Bloomington Leader

IUBB Media Availability

Jordan Hulls

Q. On the message of being at IU…

HULLS: Yeah, coming in, you know, obviously being born in Bloomington, watching Indiana Basketball my whole life and playing here, my thing is trying to relate to these guys and get to know them, first of all, you know, what makes them tick, how I can help them in any way, shape or form and for me it's kind of just instilling, like, this place, when this gets going, it gets going. There's really no place you'd rather be playing basketball, and just trying to instill that. The hard work and things that it takes to play, and be a really good basketball team.

And I get that here, with my first few years, not so great, but I learned a lot from those two difficult years that led us to two Sweet 16s. So, taking from my experiences playing here but also my nine-year pro career, just trying to relate that best way I can to these kids.

Q. On on-court work, especially with Anthony Leal…

HULLS: Obviously shooting is an area that we like to keep working on and improving. Everybody every summer is going to try and do that. For me, like I said, it's to be a mentor and to try and relate to these guys and help them in any way I can and a guy like Anthony who I have known for a long, long time. Being a former Bloomington south product, for me it's really cool to see how hard he's working; and doing what I'm able to do as far as, you know, giving him the confidence to go out there and shoot the basketball when he's open and doing those things, not just the fan base but with everybody, to try to get their shot prep and those things in line when they ask me questions and stuff like that, like I said, from my personal experiences being the shooter that I was, hopefully those things that can carry over to the court.

Q. On the biggest changes in recruiting…

HULLS: It's a good question, when I was getting recruited, there's a lot of rules that have changed, a lot of different things that you can or cannot do, but for me, my recruiting process was fairly short once I got the offer from Indiana, I may be waited two more weeks and then I decided to commit. So that process for me, I have maybe a little bit different version than most.

But with that being said, I just have a lot of friends and guys that did go through the whole process, and being back here and being in this realm just for a short time, you can already see the things that need to be done as far as, you know, staying in contact with those that you can and just trying to research and learn everything about the prospect that you can or whoever, just so you can build that relationship.

For me, whether it's business or recruiting or whatever, relationships are everything, and that's how I'm treating that here as well. So, I know that's very important for me and I know that's important when I was going through the process as well, but you're going to be playing and devoting your life to the school academically but also on the court. So, you want to make sure that it's the right fit for you, and I'm doing the best that I can with that.

Q. On taking on this role after his own recruitment…

HULLS: Yeah, for sure, I'll probably have a special place in my heart for that, that kind of thing, because I was sending out tapes to anybody who would even take a look at it when I was getting heavily recruited. I played with a lot of good guys on my AAU team and got noticed in Pittsburgh and things took off from there.

Yeah, it's something that for me, it's realizing after being in the pros for nine years what high school basketball looks like in today's game because these guys seem a lot more athletic than those I remember playing against.

So, it's me adjusting to that but also applying those pro philosophies that I've learned and really try to pick out certain things or characteristics that guys have. That's the fun part for me is diving in and seeing the players that have the intangibles to help us succeed or whatever comes with that. That's a very exciting thing for me to try and just watch good basketball, watch good players and try to get those guys.

Q. On the opportunity to come back to IU…

HULLS: The opportunity came up and I was still playing at the time and I was asked if it was something I would be interested in pursuing and after talking it over with my wife and family and just trying to see, is this something I would be willing to give up playing for, because I fully planned on playing for another two or three years. I was still playing at a high level, in a good league, good competition, one of the highest in Europe.

For me, it was something if I was going to give it up, it would have to be for a situation to come back home, that's really the only way that I would ever do that, and after going through the process and do my research and talking to the coaches and other people to figure out if this was really something I want to get into, for me it was something I just couldn't pass up. It's an opportunity to learn from some really, really good coaches, guys who have been at the NBA level, college level for a long time.

I'm just trying to be the best at my position that I can be, help these guys the best that I can, and you know, for me and my family to come back home, back to Bloomington, my kids get to see my grandparents more and kids and cousins and that came full circle for us. We are not getting any younger. My kids are getting older, so that stuff played a big part of that as well.

Q. On potential international recruiting ties…

HULLS: Great question. Always a possibility. I see it happening more and more. I've played in, what, four different countries but made connections all over Europe. That's another thing that's definitely a possibility if things fall into place in that regard. There's talent all over the world, and if we want to try and get the best players possible that's going to help us win and if it so happens to be from Europe and it's through a connection that I was able to make over my nine-year career, that would be pretty cool.

Q. On retiring from professional basketball…

HULLS: That's a good question. I've always been a gym rat, someone always in the gym working on my game.

Then as I got older, started training kids. I always knew getting into this room was my future and I was playing at a high level. I've talked to a few different people and they are just telling me to really embrace and dive into the work, trust your decision and all that you do, and you know, just be excited for the next opportunity. You know, this is a great phase for me and my family, this next stage of life that we are super excited about and I'm going to attack it just like I did when I went on the court and do the best that I can, as hard as I can, and you know, things tend to work out that way.

Q. On the first recruiting weekend…

HULLS: It was great. You know, to get in there, get out there on the road and see these kids play in person is different than watching them be on a computer. It's a lot better to see them in person, see them interact with their teammates and see the little details they do when they run off the court, what have you. For me it's special to be able to go out there and do that and like you said I'm trying to learn as much as I can. So, taking notes on whatever I can and whatever I see that I think can help me not only as -- be the best that I can in my role but also to try and help these kids in the future.

Q. On early basketball memories…

HULLS: Early memories were always coming to Hoosier Hysteria. Bringing your cans and you donate and you watch the Hoosier Hysteria. At that time, it was midnight so it was pretty special to stay up late and watch the first practice of the year. Those are for sure my earliest memories and also watching A.J. and that crew play in my grandpa's basement on the big screen TV.

Q. On the family reactions to being back…

HULLS: They were pretty over the moon about it. My parents, my in-laws, brothers, sisters, Cousins, everybody, you name it, was pretty excited because, you know, nine years is a long time to be playing overseas.

Of course, I came back in the summertime, but you know, it's just different when you're home for, you know, six to eight weeks and you're trying to see everybody. It just didn't work out. They are happy to see my kids a lot more and be around. Their cousins can see them for more than just an hour while they are here. It's special for us as a family.

Q. On his German…

HULLS: Not so good (in German) but my son is fluent which pretty crazy, so I can understand quite a bit. But speaking is completely different just because of the structure and where the verb is placed in the sentence. My oldest kid is fluent and my second son, Leo, he can understand but doesn't quite speak it. So, I'm doing to have to try and keep up with them so they don't talk bad about me behind me back.

Q. On helping in different ways during recruiting…

HULLS: For sure, get to go see that in person, that really helps me. You can see how they control the game or their fundamentals. They are not turning the ball over. They are good teammates. Those kinds of things go a long way. Obviously, you can tell from a guy, you know, if you look at a guy like me who wasn't, you know, most physically looking person in the world, you know, but you can just tell with some people that they just got it, whether or not they are super athlete or if they are this or if they are that. So, for me, I think it's paying attention to the details and those are things that really helped me personally was just staying the course and knowing that I was doing the right things.

Obviously, it's a crazy, crazy atmosphere. There are so many different kids in the country, so just knowing that you've got to go out there and work. I know that is what worked for me and that's still a good recipe for kids out there today. I think learning more about the kids and how they work, for me, is you know, is something that I'll be looking forward to.

Original source can be found here.