Post Game Quotes From Ohio State vs. Denver – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2000
Recap| Box Score| Notes
Denver head coach Marty Fletcher
I congratulate Ohio State on playing such a great basketball game. They ranked very high defensively in the Big Ten and there’s a reason for it. They have one of the great coaches in college basketball. We knew that Ohio State had lost some important basketball players from last season. They haven’t lost their defensive wherewithal or intensity. We knew they did a good job defensively and we know they did well offensively. They picked up their intensity and we weren’t able to step up to that challenge. They just got better from that point on.
I prefer to have one guy score 20 points than three or four score 15 a piece. I would have liked to single him (Ken Johnson) on the other end and get him out of the game. The difference obviously is that he improved offensively, and we knew that he did. We didn’t want to leave one of their outstanding outside shooters open. He got a couple shots early. (Boban) Savovic made a three early in the game. I think that’s the best way to play. Really our defense was good for most of the game. The difference was they converted on most of the 32 turnovers in the game.
They did a good deal of switching. We would run our plays and when they switched we allowed them to have all the momentum. We tried to play them one-on-one and we were not able to do it.
Ohio State head coach Jim O’Brien
I was really surprised. We spent two or three days working on them double-teaming (Ken Johnson). We worked on little schemes that other teams have thrown at him. I was real surprised when they didn’t single him out. On Freshman Zach Williams
Zach’s motor is going all the time. He always plays hard. There were guys that played hard here and there, but I can’t remember a day or a situation in practice where he does not play hard or I have to tell him to work harder. He gets his motor going and then we start doing a little trapping on the backcourt and a little pressing. We kind of got everybody into it. Kind of got the crowd into it. I think it just changed the whole complexion of the game. He and Timmy Martin had their hands all over the ball, and I think both played a really good game.
The guy I really want to single out is Boban (Savovic). He kind of epitomizes the unselfish approach that our guys have taken. He’s a guy that plays 25 minutes and the score gets kind of lop-sided and he not looking for hits and only take one shot. I was impressed with not only the way that he approached it, but how the other guys approached it as well.
