Unfortunately, my brand-new Flip cam froze up just before coach Beilein started talking, so no video today. Below are notes and quotes and you can find audio of the interview here.
- “Between E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson they have two just really good All-Big ten players.” They will be tough to stop and Michigan must find ways to score.
- Johnson is different from many of the big men Michigan has faced because he’s a very good outside scorer. E’Tuan Morroe on the court at the same time makes it difficult as well. Will be able to draw on some of their non-conference experience down low, though.
- Purdue is “very strong in all their support roles.” They have some youth but they also have guys they won with last year. Big difference without Hummel there. Purdue being 11-1 without him is ” a sign of good team chemistry and good coaching.”
- “It’s a sigh of relief sometimes,” getting through the easier games in the non-conference schedule. “Coaches don’t expect to win those — they know that if they play well they have a good chance.” Now with the Big Ten season here, “we know the competition is incredible every night and hopefully we’re up for it.”
- Jordan Dumars has been cleared to play, but most likely won’t see any time against Purdue.
- Travel wasn’t an issue for the players.
- The 2:00pm game time on a weekday was a little weird but Beilein thinks the team will get a good crowd.
- Hard to say whether or not the non-conference schedule prepared Michigan for the Big Ten. The only way to really do that is to a play great teams night in and night out. “It’s so rare going into a game where you don’t play well and you win.”
- “It will take a while” for the freshmen to get acclimated to Big Ten play.
- Purdue has a bunch of guys who are producing now in their third or fourth year the way Matt Painter wants them to but expected them to do earlier.
