Men’s Basketball Quotes – Head Coach Thad Matta – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Ohio State men’s basketball team is back in action Monday after a break for final exams on the Columbus, Ohio, campus. Thad Matta, head coach of the Buckeyes, participated on a teleconference along with other Big Ten coaches earlier today. Below are some thoughts from Matta on the men’s basketball program to date in 2007-08.
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On Ohio State
“We have been on a rough stretch where we played a lot of games in a short time. With us being a young team we have became better and will continue to get better. We have had a good week of practice and I look forward to playing and going against somebody different.”
On adjusting to new players
“One of the biggest challenges with any team is teaching. I think some players learn quicker. Last year we were blessed with two guys, Greg Oden and Mike Conely that had probably a maturity level of a 27-year-old. As you go through the daily process one of the biggest challenges as a coach is to not say this guy is this guy, but to look at the overall scope of the player and see what he is capable of doing. It takes time to see guys at different situations, whether it be him on the road or at a neutral site in front of a different crowd. Our biggest adjustment is getting a feel of our guys and what they can do in situations. The biggest problem with our team is consistency. We can play great basketball, but need consistency. It will take time.”
On Daequan Cook
“It definitely hurt us to have Daequan leave. Daequan is probably the most talented guy I ever coached. Watching him in practice and in games I saw he had the ability to do things I would never have been able to teach him. We were hurt with his departure because he had experience and had gone through battles. He made the right choice and is playing well right now. With him here he would have known what had to be done and had the maturity you see when guys come back. You can not teach experience.”
On Kosta Koufos
“Kosta has played well in stretches for us. He is a young man with tremendous heights. He has a high scoring level where he can score inside and outside. The biggest thing is trying to get consistency, offensively and defensively. He has had a very good week of practice. We just need to continue to give him the experience of college basketball.”
On Ohio State’s improvements
“One big thing is to understand the value of every possession first and foremost. Then taking care of the basketball and taking good shots are two things. No. 3 is we need to make shots. We’ve gone through stretches where we are unable to put the ball in the basket. I don’t know why. In a few games it has been contagious that we can’t make shots. Those are the things we need to continue to hammer home. We need to practice shooting, pressurized shooting, consequence shooting and learn every possession– the third or the 30th– is important.”
