Post Game Quotes From Ohio State vs. Illinois – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2001
Recap| Box Score| Notes
Ohio State head coach Jim O’Brien
“How about our kids? How about our kids? They hung in there and did not lose their composure. They toughed it out. It’s very, very simple: they just hung in there. They played like they did against Michigan State and if they would have done anything else, then we don’t win. Our guys deserve a lot of credit.”
(On Frank Williams) “We wanted to double him. We could not guard him. Brian was trying like crazy, but a guy like that makes shots. He takes him team on his shoulders and hits the shots. He had a chance to win the game and the last couple of possessions we just wanted to double him. We’re thankful he did not get a good shot off at the end.”
(On Ken Johnson) “They doubled him the whole game. It was very physical. He had big body after big body on him. He had 16 points and seven boards, but he had to deal with the banging the whole game. He had no space and there was a lot of congestion. Give him a lot of credit. He go his 1000th point and (tied) the shot block record, so give him credit.”
“Anybody who beats (Illinois) ever has the right to storm the court. When you get a chance to beat a team like that, your fans should be happy. I wish we could get to that point. It would be great.”
(On Connolly’s 3-pointer) “That was a gutsy, gutsy shot. If he doesn’t make it, we’re in a jam. We preach to him that he must look to shoot. Give credit to him to have the courage to, A, take it, and, B, make it.”
Ken Johnson
“We have a little bit more work to do, and we have to keep playing hard. I’m just really proud of everybody. Everybody was really, really focused tonight and stepped up. They were making huge shots for us.”
Brian Brown
“Our offense was a little scattery, but our defense is what won the game.”
Sean Connolly
“I hit one of the biggest shots I’ve hit in college. We have two really good wins against Michigan State and Illinois – both Top-5 teams. We still have some work to do. We need to win these next two games and get a good seed in the Big Ten Tournament. I think we are becoming a really good team. We are a lot better off than we started.”
Illinois head coach Bill Self
(On the last play) “We thought they would double Frank (Williams) and take him away and we would use Cory (Bradford) to back him. They just did a great job on defense. We couldn’t get the ball where we wanted it.”
(On the timeout with 7.3 seconds remaining) “When we went into the timeout (before the free throws), we were down two with them shooting two free throws. I gave them a play, thinking that we would need a three. After the first missed free throw, our guys looked at me stunned. When he missed the second one, Ohio State had time to set up its `D.’ It was a dead ball, so why not take a time out?”
(On the last 30 seconds of the game) “We had our chance with 30 seconds left and we just didn’t get a stop. Hopefully this is a tough lesson for us to learn. The last five minutes of this game was good players making good plays. Johnson was terrific in the first, and Brown and Darby made great plays all game.”
(On Ohio State as a team) “I think they are one of the better teams we’ve played this year. Brown was definitely the difference in the game. He is a great player. Their guards have really turned it around this year. Darby also played well and Connolly made the key shot.”
(On Ohio State’s chances of being in the NCAA Tournament) “I thought they were in it before this game. They’re in it for sure now. They’re 9-5 in the league. I know Jim (O’Brien) doesn’t want to hear that, but they are a great team and I’m sure they’re in the tournament.”
