Hoop Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 6, 2001
Head Coach Jim O’Brien
“I would first like to congratulate Illinois and Michigan State on co-sharing the Big Ten regular-season championship,” O’Brien said. “It was not an easy feat to win as many games as they did in the league. I am very happy for Ken Johnson to repeat as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. It was also nice for him to get a spot on the Big Ten First Team. I am also happy for Brian Brown for earning a spot on the third team. Both players are very deserving.”
On earning his second Big Ten Coach of the Year Award “When these things happen, it is about the players,” O’Brien said. “When players perform well good things happen for all of us.”
“There were a lot of guys who were doing very well before their guys got hurt,” O’Brien said. “It is hard for (MSU head coach) Tom (Izzo) and (Illinois head coach) Bill (Self) to get recognized with the guys they have.”
NCAA Tournament and there not being a real standout team
“I think there are a handful (of real quality teams) ,” O’Brien said. “The top five or six teams could have two of those teams (in the Final Four). There could be a surprise someplace. There is no team that is so much better. Standford, North Carolina and Duke are very good. Kansas, when at full strength, is as good as anybody. You can’t point to one of those teams and say `they are clearly better that anybody else.'”
Challenge of being the No. 3 seed at the Big Ten Tournament
“It is all part of the deal. I think it is okay with us,” O’Brien said. “There is an advantage of being the third seed rather than the fourth because you play someone who has played the night before. In this format, there is not a lot you can do to get away from the seedings and the way things are structured. When you play in the exempted tournament like we did in Alaska this year, it helps. It is a similar format where you have to put yourself in position to go out and play.” On this season expectation
“I was not really sure what our full potential was going to be,” O’Brien said. “I thought early on we had a chance to be better than what people thought. We were after-thoughts for the most part (of preseason). I don’t know that we thought we could win 20 games, finish third in the Big Ten and be a No. 3 seed. These guys have, game-after-game, been able to rally. They have surprised me. We came back from 20 points down at Penn State. We came back after losing to Wisconsin and beat Michigan State. They kept coming back. They deserve all the credit. We have done better than what people originally thought.”
Can the Big Ten get two teams in the Final Four for the third consecutive year?
“In our league, in all reality, Illinois and Michigan State can absolutely get there,” O’Brien said. “They could lose early on but that is the nature of the NCAA Tournament. When you think of Wisconsin last year, no one in their right mind would have them in the Final Four. Everybody really needs to understand what Michigan State has been able to accomplish by winning the conference tournament, winning the NCAA Tournament and the Big Ten Championship. It has been remarkable.”
