BRUCE THORNTON AT OSU’S MEDIA DAY
* On his message to Buckeye Nation – “We are going to do big things this year, Buckeye Nation. It will not be the same thing as last year. We’re going to win big games and do a lot of big things. Here we come.”
* On getting through the freshman wall at midseason last year and avoiding something similar this year – “Last year was just so up and down. You’re a freshman and you don’t know anything at all. You don’t know how the next game is going to be or how you’re going to play. But now I have a year under my belt and I can help the younger guys.
“We have older guys like Dale and Jamison (Battle) and Zed and then I also have Roddy (Gayle) and Felix (Okpara). We can tell the younger guys like, ‘You may go through something, but this is a team for a reason. We’re going to help you out. We’re going to fight through it.’ If you do that, good things happen.
“I felt like in the Big Ten tournament we kept fighting through adversity and good things happen.”
* On what the veteran Bonner brings to the team – “He brings versatility so I don’t have to be on the ball so much. He can come over and play with quickness, knock down shots and play defense as well. Having another veteran guy at point guard it helps the team. He can play off the ball as well, so it helps us on offense and defense.”
* On playing some at shooting guard if needed – “I feel like I can be even more active on defense and cause more havoc on defense. I can play off the ball and make back door cuts and get other people open. Having two point guards on the court can be good.”
* On being a captain at a young age – “It feels way more comfortable now just having that ownership and taking that responsibility. I want to be the leader. I want to be the captain. I want to lead this team into big games and big wins and a championship. Me taking that responsibility, I feel 100 percent comfortable with that.”
* On dealing with the scar tissue from last year’s rough season – “We’re just not going to put it away. We will have it in the back of our minds as encouragement. We’re not going to have that season we had last year. We’re going to work harder. You can’t lose that many games if you want to do big things. We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen this year.”
* On how much more prepared he is this year – “I feel like I’m more prepared. I have a full year under me, especially with that roller coaster experience we had last year. That prepared me more than anything. For me understanding, I can help the young guys out. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Just make sure you go hard every day and take the small details and run with it. For me having the confidence I have, it’s going to be a great year.”
* On the team’s improvement defensively – “It takes the buy in on the defensive end. When everybody buys in, I feel that’s when the best teams can go to The Big Dance, the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight, the Final Four and even the championship game. It takes everybody buying in to the system. “I feel like with the schedule we have and everybody buying in, I feel like we can be a good defensive team. When everybody buys in, I think we can be a good team.”
* On the addition of new assistant Brandon Bailey, who comes with NBA experience – “Having him is great. You see the little small details that you might not see before. He’s nitpicking at every little defensive assignment. We want to do big things here. Having him is a great addition and I think he will help us out.”
* On growing as a player going into his sophomore year – “I just feel like it’s about winning game. When you win, everybody else wins. Everybody gets the exposure they need when we win. We have to make sure everybody is on the same page, everybody is connected and we can win big games if we do that.”
* On his classmates Gayle and Okpara emerging – “I feel like we are ready, especially the older guys we added with Jamison and Dale coming in and Zed coming back. The younger guys bring the energy to the facility. Having that mix is a great combination and I think we can do great things this year.”
www.elevenwarriors.com
