Men’s Basketball Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2002
Head Coach Jim O’Brien
On difference in playing at the Greensboro Coliseum or Cameron Indoor Stadium
“There is a tremendous difference. Certainly the success Duke has had in Cameron is unparalleled. It is nice to know we are playing a neutral site game in Greensboro, however.”
On the Ohio State injury situation
“We got backed up with a number of guys that were playing. We have Brandon Fuss-Cheatham out 3-4 weeks with a knee that was scoped the other day and Shun Jenkins is out with a broken finger for 3 or 4 weeks. We played with seven guys last night. I don’t know if I’ve had one guy play 40 minutes since I’ve been here. Last night we had three play 40. I get concerned about guys breaking down, even this early in the season.”
On Matt Sylvester’s role with the team after offseason back surgery
“He is well ahead of where I anticipated him being. We thought he would be back playing games about the middle of December. He has not missed anything other than a couple weeks of early practice. He is not in basketball condition. He did make a couple really good plays last night. I marvel at how well he is playing under the circumstances.”
Defensive questions
“We have had to back off defensively because with (Sean) Connolly and (Matt) Sylvester playing at those (guard) positions, we don’t have the quickness on the ball that I would like. We are concerned about fatigue and fouls.”
On sophomore Terence Dials
“He was not in much last night because did not get chance to play much (matchups). Last year we played with two sophomores and one freshman (inside) with senior guards. That has changed a little bit this year. We have gained up front and lost a little in the back. Dials has made strides and the thing I love about him is that he is coachable and plays hard.”
On increased playing time for some players
“They have to play all out. It will be up to us to get them some rest. It will be up to us to manage their time rather than telling them to back off. With Alabama and Duke coming up, we are just going to have to get after it and see what happens.”
