Ohio State is one day from the start of league play.
With the Buckeyes taking on Rutgers to open their full-time Big Ten slate Wednesday, Chris Holtmann met with the Ohio State media to preview his team's matchup with the Scarlet Knights and discuss where OSU stands as a squad.
- On how Ohio State's players will attack Rutgers' defense: "We need to prepare them as well as we can and make sure that we're being appropriately aggressive. ... It's hard to mimic their size and length and speed. ... There will be some moments when we will have to figure things out."
- Holtmann feels the team adjusted well after some first-half offensive struggles, playing efficient offense in the second half against West Virginia. "We changed a little bit of how we were moving, how we were attacking it."
- Jamison Battle has improved as a rebounder, Holtmann said, and feels that the team has attacked the glass well of late. "He's really embraced that aspect of his game, it needs to be part of who he is as a player. ... Will we stay committed to the glass as a group the next couple months as it gets tougher? ... That's the challenge."
- Holtmann has seen Roddy Gayle Jr. grow as a ball-handler and passer. "If Roddy can continue to limit some of his careless turnovers, his playmaking has been outstanding."
- Between Gayle, Bruce Thornton and Battle, Holtmann feels confident that Ohio State has three go-to guys in clutch moments.
- Holtmann likes Ohio State's quality of play as it enters January. "I love where we're at right now. ... I do think the way in which we've played in some of these stretches, we've got a lot to improve on but we've beaten some really solid teams."
- On how the team's transfers have fit in: "Jamison's provided exactly what we've needed in terms of the scoring element. ... I think Dale (Bonner) and Evan (Mahaffey) are also growing. ... Evan, we just need evolution ... he's a young player that's growing and evolving." Holtmann added that he needs to see "more consistency" from Dale but that he's played great in stretches.
- On his assessment of the Big Ten as a whole: "In my free time I don't watch a ton (of Big Ten basketball) because it gets me working. ... I've been really impressed by the depth of our league. ... It's the Big 12 and the Big Ten, top to bottom. ... It's so different than my first year ... just was not a very deep league ... since that point it's been so deep, it just makes it much different playing night in and night out."
- Rebounding continues to be a top area of focus for Ohio State. "Our intentionality needs to really grow and we've challenged guys with that."
- Holtmann wants to see more scoring off the bench as well from players such as Scotty Middleton. "We do need a little bit more punch offensively off the bench. ... That's going to be important in Big Ten play."
- With the shortened shot clocks and increased use of the 3-point shot, Holtmann feels no lead is safe in the modern era of college basketball. "There is going to be understandable and a part of a job and then there's going to be criticism that is completely irrelevant and sometimes there's an agenda behind it. ... I think the benefit of perspective you have as a coach. ... What we have to do as coaches and players is say, ‘Is there pockets of the game where we didn't do our job like we needed to? ... Are there things we can do to limit those runs?’"
