Matt Painter Quotations

Yes, I would say so. Especially with Bryant Dillon making the shot and putting us up three and in position.

When he makes good decisions, he is going to give us production. I think tonight he did a good job of that. He's got to be a guy who blocks shots, rebounds and is very active.

I was going to try to play him a little bit to see how he looked out there. It's just hard in transition for him. ... He gave a great effort. He missed some shots but he was aggressive.

If the season ended today I'd vote for him. He's been very consistent. He has the ability to play well even though they don't have another low-post presence.

He has the ability to be a high energy guy; a guy that can be all over the court, guard different people, block shots. There's no doubt he gives us another dimension.

We made some poor decisions. You've got to give yourself a chance. You've got to continue to play, you can't let somebody steal your spirit and you got to keep competing.

I would say so, with Bryant Dillon making the shot to put us in position. I thought we made enough plays.

I think the key was their aggressive play to start the second half. And their ability to get steals.

I thought our guys gave a really great effort. They were hooked up and ready to go.

I thought our guys did a good job. We just couldn't finish. We weren't able to make enough shots. I thought Marcus White did a good job of attacking and being able to finish and be efficient around the basket. We didn't make enough to make them adjust, and that was the key.

Our guys gave a good effort. They fought, but we didn't take care of the ball in the second half. A lot of that had to do with Ohio State's quickness.

I thought Marcus White played within himself on both ends of the court. I think that it's very important for him just to let the game come to him, not force things.

That was my biggest concern. It's tough for our guys to bounce back, you know, it's that 'here we go again.' But we kept fighting and kept plugging away.

We don't talk about the adversity. We talk about the things that will help us improve and win. It's going to happen. And if it doesn't, we died trying.

We really struggled shooting the basketball in the last four or five games, which is too bad because I think these guys worked hard to improve.

You'd like to be right there to make him put the ball on the floor or hesitate and we weren't.

We are a better team than we were two and one-half hours ago - there's no doubt about that. That is what we have to have going into the Northwestern game.

We did think about Doyle. He has that old man game that you see with guys like that at 'noon' ball. But it's effective. He's a good player. That's just his style.

We have guys playing hard. The effort is better.

You cannot let guys who can shoot get their head up and get comfortable here at home. You have to continue to disrupt, you cannot let people do what they want to do and we didn't pressure the ball. You're not going to beat a good team when you allow perimeter shooters to get into a rhythm.

There is no question we would like more than one day to prepare for Memphis. But we were stuck with the start of the Big Ten and with the Christmas holidays.

You had two guys who were fixtures at their universities. They're kind of institutions in their own right. The success of both of those guys and what they accomplished but also their teams' success, and that consistency fed into the rivalry also.

We simply have struggled shooting the basketball. We had open looks against Indiana and against Ohio State. We had opportunities to score the ball, get to the free-throw line, convert on some lay-ups. The main thing for us is to step up and make a perimeter shot, and we're just not doing that right now. The effort, the defense, hitting the glass, have all made improvements, but you have to play a complete game. It's not a lack of effort from our guys. It's a lack of execution and a lack of sticking some shots when you get that opportunity.

We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball and being strong with it. But I was pleased with our effort, and we are improving.

We wish (Ware played) 30 or 35 minutes (instead of 21) because we were trying to go through him every single possession. To draw that double team and kick it out and get some open shots, or to dribble through the double team and try to score.

Even if we won this game it would not have changed our seed in the tournament. Right now were playing for the name on the front of our jersey and playing for pride. We are now getting some young players the chance to get some experience.

Besides the four minutes at the end of the first half, we played pretty good especially with the talent that was out on the court and the kind of bodies they have.

(Doyle's) got that old man's game. He's effective. I have respect for guys like that who maximize their ability.

You must have people out there who can handle (the ball), pass it and shoot it (when playing against Northwestern's trap). Unfortunately, we don't have 13 guys who can do that.

A lot of things happened in their career they couldn't control, and not one of those guys made excuses. I'll always respect them for that and I'll always respect them for the effort.

They made one more play than we did.

They have a lot more weapons than one guy, but I think it all starts with their big men inside.

They had a better nose for the basketball, especially late in the game. We played hard, but at times we didn't play smart and on the road, that's what you have to do.

They are five-star guys who can do a little bit of everything.

They're not trying to miss shots. They're trying to make shots out there. Sometimes when you miss an easy one, it leads to the next shot because you're thinking too much.

They have some different guys that are playing that didn't play against us the first time. Any time you make an adjustment, it has an effect.

There's a spot for him on our team, but we've got to make some strides in practice.

It's a step backward. You expect your guys to compete, play harder and take a chance.

It's one-and-done, so a lot of things would have to go your way.

It's something we can't simulate in practice. We don't have that type of size and athleticism. We couldn't stop the bleeding out there.

It's something we can't simulate in practice, ... We don't have that type of size and athleticism. We couldn't stop the bleeding out there.

They kept fighting. That's what I'm pleased with. But no one likes to lose. We practice and compete to put ourselves in position to win, and we didn't do that.

As a coaching staff, we've talked about trying to blend in the new guys with our returning guys. That will be our biggest challenge during the preseason.

He's probably a little advanced right now in terms of scoring the ball as compared to other guys in our backcourt. But he just turned 18 this September and has a lot to learn. We're just looking forward to coaching him.

He's really made some strides in learning how to handle things in the half court. His decision making in the last three or four games has been better, so his productivity in terms of scoring has gone up.

Chicago has so many players, and I've recruited Illinois for nine years at Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois. Players in Chicago -- really good players -- can fall under the radar because there's so many guys there.

I don't talk about winning and losing, even if we're the mammoth favorite. I talk about what we have to do to get us in position to win and what we have to do to win. You have to get guys mentally ready and take on personal challenges as a team. We're going to fight them. That's what you have to do as a coaching staff, get them out there to fight them.