The Associated Press

LAHAINA, Hawaii - If you want to talk to Jim O'Brien, you have to lean in real close.

The Ohio State coach has been reduced to a whisper following surgery to relieve a problem with a disc in his upper back. There's no definite timetable for when his voice will return to normal, but he's still coaching and making headlines.

The Buckeyes stopped off in California for a game against San Francisco on the way to the Maui Invitational, which begins today.

They lost Friday's game 76-65 and also lost their coach with about four minutes to play when he was ejected - for writing!

"The officials couldn't hear me and I asked one of them to come over so he could and he wouldn't," O'Brien said Sunday. "I took the clipboard and wrote 'This is sad' and turned it to him. That got me the technical. I don't think he could even see it but I was gone."

O'Brien expects to be around for all of the first-round game against San Diego State, but Aztecs coach Steve Fisher has a plan.

"Jim, I have those same guys coming over to work this game," he said, drawing a laugh from O'Brien.

That game is one of four on opening day, along with Villanova-Chaminade, Dayton-Central Michigan and Hawaii-Santa Clara.

The frustration O'Brien feels is obvious when he talks about his vocal cord problem. During timeouts he wears an earpiece with a microphone - like the person at the fast food takeout window - and a portable amplifier allows players to hear him.

"They say they hear me but you never know if they're listening anyway," O'Brien said with a smile. "We're in a little bit of a shambles and I'm not off to a great start getting tossed."

The Dayton-Central Michigan game matches two former Big Ten assistants who are now head coaches.

Brian Gregory, in his first year at Dayton, worked at Michigan State, while Jay Smith of Central Michigan was a longtime assistant at Michigan.