Jok, McCaffery discuss return

Q: What led to you to this decision today and what did you learn during this process?

JOK: In the beginning it was all about going thru the process. I was coming back regardless. After the workouts I told my mom and my family. It meant a lot to me to go thru the process. I worked out for the Pelicans and I got some feedback from other teams. I now know what I have to do to get to the next level and now I am coming back to prepare for it. I am getting ready for a big summer for myself and the team to prepare for next year.

Q: Was there any one big thing you got out of this experience or learned from it?

JOK: I would say the workout was really good for me. They said I did pretty well. They told me to keep working on my defense and playing with the ball in my hands.

Q: What happened with your thumb and is that the main reason you did not get to workout with other teams?

JOK: Yeah, at the beginning of the workout, I was guarding Bentel, the kid from Providence, and my thumb got stuck and I heard it pop and I saw the trainer and he said I sprained my thumb. He said I would be out for two or three weeks, so after that I really couldn’t workout for anyone else or it would have gotten worse.

Q: How important was it for you to hear other voices tell you what you needed to work on as a player?

JOK: It was really important because they were next level people telling me. Now I know what I need to work on and where I need to get better. Now it’s up to me to get better in those spots so I can get to the next level.

Q: When you talk about your ball handling what are the specifics that you picked up during this period and perhaps maybe play a little point guard moving forward?

JOK: In the workouts, I did really well with the ball in my hands and creating shots. I am going to try and play point guard all summer when we are playing and work on coming off screens and pick and roll. My main focus is to get better as a ball handler.

Q: Do you think you might play point next season?

JOK: Oh yeah. I don’t know that we need a specific point guard, but as long as we can all dribble and bring up the ball and get into our motion. We have Christian Williams and Bohannon is coming in and they will do well at the point, but if we have everyone on the floor that can dribble the ball, including the bigs that will be good. But, if coach wants me to play point guard next year, then I will play point guard. I will be working real hard this summer to improve my ball skills.

Q: What kind of excitement level do you have knowing that this will be your team and you will be the spotlight guy in every game?

JOK: I am just really excited to come back and play with the young guys. We have some talented young guys. They might not have a lot of experience, but they are really talented and athletic. I think this might be our most athletic team that we have had. Everyone can jump, shoot, and dribble. I am just excited to come back and lead these guys and work on my leadership.

Q: How important is this summer for you and for your teammates?

JOK: I think it’s going to be really intense. We are going to be super young next year, so we are going to be pushing the young guys to be successful and put them thru our workouts.

Q: There was some talk that Coach McCaffery and you were not getting along at the end of the year and that caused you to look at the NBA. Is there any truth to that? Was it made up and blown out of proportion?

JOK: That’s false. I never had any issues with Coach McCaffery. Any issue he had with me was on the court and he would yell at me. I want him to yell at me to get me to be a better player. Off the court, he has been a great coach and a great mentor. Whenever I have questions, I would just go and talk to him. When this came out that I could explore the NBA, I went in and talked to him about it and he was very supportive. He has had my back since the day I stepped on campus and recruited me. All of those statements that were said about it were false and I don’t know where they heard that. Coach and I have been cool since I stepped on campus.

Q: Coach McCaffery said he thinks you can lead the Big Ten in scoring next year. Is that something that will be a goal?

JOK: Of course that is something I would like to do, but my goal is to win as many games as we can and be a great leader on this team. I want to lead us to contend for a Big Ten championship, get back to the NCAA Tournament, and win the title. That is my personal goal.

Q: What have you taken away from some of the guys before you that make you a good leader next season?

JOK: Just leading by example. You have to talk different guys differently. You can’t approach all the guys the same way because not all of them are the same person. I learned that from Clemmons. He was a great leader this past year because he talked to different guys in different ways. He could yell at me and I would understand, but maybe not someone else because they would take it personally. Uthoff would lead by example. Woody would lead by talking and everyone looked up to him. Aaron White was the same way. He was a great leader and everyone listened to him. I have been in a great spot to learn from those guys as a leaders and now it’s my time to be a leader and I am prepared for it.

Q: Where do you think you will fit in within the Big Ten? You were second team last year and on paper probably a first team guy returning. Do you feel like you will be among the best next season?

JOK: Last year my personal goal was to be first team All Big Ten. Whatever happens, happens. This year I am in the same boat and that is my main goal individually.

Q: As Peter decided to return, what sort of conversation did you have with him in the last few days?

McCAFFERY: We have been talking throughout the process. I have spoken to Peter a number of times. Mike Nixon a number of times. I think it has been a very through and great experience for Peter to go thru this. My responsibility, as I have said from the beginning, is if I have information from a team or league office is to share that with him. Teams expressed an interest and you make sure you relay that him and assist with the workouts. Then you get to the point where the 25th is the deadline and you have to look at that and decide, ok, what are we going to do. From the beginning, he wanted to see what it was like. He wanted to go thru a workout and he wanted to have conversations with the NBA. All that stuff was incredibly favorable, but they you don’t know where you stand. Will I be drafted or not be drafted? There is no guarantee and Pete has made a decision based on very good feelings about himself. I think he looks at it and says, you know what, I am going to come back next year and have the type of year to put myself in a positon to be a first round draft pick. I am going to be one of the premier players in the country. I am going to use him in a way that will showcase him. We have done that already, but I am going to do that even more. I am going to give him the ball more on top and on the wing and run plays for him that aren’t baseline runners or down screens or screen the screener exclusively. There will be ball screen action and opportunities for him to score with space and go one on one. Everyone will see all the hard work that he has been putting in is going to expand his game. I think his confidence level is at an incredibly high point. I spoke with him today and he said he decided to pull his name out. He’s all in here and we are thrilled that he’s all in and we were happy to help him thru this process that was made available to him and he took full advantage of it. I am thrilled he had the chance to do this.

Q: Would you mind sharing what feedback Pete got that he needs to work on the most to get to that first round level?

McCAFFERY: I will say this, they want him to be a two way player. I think Pete is a really good defensive player. But, when you are being asked to do all that we ask him to do offensively, that can wear you out. I think what you will see next year is a guy that is in phenomenal shape. That’s stronger than he’s ever been in his life and will sustain the ability to be an impact player on both ends of the floor. In that league you are going to be guarding people that are really good at that position. He can do it. He can guard. He can guard off the dribble and fight thru screens and he’s a tough kid. He’s a smart player on the floor and I think they were really impressed with his ability to shoot the basketball and that he can make contested shots. He has the ability to shoot off the dribble and not just catch and shoot. His handle is substantially better than when he was a freshman and he keeps getting better. I think he is somebody that they are looking at really hard in next year’s draft.

Q: He is going to get even more of a focus for opposing teams next year. What does he need to do to counteract that?

McCAFFERY: I will be honest with you, he saw a lot of that last year down the stretch. They said, where are they going to go? They are going to go to Pete or Jarrod. Those are the two key scoring guys. Will he get anything more? I don’t know. They chased him around, face guarded him, mugged him, and switched on him to take away his ability to catch the ball. They did all that stuff and he still got 29 in the Big Ten Tournament. I think you are right in your assessment that he’s going to see very intense defense where they rotate fresh people and stay at home. I think he’s ready for it and he’s seen it. I think that’s where the conditioning factor comes in. I think the other thing is, I think we will be a better three point shooting team next year, so we will have other weapons there and we will be a bigger team and mix in more low post options to score the basketball.

Q: Sometimes players might not listen as much to their own coach, but they might listen more to when NBA guys tell them something. Are those some of the same messages that you have said to him that now he listens to more?

McCAFFERY: I never felt like at any point in time that Pete felt that way towards me or any member of my staff. He’s always tried to do everything we have asked him to do. He’s an intelligent person. If you present it to him in an intelligent way, he is going to buy in. I often think that when the pro people are analyzing you and give you information, whether it relates to defense, offense, conditioning, or size and strength, they are going to tell you. Whether it be, he has to get stronger. Or he has to work on his handle. Or he has to work on post moves. It’s information that is only going to benefit you because one team might look at him one way and another might look at him another way. What they are all in agreement on is he’s a premier shooter and they are hard to find in this game, especially when they are 6-6 and do it under heavy pressure and do it on the road. You saw him tighten up his handle and his turnovers are way down. He is not a mistake guy and he makes steals. He knows how to defend and is always in the right place. Now if he can get himself physically where he is so dominant on every possession and playing 36 minutes because that’s how I intend to use him. I’ll tell you what, no one has worked harder since the season ended than Peter Jok, on his body and on his game. I have been really proud of his leadership. He has been at every workout, every skill development workout. He was really positive with the young guys and they really went at each other. That is what you want because he recognizes that this is his team now. It was Matt Gatens team. It was Marble’s team. It was Aaron White’s team. It was Uthoff’s team and now it’s his team. He’s excited about that and ready for that challenge.

Q: Pete made reference to the idea that he wanted to play point guard this summer. Is there a chance he could line up as your point guard next season?

McCAFFERY: Absolutely. But, I think more along the lines of where he gets the ball to score. Give him the ball at the top of the key with ball screen action. Give him the ball at the top of the key with space and let him go. Yeah, he can get the ball and get us into our offense, but I want him to score the ball and attack the rim and get to the free throw line. I want him to be of the same aggressive mindset whether he’s bringing it down or on the wing.

Q: Having Peter back helps the team, but how does this help bridge the program to the younger guys by having a leader with experience?

McCAFFERY: You have a guy who has proven to be one of the best scorers in our league. Any time you have a guy like that coming back, it’s going to help you, like you said. It will particularly help a young team, like we have. I think we have put together a team that has the type of weapons and versatility around him. Like I said, three point shooting, low post threats, depth, size, much bigger team than last year. Even though we are a young team, are not a young skinny team. We have some bodies that are ready to compete and that can only help him. He is the guy who is going to take a lot of the shots. He’s going to have the ball a lot, but the thing about him is he’s a willing passer and will make the extra pass and throw the ball to the open man because Pete wants to win and that’s why I love him.

Q: You have been positive about this process and guys getting to see about their NBA options. Having gone thru it, how much have you learned and what is your opinion now of it?

McCAFFERY: I always go back to this, every player you recruit wants to play in the NBA. Those discussions are part of the recruiting process. It is incumbent upon me to help him reach his goal. The only way you do that is to provide him with as much information as possible. What this process does now is it gets information to Peter and his family. I have had multiple conversations with the league office. I have been thoroughly impressed with the league office. We couldn’t have asked for a more transparent situation. They give you information from a team and then when he would workout, they will follow up with information from the team. Some teams just want to interview him and get to know him. They know he can play. They have watched him and they want to talk to him and see what’s inside his head and that worked really well for Pete because he’s an intelligent person with character. This has all been a very positive experience. It gave Peter information and exposure to the NBA on a high level and he’s as hungry as he’s ever been to take that one last step and move into a situation where he’s a first round pick. As a staff, we are committed to making that happen. I think the rule was put in place for exactly what it did. Pete got what he needed. Make sure guys don’t make mistakes and don’t listen to the wrong people. We have had really good experiences with agents, but others have not been as good. Agents will sometimes tell you the wrong thing and there’s no coming back if you listen to the wrong thing. We are listening to the people in the NBA and not other people who think they know. We are listening to people that know. I just did everything I could to make sure he knew. We would do skill development workouts. We are all in. We are on the phone with the NBA and talking to various NBA teams. Whatever information we get, we pass it along to Peter and we get him on the phone with those folks. We would get teams on the phone and they would want to talk about Jarrod and other players in the Big Ten and they wanted to talk about Pete. At the end of the conversation they wanted to talk to Pete. Done, let’s set it up. There is just no negative there at all for either side. A lot of times people will say, well what if he left. You are in a lurch. You have a scholarship and no one to sign and you just lost your best player. That’s ok. What we did was provide the best possible information for a guy that we really care about so he could make the best decision for his future. We will take care of the other side later. I might sign a player later or I might carry it over to next year. I am not worried about that. I am worried about taking care of Peter because that’s my responsibility.