Post Game Quotes From Ohio State vs. Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2000
Recap| Box Score| Notes | Interview
Ohio State head coach Jim O’Brien
“Obviously we are very, very happy today. These players deserve a lot of credit. Defensively, I have to say this is the best effort we have had, especially in the second half. To keep this team shooting, in the second half, 24 percent, and for the whole game, a total of 30 percent, clearly this was a great game defensively.
(On Brian Brown) “We talked to Brian on (Cory) Bradford and what he would have to do. Bradford is the type of player that even in one-on-one situations, he can get his shot in. Brian did a very good job today guarding Bradford.
“At halftime we talked about continuing to play hard. I thought we did that in the first half, except they hit a couple of crucial threes to keep themselves in the game. We did nothing special, but just reinforced to these guys that they would have to play hard defensively.
“We got over a big hurdle today, but still have two more hard games to play. The Big Ten Championship is in our hands now. We still have to win two more hard games on the road and get ourselves in the tournament championship game, but I still like our situation. It is in our hands now.
“Offensively we zeroed in on several things. We had to be aggressive rebounding, but also get Redd to the baseline. That is where we know he is the most effective, and we accomplished that.
(On seniors) “It doesn’t get any better than this for the seniors. I got a chill when the crowd gave those seniors a standing ovation.
(On Scoonie Penn) “We have a great relationship and I will miss him very much beyond basketball. He is a very pleasant person to be around and I will miss him a lot.” Scoonie Penn
“I’ve had a great experience here. It ended perfectly. I couldn’t ask to go out any better.
“Illinois is a physical team. They kept it close, but lost steam in the end.”
Brian Brown
“We wanted to play hard and send our seniors and (Mike) Bordner out with a win. It was very emotional in the lockerroom.”
Ken Johnson
“It seems like just yesterday I was freshman. I couldn’t ask for my career to end any better. I’ve had a great experience at Ohio State.
“This win keeps us in the Big Ten hunt. The race for number one is very close. We have to win the games down the stretch to stay in it.”
Illinois head coach Lon Kruger
“For the good part of the game, it was a tough battle and a very physical game. But they had a lot of second-chance shots off their offensive rebounds and they got a lot of loose balls, which really hurt us.
“They have a lot of offensive weapons and they did a good job today.
“They attacked us harder in the second half than we did. They dictated us with their defense.
“If you’re not ready for Penn in the transitions, then he’s going to take advantage of the situations.”
Illinois’ Lucas Johnson
“We kind of upset ourselves when we didn’t come out as hard in the second as we did in the first. We just have to learn from this experience.
“Ken Johnson is a big presence. He really makes you leery of shooting when you’re afraid he’s going to reject it to half-court.”
