most comfortable for you out there and maybe what’s been the most challenging think so far this week um I feel yeah I think the like the defense just kind of the pace of it uh it’s a little bit of an adjustment um you know some some bigger guys older guys which I’m I’m used to but definitely the the pace of the game has just been an adjustment um yeah I think you know as you know I’m learning as these games go by I think I you know I’ll adjust better and better what’s been the most comfortable um yeah I been I’ve been feeling relatively comfortable out there I don’t know if it’s one specific thing but yeah would have been your impressions of this organization as a whole in the first 10 days or whatever it’s been yeah it’s it’s been awesome um I’m I’m loving every bit of it uh everyone’s been super super welcoming uh super friendly so yeah I’m just you know I’m still really new so I’m still meeting meeting everyone but yeah it’s a really really good first impression so far have you had a chance to talk Kansas basketball with Kevin um briefly yeah briefly yeah what do you want to get out of whatever’s left uh in summer league for you what more do you want to see from yourself uh really I just want to I just want to win that’s really all I care about um you know I hate I hate losing um but yeah individually just kind of stay aggressive um and then yeah really kind of focus on defense what’s it been like you having TRS here as well yeah it’s it’s awesome uh having another a fellow Australian on the on the roster so it’s been good to kind of have have a familiar around yeah what have you learned playing with Shephard with with that unit and and how you guys can feed off each other running up and down the floor yeah I’m still learning um but yeah those guys have kind of been role models for me like in terms of the way they approach the game and uh just yeah like really just kind of showing showing me like how how the Indiana play um with their experience the past experience so um definitely a lot to learn but they’ve been great so far your relationship with Enrique and trist already grown just just two weeks you guys have been teammates yeah we’ve uh you know it’s grown a lot um I think yeah we’re going to form a really good relationship um but yeah they they’re great guys you did a lot of other sports growing up what ultimately pushed you towards basketball as a teenager uh I think it came down to just loving practice more um you know trying to juggle uh a lot of different like trainings throughout the week but just you know I just decided that boss was the one that I did like I really enjoyed the practice aspect of it but to that end you feel like doing the other sports maybe helped you with other abilities or being more well-rounded once you did choose basketball definitely yeah uh yeah just kind of having that perspective of like kind of why I like it and why I want to kind of pursue it um as well as the kind of uh the skill set definitely helps me then what have you made out of your two game experience th so far in year two uh personally I think I could do some things better but um having fun out there messing with the new guys um bringing energy on the both sides of the ball but uh just taking a game at a time uh not relishing on mistakes or anything like that but just uh being aggressive and just playing within like who I think I am so in what way do you want to springboard what your opportunity was in the postseason to potentially hopefully being in the rotation this coming year I just say aggressiveness um taking care of open shots and stuff like that and uh I think people know that I like to shoot the three-point ball so uh being able to make the right play off the dribble something I’ve been working on this offseason but uh yeah stuff like that so do that off the dribble work what what goes into your process the thing about when to attack and when not to as you kind of add that into your game in the summer league process uh just quick reads someone’s flying at me I should be able to make the right play and um been doing that for a long time but last year I didn’t get to do it as much so uh just showing that side of my game and uh taking it day by day what you think of what Johnny Fury did today it seemed like he took a step up from the first game you guys played yeah he was great um stepped in every shot with confidence um just LED our team offensively today and um he was a bright spot um I thought we could have done some things better as a team but uh Johnny was definitely a bright spot and we’re all happy for him so what was what was the experience like with with the guys at denner and Team USA and all that soaking in that game together it was really cool um I don’t think many teams have that type of camaraderie that we have in Indiana and um it’s just a huge blessing that everyone’s on the same page and uh just there to support our teammates Tyrese and Andrew but uh it’s a great time and just happy for both of their success hey Ben last year you spent a good amount of time with the Mad Ants and last year 19 of the 30 first round picks end up playing in the G League what do you think of that Trend um I think it’s good for players development um especially if they’re not playing on the big team um there’s a lot of good that comes from the G league and um yeah just taking taking your opportunities as they come and uh yeah I think it’s a great thing so how do you plan to spend the rest of your summer once summer league is over with you in India a lot or you going back home yeah I’ll be in India a lot um I’m going to go back home to Nashville for a little bit but um that’s working out in Indie back and forth so as bubbly and Smiley with you guys as he is around us definely the way he plays definitely I’d probably say a little bit more but uh the energy that he brings I guess y’all have all seen it in these two games but uh it’s unbelievable his motor is great so um it’s a bright future and he’s a great kid so everyone loves having him around how many four-point plays did you have in college can you even remember that many how many this is my first one what have you thought of today how you played compared to the first game can you sense progress even from game to game out here yeah I think I think my goal every day every day I’ve been here in training camp is you know I’m not going to play perfect but trying to get better at the little things every day that’s a success to me how have you compartmentalized your story and how you got here and going you know from like walk on to figuring out basketball to now ex excelling yeah I mean it’s honestly crazy sometimes I can’t believe it so um but you know just kind of taking it one day at a time you know like I like him like he just ask me you know every game is different um you know could have wish we came up with the win today but I think I think overall we just going to clean up a lot of things how much did having one game and and then another practice here maybe put you at ease going into it just a second game yeah I think by the first game you kind of get the Jitters out so by the second game I think I was I was ready to play immediately can you take me back to whatever freshman you’re in college probably dominating and someone seeing you what what happened there to get you on the team uh well truthfully you know my teammates started believing me me first and they kind of told Coach like hey this kid can play he’s not just a walk- on so that’s how it started and then from there you know I strived strived and practice and worked hard and got better at you know every aspect of my game and Aon um and then that’s how you know created some time on the floor for myself and then from there just got better on the floor and you know on and on and on it got me here at what point maybe did you have that confidence that not only you could play there but maybe there’s a future Beyond thatan um really you know uh 2023 when uh had a few workouts after the season you know they they were uh few teams were able to give me some feedback and like what I need to do to get to this point and I you know I taged that and took that feedback took it in got into the gym did a lot of hard work in there Enrique is it true that uh the akan coaches first found you at a Chick-fil-A no that’s false oh really okay F no they uh they host an annual walk- on every a walk- on Tri every year and I showed up to their walk- on tryy out do you remember coach Baker yes coach Baker said that he first saw you at a Chick-fil-A and you were sitting down and he was like oh this kid should try out yeah he he probably was there you know I was everywhere on campus so yeah okay what led you to the triy out in the first place was it you wanted to try it was it those guys saying hey man you’re good enough come on it was definitely like guys like bake everyone around campus like kind of uh influencing me and and really it was my mom my mom was really the number one to uh to make me try out she would call me every day like yo you know you got to get in the gym even though I’m not on the team so uh and also my friends my friends uh that I met at akan ASA she and my my the everyone I met there they helped me and gave me the confidence to keep trying what do you think correctly that you threw up during that try out at some point nobody coach doesn’t know about that though didn’t rally your confidence at all yeah no no I threw up and then ran back the next next play so many the scouts talk about your character and you’re just a High character Guy what’s behind that what’s driving you in that way um you know you go always goes back my mom the way she raised me to just uh treat everything treat everybody how you want to be treated um and just you know I just try to give my 100% to everything it’s in the training room um Chef staff anybody you know I love meeting people and learning things so just it’s just in my nature where did that belief from your mom and in terms of your game do you think come from just that you know growing up playing basketball with my brother playing in the backyard playing on trampoline you know just just outside hooping today you’re really efficient from the field all over the place what was your mindset going into today’s game when it came to that um you know just trying to trying to help my guards you know when they get down here to get shots and uh spaces the floor well you know we the Pacers love to run play fast so um I’m a really good runner so trying to get fill the spots and get good spacing to get good shots and Enrique like a month ago you were at the g-league elite Camp then you got invited to the NBA Combine how much do you think Elite Camp helped you get to the where you’re at today oh it was super helpful you know um I’ve learned a lot in the um unfinished business uh part hard and and everything and how to how to approach the game I think that’s what I learned biggest in the elite Camp is how to learn a game how to approach a game and then it helped me in the combine and then the combine also did that so it helped me here in the training camp so each one of those um programs really help me to The Next Step have you and the rookies kind of gel going through this whole process together and figuring it out on the flight oh yeah Tristan and Johnny a great guy so you know we we’re all trying to help each other learn and um you know pick up the pace for each other and you know we’re counting on each other cuz we’re the guys you know they’re looking at like they want to get better so you know we’re just trying to be there for each other scoring from Johnny in terms of the points he’s finishing it through a few times with you see from his performance today and how he got better from game one to game two uh I thought the game slowed down for him um he was able to catch and shoot and get his shot off uh with a quicker release uh I mean he’s a kid that that knows how to play the game he’s adapted to our sty to play very quickly and um I think he’s going to continue to improve what inang has has he demonstrated to you maybe in practice or these first couple of weeks uh just the ability to uh uh process information retain that information then and then bring it on the floor um the way we play is uh is unconventional is um it’s unpredictable and uh he’s he’s able to grasp our Concepts and uh and play and play uh through those Concepts out on the floor to that point with the offense the reading react is that as much as getting reps and having a high IQ than anything absolutely uh and we’ve been trying to drill it uh every day in practice um some guys catch on sooner than others he he’s been a guy who’s who’s been able to um uh really grab those Concepts and and like I said apply those Concepts to the game what are you guys looking to say out of Johnny at s League say one more time what are you looking to see out of Johnny what does he need to do here to earn minutes in the season um the same thing we looking from from all of our players just hard play um uh compete on every possession and um together offens just working uh trying to find the best shot available when we see Enrique smiling you know laughing at stuff when he plays does he like that in practices with you guys and how do that translate to the floor to you yeah um energy and effort um he’s a joyful kid um love playing the game uh love helping his teammates love to talk um he’s a lot like Shepherd in in that aspect so um love having him on on our on our team and um we looking forward to to a great summer league from them you guys when you guys saw Johnny for in the draft and then he ends up with you guys off the trade what were you guys thinking when you landed a guy who was projected to go sort of mid first round um that’s kind of above my pay grade um I get I get paid to uh you know develop guys and and help coach guys um I do believe that our front offense did a great job of of finding Johnny when they did um I think he’s he’s he’s a great player with uh with a lot of potential and um I’m excited to see uh see him moving forward how do you want to see Chef spring board what he did last season into to the new year coming up um she is great for us uh we know what we’re going to get out of Chef it’s it’s hard play uh on both ends of the floor um um shot making uh and just competing on every possession um we’re just looking for him to uh realize that uh he’s here for a reason he belongs in this league and uh and he can help us win and um we just want him to grow in his confidence and uh I think he’s doing a good job of right now does that mean anything to you to be able to lead with a unit and play with the teams during these summer league practices as like a coach who’s actually doing it improving it every day uh you know I’m just a coach who’s uh still you know young enough to play the game uh I enjoy playing the game and um you know getting out there with my team um gives them a chance to uh you know correct me on on some of my mistakes and tell me to get back on defense so it you know it’s it’s it’s a fun it’s a fun uh way to be with your te

Johnny Furphy, Ben Sheppard, Enrique Freeman, and Summer League Head Coach Jannero Pargo spoke to the media following our second Summer League game on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

0:00 – Johnny Furphy
3:49 – Ben Sheppard
6:24 – Enrique Freeman
11:06 – Jannero Pargo