Q&A With Indiana Freshman Kaleb Banks
Indiana freshman Kaleb Banks spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday. Banks is a 6-foot-7 forward out of Fayette County High School in Fayetteville, Ga., where he won Georgia Class 4A Player of the Year. He's rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 83 player in the class of 2022, according to the Sports Illustrated 99 rankings.
Banks discussed his adjustment to college, building relationships with his teammates and the skillset he brings to Mike Woodson's Hoosiers. Here is the full conversation.
Q: How are you adapting to the college level and what have your battles with Malik Reneau and other front court players been like?
Banks: I think I'm coming along pretty well just getting adjusted to everything. Battling with those guys is definitely making me a better player, and I just continue to learn.
Q: As far as your ability to stretch the floor and your jump shot and being kind of a modern forward, is that something you've always had since you were a kid or is it something you developed more recently?
Banks: A little bit of both. I always could shoot a little bit, but I'm developing my shot more and more and becoming more consistent with my 3-point shot and it's helping me along. As you said, the new age forward, that's something that has to do with it, too, being able to shoot pretty good.
Q: When you committed, you said coach Woodson viewed you as a 3. Is that how he views you at this point still? Are you working more as a perimeter guy? Are you operating as a stretch 4?
Banks: He still views me as a 3. During the scrimmages I still play at the three spot, so pretty much still viewed as a three.
Q: The state of Georgia has produced a lot of top college and NBA talent in recent years, how do you think that high-level competition has prepared you for the college game?
Banks: It prepared me pretty well. Just playing guys like Jabari Smith, Scoot Henderson, playing tough guys like that and having tough matchups prepared me pretty well. I'm representing Georgia, myself, too and Indiana."
Q: What pieces of your game do you want to transfer into your freshman year at Indiana?
Banks: Definitely my shooting, being able to spread the floor, my versatility, being able to grab a rebound and take it coast to coast, making plays, getting my teammates open, getting my teammates involved, doing the things the coaches want me to do, giving coach what I can bring to the table.
Q: Now that you've been on campus for a month practicing against a high-level team, are there adjustments to your game that you had to make to really make it work at this level so far?
Banks: So far I had to adjust my defense. Just being more locked in on defense and understanding the defensive principles that coach wants me to learn and staying locked in on the defensive side.
Q: What were your expectations of the team with all of the returners and what were your expectations of where you would fit in? Fighting for a starting spot, how's it going?
Banks: I expected us to have a pretty good team. I knew it was going to be competitive during practices. Fighting for the starting spot, the three spot is really competitive. So far, everything has been as expected. I expected Trayce to be a beast, I expected Race to be a beast as well, so far I've expected everything.
Q: What's your relationship like with coach Marshall, and what have you been able to do off the court with him?
Banks: My relationship with coach Marshall has grown. We spend a lot of time in the weight room and we've spent a lot of time off the court. We've gone fishing, he took me to the fair one time, we do other stuff like that.
Q: What's your relationship with the other freshmen? Did you know them well coming in, and how has your friendship with them grown over the last month or so?
Banks: With the other freshmen, I spend the majority of my day with them. We always hang out together after practice, before practice, was always kick it in the locker room and playing games together and doing things like that. We've grown as a group, our four, it's good.
Q: Where have you had to get better, defensively? What's different in terms of the kind of guys you're defending and what exactly have you had to adjust to, defensively?
Banks: I had to learn basically the physicality and the speed of the game and really adjust from high school to Indiana.
Q: Your high school coaches have said they sense that you don't really know how good you are. You have a skillset, you have a lot of size and maybe just needed to get used to being the guy that everyone is building their scouting report around. How have you progressed with that and how have you learned to use all your weapons, offensively?
Banks: I'm still learning how good I am, and I think I still have a lot of potential to reach. My coach did have a good point that a lot of the scouting report and game plan was built around me, so I try to use that and just do the best I can with it. The more I work out with these guys, the more I play with these guys, I'm unlocking my full potential more and more everyday.
Q: What have been the big adjustments for you living away from home and that sort of stuff?
Banks: I went to a regular high school, so this is the longest time I've been away from home, but I think I'm adjusting pretty well. I wake up everyday, work out, be in the gym the majority of the day, go back home, go to sleep, come back the next day ready to workout.
Q: Do you have any favorite memories playing with or against Jabari Smith, who was the third pick in this year's NBA draft?
Banks: Our schools were rivals so we used to go against his school and those were some good memories. I worked out with him a couple of times, so those were pretty good memories, too.
Q: How difficult is it being one of the new guys that doesn't know everything on offense and defense when everyone else does?
Banks: It's pretty difficult coming in and not knowing as much, but I can say my older teammates have helped me out giving me little pointers. Every time I make a mistake they'll just tell me beforehand what to do and how to do it, so they help me out big time with that, but it is pretty difficult coming in and not knowing what to expect.
Q: How much improvement have you seen, personally, working with coach Marshall?
Banks: So far I've seen pretty good improvement. So far I've gained 15 pounds. I went from 200 to 215 so far, and I feel like I'm getting stronger in the weight room, so I think I'm progressing well.
Q: One by one, can you tell me your impressions of the games of C.J. Gunn, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau?
Banks: Starting off with C.J., he's a good player. He's like a really good shooter, so I know I can count of him to knock shots down. Jalen is a good point guard, a good facilitator. He's also a good leader, he's already showing good leadership skills. Malik, he's just a beast overall. He's really good at attacking the basket and getting his teammates involved and stuff like that.
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