Postgame Quotes From Ohio State vs. Norfolk State – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2005
Recap | Box Score | Notes
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On playing against the zone
“We don’t practice our zone offense everyday. At first, we weren’t very sharp, but we got into a rhythm shooting the ball. What helped offensively was that we were defending well. We will definitely address it tomorrow and get better.”
On the slow start
“Coming off the St. Joseph’s game, I was hoping we wouldn’t have a letdown. I didn’t want us to let up on defense. In the second half, transition defense is what got us. We have to get better at that.”
On attempting the 3-point shot
“Our guys don’t have a green light to shoot whenever, but we tell them to take what they are giving you. We talk about taking good shots versus rushed shots. They were kind of packing it in and giving us the outside shot and we shot well. But we don’t want to live and die by the 3.
Je’Kel Foster, senior guard
On having three games in five days
“We’re just taking it one game at a time. We have got Belmont coming in off two straight wins so now were going to focused on them.”
On the 14-0 run
“We just put some stops together and had some great offensive plays and just went from there.”
J.J. Sullinger, senior guard
On full court press
“It is something we have been working on in practice and coach said we might use it tonight. It was the first time we have done it and it worked out for us.”
On 3-point shooting
“We need to get the ball to Terence (Dials). He is shooting really well. However, all the 3-point shots we did take were good shots and came off penetration.” Jamar Butler, sophomore guard
On the game
“We got a lot of player penetration and guys were able to create their own shots.”
On Norfolk State’s zone defense
“It affected our game a little because every thing was really packed together. We got some great ball movement and got the ball down to Terence (Dials).”
Dwight Freeman, Norfolk State Head Coach
On starting out in a zone defense
“We started out in a zone because I had never seen anyone play zone against them yet this year. We wanted to see what they would do, then get back to our man-to-man eventually. But if the game was close at the end we could go back to the zone and would know what they (Ohio State) would do against it.”
On his concerns coming to Ohio State
“The atmosphere and not taking care of the basketball were my biggest concerns. Also, finding quality shots and not being forced into taking quick shots.”
On the forced turnovers
“The credit goes to Ohio State. They forced us to do things we didn’t want to do and they got to us. We have to take care of the basketball; that is what the game is about. OSU did a lot of positive things and I didn’t like how my team responded.”
