NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - OHIO STATE VS VILLANOVA

March 19, 2022

Chris Holtmann

Malaki Branham

Eugene Brown

Jamari Wheeler

PPG Paints Arena

Ohio State Buckeyes

Media Conference

Q. For all three of you, defensively the way you were able to execute your game plan yesterday, is that replicable? Can you play with that same focus and attention to detail for a second consecutive game?

MALAKI BRANHAM: I feel like we're going to have to if we want to win. If we just stay connected like we've been doing last game, I feel like we're going to be in good shape.

EUGENE BROWN III: Yeah, I feel like we're just playing for each other right now, so on the defensive end we're all connected, flowing with the ball, playing for each other. It's going to be a great defensive game.

JAMARI WHEELER: Like those guys said, just executing on the defensive end. That's one thing we're wanting to hold our hat to coming into that game, just focusing on defense and getting stops, and the offense will take care of itself once we get stops. I think we're going to do it, and like Ki said, we have no choice but to do it. We want to keep dancing.

Q. Malaki and Jamari, playing in your first game, how did the nerves compare to your expectations and do you feel like having played a game on that floor you can settle in even more for the second game now?

JAMARI WHEELER: It was a lot of excitement at first. Everybody is like, all right, we've got our second wind, now let's go. Everybody was so excited, especially me in my first NCAA game, so I was taking advantage and soaking it all in, but at the same time locked into details and doing my job.

MALAKI BRANHAM: What Jamari said. There was a lot of nerves going into that first media, but after that it was about basketball. We handled business.

Q. Jamari, I know you pride yourself on the defensive end. As a smaller guard going against a bigger backcourt than normal, what are some of the challenges?

JAMARI WHEELER: Just being physical. Start a game, we're setting the rules. It's also one-on-one defense, but at the same time it's a team defense. So just going to use my speed, my quickness to guard their big guards and small guards, but just taking my time and just executing the defensive plan really.

Q. If you guys all of a sudden had to go up against your own defense, that kind of intensity, that kind of smothering intensity, how would you attack it?

MALAKI BRANHAM: Do you want to attempt that? There's no solid answer to that, to be honest. That's a good question, yeah.

JAMARI WHEELER: Try to figure something out and hope it works.

Q. Malaki, you were talking yesterday about having kind of adjust in game to Williamson's physicality. Wondering how -- you've seen like you're grown in your ability to do that say from November to December until now?

MALAKI BRANHAM: Really just a growth from playing in games from November until March. Just my growth and seeing in how defenses have been playing me and just adjusting on the fly. So just seeing the defensive assignments kind of grow throughout my play, just kind of adjusting like that.

Q. Eugene, the way last season ended was tough for you guys, E.J. seemed to receive the lion's share of blame on social media. He's talked about that kind of stuff. Was there a fear in your mind that -- guys transfer for lots of reasons these days, a billion reasons. Was there a worry that he was going to bail, and what has he meant to you guys beyond just maybe the way that he plays?

EUGENE BROWN III: No, I didn't think E.J. was ever going to transfer or leave. Maybe go to the league but never switch schools. He's a Buckeye, he loves this place. We all do. It's been solid ever since that game last year where we exited early. We took it to the chin and we just battled the whole season, all season. That's just something we kept in mind. He means a lot to this team, and we're just going to keep it going.

Q. Eugene, Villanova is another small opponent, guys with a lot of switching ability, with a lot of versatility, and I'm curious, you saw that against Loyola Chicago, a lot of success defensively. Is that kind of the same game plan without getting into too many specifics? That physicality, especially with the amount of versatility that they have in their roster, do you feel like you guys can kind of pick up where they left off in terms of the same defensive approach that you guys had last time?

EUGENE BROWN III: Yeah, we come just locked in on the main things, so if we need to switch we will. If we don't, we don't. We just play solid defense. Everybody win their one-on-one matchup and we stay connected.

Q. We talked with Chris Holtmann yesterday after the game and talking about how as a coach -- and you mentioned how last season ending the way it did, I'm curious how you've seen Chris Holtmann approach the NCAA Tournament this year? He mentioned as a coach he has to have tunnel vision. How have you seen him approach March Madness this year and especially after the win yesterday?

EUGENE BROWN III: I feel like we just try to focus on one game at a time. We don't get too far ahead of ourselves, staying in the moment, staying in one possession. Just keeping goals small, but also keeping in big sight of what we want to get to.

Q. For all three guys, I'm curious what the experience is like for y'all having a guy like Greg Oden on staff. I don't know how much you may remember him as a player, but what's that experience been like?

JAMARI WHEELER: It's good just having an older guy just learning from him, just asking him like little questions. Because like you said, he's been playing for a long time so just getting little tips from him. I'm glad he's on the staff. He teaches us a lot.

EUGENE BROWN III: Yeah, like he said, just being able to pick his brain, playing college basketball here, going to the league, stuff like that. Just being able to pick his brain, pick up little bits of information here and there is solid.

MALAKI BRANHAM: I feel like they said everything that I was going to say.

Q. You guys won yesterday by 13 points. You were 1 of 15 from three. Those numbers don't normally line up. Offensively what's the key going to be to shoot better tomorrow, and do the basketballs feel different at all?

MALAKI BRANHAM: The basketballs don't feel different. We practiced a couple days with the basketballs, so we kind of get used to them. But we're just going to keep shooting. They're going to fall eventually.

EUGENE BROWN III: I mean, yeah, kind of just keep shooting. Teams go through slumps and if we just keep shooting, keep our confidence, they'll eventually start falling.

JAMARI WHEELER: That's what we hang our hat on on the defensive end because we can't control shots falling, so we know focus on the defensive end, you're going to get good shots. You can't control if it goes in the hoop or out of the hoop so just get shots and you'll like the result at the end of the day.

Q. Leading into the game you guys had a full week of practice and the coaches have talked about getting more leadership from guys in that week and really being dialed in on the game plan. How did you see this team take advantage of that time that you had to prepare and get a little bit healthier? What was practice like the last week between Penn State and Loyola Chicago?

JAMARI WHEELER: It was fun. Once we hit the tournament, got to Selection Sunday, we felt like everybody was so excited. We felt like it was the first day of college basketball practice again. Like you said, really the players in practice, we kept each other accountable, focused on the details, knew that everybody had us as underdogs so everybody was just locked in the whole week. And we talked about that a little bit today after practice, just stay locked in, things like that. Coach is going to have a game plan, we've just got to go out there and execute it.

Q. Gene, you might be the one to have to guard E.J. in practice. I don't know if that happens a lot. What are the challenges? It looks like by watching him, there's some old man in his game a little bit. I saw yesterday shots weren't falling but he gets in the lane, gets a little bump, creates separation, pulls up. You don't see that a lot these days. What's it like guarding him and how would you describe the way that he plays?

EUGENE BROWN III: It's just real tough to guard him. I guarded him all summer, basically this whole season. You've got to find your distance. He can shoot the three. You get too close, he's driving by you, dribbling in the post. There's a lot of different ways he can score so that's why he's so effective each night because you know you can't stop him. For one thing, you can't cut him off because he's going to find a way to get on the offensive end.

Q. Malaki, you've got a game under your belt. You talked about being nervous heading into the game. Do you feel like you're almost a tournament veteran or have enough experience where the nerves won't be as much of a factor tomorrow as they were yesterday?

MALAKI BRANHAM: Yeah, like you said, I got that one game under my belt so knowing what March Madness is all about, I feel good about going into tomorrow and helping the team win.

Q. After the game Coach Holtmann just basically said that there's more to prove, I guess, or more to show for this team. You can't just be satisfied with winning one game. What does this mean for Ohio State if you can beat Villanova and get to the Sweet 16? You were a top 20 team in the rankings all season until the wheels went off there at the end. What would it mean to put it all back together at the end of the year?

EUGENE BROWN III: It'll basically just show everybody what we know we are. Because of course we were in the top 25, we kind of fell off at the end of the season. But all along we knew we were a dangerous team, we just had to get things back rolling. We just feel like we have something to prove to everybody that counted us out, everybody that continues to count us out. It would mean a lot to us.

Q. What stands out to you about their backcourt? Obviously they've got some guys back there that are experienced, know how to play, highly regarded. What are the challenges they pose that maybe you didn't see yesterday?

JAMARI WHEELER: They're older so they're going to be solid, sound, solid, not going to turn the ball over, play off two feet, things like that. So just executing the game plan -- the defensive game plan like we did the first game and just play with a lot of effort.

Q. What did it feel like last night when the game is over and you have sort of the whole afternoon and evening to watch games but also reflect on winning an NCAA Tournament game. What did that feel like where your phone is blowing up? What was the experience like?

MALAKI BRANHAM: It felt good, just personally just winning my first March Madness game. It felt good, and then we kind of had some fun. But at the same time, it was kind of a quick turnaround because we play tomorrow, so we had to lock in. We had to have a little fun but then also lock in on Villanova.

EUGENE BROWN III: I think for me it was a different feeling because last year we had the early exit. So walking out of the arena, instead of them saying safe travels, they say see you Sunday. It was a great feeling honestly. It just feels good.

JAMARI WHEELER: Yeah, winning always feels good, especially winning in March Madness. I was excited, and like Ki, it's my first tournament and my first win, so I was just excited all day. But like he said, quick turnaround next game.

Q. Chris, what's your relationship like with Jay Wright, and do you have any favorite moments that stand out to you over the years on or off the court with Jay?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: I just really, really, really like the guy and have tremendous respect for him, and I think I'm among so many people that have great respect for him and really like him.

He was really in our league -- in the Big East right now, or when I was in the league, and I'm sure it's the same, he's kind of the statesman of the league. Everything kind of goes as he leads. But he's also got a great humility in how he is as a person and as a coach.

You know, when we beat them when they were No. 1 in the country when I was at Butler, he took a moment, I think he just said, hey, I'm really happy for you. Then when we played in the NCAA Tournament, it might have been our game to go to the Sweet 16, he sent me a really long, nice text, just basically said, hey, be Chris.

Those moments stick out. He didn't have to do that. We've been a little bit not as much in touch since I left the league, but just tremendous respect, and I've stolen so much from him and his program. He has no idea because I didn't tell him. I just didn't tell him. I just watched his practices, watched his teams, anything that he was doing in terms of teaching I would watch.

I even to this day, I have stolen a lot from him. So thanks, Jay.

Q. Obviously you're very familiar with Villanova playing in the Big East. You guys played them twice a year. What from your time playing against Villanova in the Big East have you learned about how they play that kind of resonates with this version of the Villanova basketball team?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, it's very similar. They have tremendous buy-in to how they want to play. They've got a real toughness to them always. They just have a real tremendous toughness and approach that is just really tough-minded, as well. They're physically tough, and they're really, really tough-minded.

Some of that is because they're older. They're typically older, but even some of his younger teams have been really tough and tough-minded.

It requires a great discipline to play a team that is this talented, this good, this well-coached, and as tough as they are.

Q. You just talked about patterning certain things off Jay Wright. I wonder about roster build and how you assemble a team. Is that something you've borrowed from Jay Wright's philosophies over the years, and in what way?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: I think the idea that -- Jay talked openly several years ago really after his Final Four run about a little bit of a change in his recruiting approach. And if you go back and if you look at it -- and those that follow the program know what I'm talking about there -- and certainly that informs some of our decisions and how we went about recruiting.

You know, I'm aware of kind of how he builds his roster, and he plays a smaller rotation. I think there's some appeal to that. I haven't been able to kind of adopt that maybe as much as I thought I might initially. But yeah, there's certainly some things there that I've thought about and kind of studied with the way he builds his roster.

Q. You guys last faced Villanova back in November of 2019. Do you go back and watch that film? Two, Jermaine Samuels and Collin Gillespie started that game. How different are they now?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: They're so different. They're so different. They're older now, for one. That group was pretty young, and it was early in the season.

Really the more -- they're so different than that team. I think that the time we played them the last few years at Butler, those are probably more of the games where the personnel is different. Those are more the games that probably we reflect on and have watched a little bit more than that. That Ohio State game, it wasn't their night, it was kind of our night. We played well, but it was early in the season, too.

Q. Your commitment to details yesterday from your team seemed maybe as on point as it's been all season, and I know being committed to the game plan doesn't guarantee a win or a loss, but how replicable do you think that is with this team that you can be as dialed in as you were yesterday tomorrow?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I think it's to necessity against these guys. I think it's a real necessity. I don't think you can beat them without a really high attention to detail. And you're right, we played as hard as maybe as I've ever seen us play, and we were as detailed in a lot of areas as we've been for sure.

This game is going to require that. It was evident in how we played.

Q. How would you describe E.J.'s evolution as a player? Seems like from the outside he's methodically put together literally every piece he needs over these three years to be a good pro at the next level. And do you worry that his consistency is maybe taken for granted because you don't have to worry about it?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, maybe. It's not taken for granted by us. I lose sleep over it. He's going to be leaving here in a little bit. We don't take it for granted. His consistency really is remarkable. You can pretty much count on what he's going to be night in and night out.

I just think he's a great example of a kid who's, one, a great kid, and has literally gotten better in front of our eyes every year. He had a real choice. I think he clearly made the right choice in coming back. But sometimes kids come back and they don't see great improvement in their game for whatever reason. They just don't. We could talk about a number of guys.

He's really improved, and for me, it's a great reward because I know it's going to benefit him in terms of his professional career and his professional opportunities in the NBA. That's exciting to see that happen for a kid.

Q. Chris, you talked yesterday after just reflecting on the win and how last season ended that you kind of have to have tunnel vision as you progress through the tournament. And Gene was talking about how the team has to have fun after winning the game but now they've got to lock in. For you personally as a coach -- now that you have won the first game and you play tomorrow, how do you as a coach turn the focus and shift and move on quickly from getting that win and going into tomorrow?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, pretty quickly, right away. Really right away. I think you try to -- again, we've done this now seven years. You just try to turn the page right away and immediately prepare for what's next. It's such a quick turnaround so your prep has to start literally right after the game gets over with, and that's what we tried to do.

Q. Chris, obviously size in your guys' backcourt isn't necessarily a strong suit. Villanova, that's not necessarily the case, especially with Moore, he's 6'4", 210. I asked Jamari this as well. What are some of the challenges when you are a smaller guard going up against a bigger guard who likes to throw his weight around?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: That, and Gillespie is a power guard, as well, really physical. I think that is a concern. We're small and we're also slight at some of those spots. Malaki is not short but he's slight. He's 18 years old. So it's very much a concern. It just really is, because they post their guards. They post their 5 man, but they post their guards. Their best post players, along with their 5 man, are their 1 and their 2, so yeah, it's a concern.

Q. What were some of the traits and qualities that you saw in Greg Oden having gotten to know him that made you feel he would be a valuable addition to this staff and this program?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Greg really wants to coach. He helped us initially when we first got here a couple years ago and then he kind of stepped away and did some other things and he said, hey, Coach, I'll go be an assistant at a mid-major. I just want to coach, I want to get my foot in the door.

I think that initiative that he took and that hunger was obvious. He can obviously bring a lot of things just in terms of his knowledge and his experience, but he wants to coach, he wants to build a career in coaching. And we kind of felt like an obligation this year, and he needs to kind of -- we need to help him find something this off-season to where he can go get some recruiting experience, and that's what we're going to try to do.

Q. Chris, you're playing two programs here, the team you beat yesterday, Loyola, and Villanova -- I think most people who follow college basketball, they know what those programs are about, what you're going to get when you play those teams. I'm sure that's something as a coach you take a lot of pride in. I'm wondering where you think you are in establishing that for your own program now that you're five years into this.

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I think -- five years into this, four post-seasons, right? We always think about that, the lost years. We forget about that.

I think as much as anything, certainly -- it would be interesting to ask other teams kind of what would they think of when they think of our team. But I would hope that they would say what I've tried to build, what we've tried to build is a really tough and tough-minded team that is connected on both ends and plays together on both ends.

I think teams that can consistently be that are going to be able to consistently win at a pretty high level.

Hopefully that's what would be said. That's what we've tried to build. There's a lot of different ways to build it, but that's what we would hope would be said about us.

I think we've had -- we've certainly had -- I think those would be consistent characteristics people would say about our teams.

Q. You said you've stolen a lot from Jay. Can you give us something, just something from the X's and O's point of view?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: I mean, I've got an assistant who is all about two-foot plays and jump stop and two-point percentage and really a lot of that is from Jay. The fundamentals of footwork; the fundamentals of playing on balance on drives and on the interior; the idea of an offensive rebound being an immediate kick-out for a three is something that I think a lot of teams have stolen.

We know this because I think they left it behind a time or two. Jay in every road -- you guys know this that follow him -- in any road locker room has "attitude" written up at the top. We don't do that, but we've stolen some similar ideas. Those are a couple examples.

Q. With players having such an easy route to transferring these days, does it change the way you coach kids, handle kids, and handle certain situations with kids?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: It can change. I think maybe it changes the conversation in recruiting a little bit, and maybe you're trying to be a little bit more -- I don't want to say honest, but maybe a little bit more plain spoken about what the first year or two could be like with young men.

But I don't think it can change entirely how you coach. I've been asked this a lot. Because I think for me, I have to coach from my convictions and what I believe impacts teams and players the best way. If I can't do that, then I'd just as soon not coach.

I do think there's more dialogue now with parents and with people who are connected to your players because of the transfer portal. You used to go a whole season and not talk, and at the end of the season, maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't. You can't do that anymore. You kind of have to stay in contact with your players' immediate circle.

Q. Jay has spoken for a while since the Big East kind of reconstituted in '13 and '14 that it's really to his advantage and to the advantage of the league that it's considered a basketball-first league. You've seen that, obviously, and now you've seen coaching in the Big Ten. What do you think of his take on that, and how do you compare the Big East now compared to the Big Ten in that regard?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Well, they've really sold it as a basketball-first league, and I think it's played to their benefit. Obviously the addition of UConn has helped.

It's a tremendous basketball league, and I get why you would sell something. They've got really strong brands, basketball brands, that have had great success and won National Championships and been to Final Fours. A lot of similar-sized institutions.

I had a tremendous experience in that league, tremendous experience. I loved it. I loved it. Part of it was just the purity of how important basketball was in that league.

I love the Big Ten, as well. They're just different in how they're set up.

Q. You guys obviously finally get a tournament game under your belt with some of these guys that haven't played in one before. Do you feel like that takes a little bit of the nerves away trying to get to the Sweet 16 now?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Probably, but I think being on edge is not a bad thing. I think it probably takes -- maybe relaxes some guys. Maybe we need that to help us shoot the ball a little bit better, but I think there's a place for being on edge and having some nerves in a tournament like this.

Q. You were talking about the team's connectedness earlier. What do you maybe attribute some of that to? Is it like hourglass end of the season coming up, is it that you had a week to prepare? Why do you think you guys were able to be as dialed in as they were like that?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: Probably all of those things. And again, when we've been healthy, we have been pretty connected. I'm not saying if Kyle is with us every game we win the league, but I think we probably could finish a game out maybe.

So I think there is a precedent that this has been a pretty connected group. And I just think anytime you're sensing that the end is coming and you have some older guys that know the end is coming, there's an urgency to how they're going to play.

Q. Your offense yesterday, E.J. took two shots in the first half, and they made you play left-handed a little bit. Here's Villanova, I think they're in the top 25 in adjusted defense, as well. What can you guys do to tweak things? Were you happy with the shots that you got and the people that were taking them? In a general sense, what were your thoughts about that and what you'll have to do?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: I thought we settled a few too many times and I thought our shot selection on a few occasions could have been better. I thought we could have attacked a little bit better than what we did.

Now, they were very, very disruptive to us. And you're right, they did, they trapped some of our guys and they also threw multiple guys at E.J.

But I still think we settled a couple times, and I didn't love a couple of our shots. We need to get better with that.

But Villanova can do a lot of the same thing. They're going to bump you off cuts, they're going to be really, really physical on the interior, and if you can't play with force, you can't be effective against these guys. It just won't happen. They'll just -- it just won't happen. They're too physical, they're too old and too strong.

Hope that answers that.

Q. You talked about how the transfer portal has maybe changed the landscape a little bit. Last year, tough out, E.J. gets a lot of stuff online. Guys transfer for a billion reasons. Your players were up here saying they never worried about it. What does it say to you about maybe him that he kind of not only just sort of absorbed that stuff but turned it into maybe almost a positive, sort of doubling down on how he felt about Columbus?

CHRIS HOLTMANN: You know, they say they never worried about him transferring after that? We did our due diligence on that and I think figured out -- we communicated with his family. I think it was somebody who was betting on the game from somewhere outside of Columbus, I guess, is what we understand.

I think with E.J., who he's been, who he was in the recruiting process, who his family was in the recruiting process has been consistent with who he's been in three years.

I think anytime you're coaching a kid and you see him maybe go through difficult things, you kind of know in some ways how they could respond, and you kind of know sometimes, hey, guys could transfer for this reason or that reason, just because you just get that sense.

With E.J., we knew how he felt about his opportunity to come back. Also I don't think he wanted to leave on that note. I just think also he knew how we felt about him and how he felt about this place, and to his credit, he's left a great legacy.

He's been honest on social media in a lot of his takes on social media just on -- I give him credit. He's been really vulnerable and honest and he was in that moment, and it's a credit to him.