Hoop Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 28, 2001
%^$Coach Jim O’Brien:
%^$On the week off:
%^$”When you take into account the last three weeks, and the intensity and the high level at which we had to play, we needed to step away and take a deep breath, and this week gives us that chance.”%^$
%^$On Penn State:
%^$”They aren’t thinking about us, fortunately. They have their hands full with Iowa on Thursday night, and then they have a tough day on Friday coming back, so I’m hoping they’ll be a little fatigued on Saturday. This is an important game for us as well. We’d love to put ourselves in a position to come in third in the Big Ten and all we have to do is take care of our own business and not worry about what anyone else does. And if we win on Saturday, that gives us third and that would be nice.”%^$
%^$On motivating the team:
%^$” I don’t want them to ever get the impression that we’ve arrived or that we’re were we wanted to get to. The message has always been that there’s still more for us to try and accomplish. Maybe not being in the Top 25 is even more incentive that we still haven’t gotten were we wanted to and we’ve got to do more.”%^$
%^$On the Big Ten Tournament:
%^$”It really helps your seeding. Take an Illinois or a Michigan State, Last year, Michigan State was tied with us, they won the tournament, they got a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I think Michigan State and Illinois are the only teams in the Big Ten that have a chance at a No. 1 seed, and in order for them to do that, I think this tournament is big for them. Our whole thing right now is getting the third seed in the Big Ten tournament because that’s a little different than playing 4 or 5.%^$
%^$”I’m surprised, to be honest. And I think [our current position] is a tremendous credit to our guys, that they have put us in a position to be knocking on the door of the Big Ten tournament. And I think that if we finish third, behind No. 3 (MSU) and No. 5 (Illinois) in the country, I think that’s a nice accomplishment.”%^$
%^$Ken Johnson:
%^$”We try to focus on what it is that we have to do. But really we just have to go out there and stay focused and stay hungry. We had a couple days off, and today was a great practice. We just have to keep it up.”%^$
%^$On Penn State:
%^$”That first game (earlier this season) against Penn was crucial for us. We ended up losing, but we have another chance on Saturday, so we just have to keep it up and try to get another win.”%^$
%^$On the Big Ten Tournament:
%^$We’re just trying to help ourselves. We’re trying to get a big win on Saturday and go to the tournament and focus. We don’t want to get put out early, so we’re just going to stay hungry and take it a day at a time.%^$
%^$On the Blocks record:
%^$”That was huge. I’ve just come a long way. I give all the credit and honor to Jesus Christ. Coach O’Brien has done a tremendous job. He’s been very patient. I was someone who didn’t know very much about basketball. He just awes me. He’s the type of coach who really listens to us.”%^$
%^$”I just try to go out and work hard every game. Every summer I’m out lifting weights and working hard.”%^$
%^$”I knew when I had the record. I could hear the crowd at that Northwestern game. It was a terrific feeling for me. I’m just blessed. I just want to keep on adding to it.”%^$
%^$On OSU’s standing in the Big Ten:
%^$”It’s a terrific feeling. Everybody had us marked down for 7th or 8th. We’ve come a long way. Everyone really focused on what he had to accomplish, which is stay focused and win as many games as possible.”%^$
%^$Brian Brown:
%^$On Penn State:
%^$”They came in here and got a win against us, so we definitely want to come out there and get a win against them and get them back. They’re a dangerous team. If they’re hitting shots, they can be a pain. They’ve got the two Crispin brothers (Joe, Jon), and I think (Titus) Ivory is the key to their team. He goes out there and puts up numbers. They’ve got (Gyasi) Cline-Heard who’s improved over the years. They’ve got a lot of weapons.”%^$
%^$On OSU’s record:
%^$”I’m not really surprised. I knew we had the capability to do it. In the beginning, it looked a little rocky. We stuck with it. We knew we had to win some games. We got by Michigan State and Illinois and we just came out and won. Guys like Ken Johnson and myself are upperclassmen, but we don’t have guys like Scoonie and Michael Redd. There are some similarities though. Two years ago, we had no pressure, nobody gave us our respect. And this year, nobody is giving us any respect. That doesn’t bother us. We got to the Final Four two years ago without getting any respect.”%^$
