Don Fischer hosted his weekly Indiana basketball radio show this week with special guest Calbert Cheaney. The Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer was filling in for Woodson while he is in Indianapolis with his family while his daughter is expecting a child.
Topics on the show ranged from Cheaney’s high school, college and NBA basketball career, to his current role in player development and an assessment of the Hoosiers’ 2023-24 team a week after the start of the season.
• Cheaney, an Evansville native, said growing up, baseball was his best sport, but it was his father who introduced him to basketball.
• Cheaney repeated a story from his freshman year of high school when Ron Felling came to see him play. He said it was the worst game of his high school career. “I was maybe 7 out of 30… I’m lucky to have played here.”
• Cheaney on the biggest difference between college and the NBA NBA: “You have to have a routine. It’s not like everything is regimented (with classes and tutoring at university). Now you’re on your own… It’s all about managing your time wisely while you’re in the NBA, and if you can’t do that, you won’t have a long career.
• Cheaney said Mitch Richmond and of course Michael Jordan were the best players he had to guard in the NBA. The best team he was a part of was the 1995-96 Wizards and the 2002-03 Jazz.
• Cheaney on his current role in player development: “You think about trying to get these guys to understand how the game works, how basketball works and how life works in general. » He mentioned talking to the bench players and helping them understand their role and the fact that minutes are limited. Cheaney held the same role with the Indiana Pacers before returning to Bloomington and IU.
• On Indiana’s win over Army on Sunday: “There’s still a long way to go. There are a lot of new faces… Last night the army came in with the idea that “we’re going to go after you guys”… The guys underestimated them.
• Cheaney said he thinks the team responded after a tough week, but cited a potential disconnect between understanding the film in practice and in the film room and translating it to the game.
• Cheaney argued for the need to contest shots from beyond the arc. He said there is a noticeable drop in shooting percentage when shots are contested. He mentioned Indiana’s defensive mantra that every time someone catches the ball, they have to have their hands on it.
• Regarding Indiana’s 3-point shooting, Cheaney thinks Indiana has too dangerous shooters. “We have guys that can really shoot the ball, I think more than last year.”
• On five-star freshman Mackenzie Mgbako: “(He needs to) continue to understand how the game is played…The game in college is totally different than the game in high school. Pay attention to the details of what coach (Woodson) wants him to do, you’ll be fine.
• Cheaney said this year’s team is more talented than last year’s IU team. “We’re bigger, we’re sportier, we’re longer… Stay with us, we’re working on it.”
• Cheaney on freshman point guard Gabe Cupps: “We call him Iron Man…He’s got one of the best work ethic I’ve ever seen…He’s not the biggest kid, he’s not isn’t the fastest, but he makes up for it with enormous heart and determination. And it’s rare.
Deposited at: Calbert Cheaney, Mike Woodson
