Max Bielfeldt, redshirt freshman forward and a Peoria, Ill. native, spoke with the media Friday about what it will be like playing against his hometown team, how it feels to finally have shoes that fit him and more. You can watch using the embedded media player below or read selected notes and quotes after the jump.
- On how having really wide feet has affected his shoe selection: “I was trying to make things work, fitting orthotics into smaller shoes as a temporary thing. It worked fine for me for a while.” Once he started feeling pain, he knew he needed to get some custom-sized shoes. He’ll be wearing them the rest of the season and they “feel great.”
- “At the big position especially we have so much size and talent and experience, too. It’s tough to get in there.” Being on a successful team makes the lack of minutes “not so painful.”
- Bielfeldt attended the Bradley-Michigan State game from a few years ago when the Spartans came in a a ranked team. “When a Big Ten team comes to town … the fans definitely show up. The support definitely comes from all areas of Peoria.” Said the atmosphere “can be” comparable to some smaller Big Ten schools.
- On schooling the first-year players about playing on the road: “When you score a basket and no one cheers, that’s going to be the main thing, especially the guys who play off the crowd’s energy. That’s just something they have to play through.”
- The level of talent on Michigan makes practices “really fun, and really competitive as well.”
- On his past knee trouble and how he feels now: “It took some of the off season to rest and get healthy that way. I think now compared to last season I’m leagues beyond where I was and I feel good.” No issue right now.
- “We have the scout team beating the first team it seems like almost every day. The talent we have, everyone can turn their switch on almost every day. The guys who aren’t getting the minutes are fighting for the spots and the guys that are know they aren’t that far behind them so they’re fighting to keep their spot and show them what they can do.”
- On people coming to see him play at Bradley: “Honestly, my mom was working with Travis Conlan and stuff for tickets trying to take the load off of me, talking to my friends to see who was going. From what I heard, a lot of my friends and family are going to be there.”
