My Two Cents: Bright Lights Don’t Faze Indiana Hoosiers Sophomore Guard Tamar Bates

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It’s Tamar Bates’ first trip to Las Vegas, but all the glitz and glamor means nothing to him. He’s here to work, so there won’t be any bells and whistles, just basketball.

Saturday’s meeting with no. 10 Arizona is all that matters to him.

“Before we jumped on the plane, we knew it was a business trip,” Indiana’s talented sophomore guard said Friday night when he met the media outside the MGM Grand hotel here in Las Vegas. “We didn’t come to her for all the gadgets and gizmos here in Vegas. If you want to do that, you come back to Vegas on our own time. We’re here to win a basketball game. We know how the atmosphere is off the track, so it’s just about being smart and not forgetting why we’re here.”