Men’s Basketball Quotes – Jan. 5, 2007 – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2007
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach
On Illinois
“We know it is a big game. We have to go in and give a great effort in order to win.”
On Ohio State’s performance against Indiana
“I thought we made the necessary plays down the stretch, but we are never going to play perfect. When things aren’t going well for us we need to keep our composure, play our defense and not take gambles.”
Ron Lewis, senior guard
On preparing for Illinois
“We have to stay together as a team and come together and make plays. We’ve been through these kind of environments and are used to them by now. We know teams will make runs and we have to make the runs and come out with effort.”
On Illinois
“They are sound on defense. They run a lot of screens and run a lot. Their transitions lead to offense so we need to be ready at all times.”
On Illinois’ last two losses
“We know they lost their last two in a row and are down right now. We can’t take them lightly because they are at home and have lost two so they want a win. We have to go in with our ‘A’ game.”
Othello Hunter, junior forward
On improving his game
“I talked to my dad a lot and he told me what to do. Coach said the same things. Big Ten play has started and I have waited for this. I just need to go out and play hard.”
On learning from the Florida game
“At Florida I was rushing and just wanted to get down on offense. Before the Indiana game coach talked to me and told me to just play hard and slow down.”
Jamar Butler, junior guard
On Illinois
“We let Florida’s crowd affect us. Against Illinois, we have to stay poised and be able to answer their runs. The fans and the way coach Weber has Illinois playing makes them a tough team. The way they run screens makes them hard to defend, so we have to keep moving. Illinois was my first road game and my first Big Ten game and I was shocked. It was a tough experience, but I learned from it.”
