Men’s Basketball Chats With Media Before Purdue Matchup
1/4/2023 6:09:41 PM | Men's Basketball
On Matchup coming up
“Purdue is really well coached, excellent freshman guards, really good players, and it’ll be a great challenge. They got off to a 13-0 start, and they are the number one team in country for a reason.”
On Zed Key against Zach Edey
“This is an opportunity for Zed to really grow his absolute to defend a dominant post player. He’s a human cheat code, Edey is the most dominant player in CBB we know that, but they also have other guys who can score as well. Zed has a large role in this game.”
On Matchup with Purdue coming in after a loss
“You’re going to face a team who’s going to come in with a lot of bite. They are really good program and Matt and them are competitive guys, so I think there is no question that you understand you are going to lose in the Big Ten. No one is going to go undefeated. The reality is we gotta make sure our guys have a lot to play for and their competitive edge is there.”
On Ohio State this year
“We’re like a lot of teams. We’re continuing to learn and grow and we’re a work in progress. Our guys are growing and maturing and our young guys are getting better.”
On Zach Edey
“He’s a good player, he’s very effective the way he is. We got to hone in on that and it’s a team effort, we can’t forget about that. They’re a good team, they’re #1 so we got to be ready to go tomorrow”
On his matchup with Edey and Purdue
“I see all the stuff on social media about the matchup, I just come to play my game, it’s another game I need to go out there and play how we play.”
On Edey being the best big man in Big Ten
“In the Big Ten every team has good bigs. Every game we’re going up against a good big who can knock your head off.”
On preparation against #1 team
“It’s a little weird that they’re in Big Ten and number one. But it’s Big Ten basketball, it’s a big game and they are coming into our house so we’ll be ready to go.”
On how the defensive rebounding has been
“We are definitely a lot better than the beginning of the year, coach has put stuff in on the offensive and defensive in so we have definitely improved.”
On getting back from injury
“It was pretty hard doing 3 or 4 workouts a day trying to get my head and body in shape to play team basketball. The process to get back was a little challenging but we’re here now.”
On Duke game last year comparing to Purdue this year
“I could hear the atmosphere that was out here and seeing the game on TV, I know the Schottenstein is going to be packed again this year for the #1 team and I’m excited to be a part of it this year.”
On what he did off the court to get back
“I was doing a lot of lifts, conditioning, stuff like that. Whatever I could do to get back on the court, get my legs moving and stuff like that.”
On his role matching up against Purdue/Edey
“Zach Edey is not a one role player to defend. It’s the whole team, it will take the whole team focus and detail to go into guard him but my role will definitely be to help with that.”
