Famous Quotes & Sayings

Shane Battier

If you try to mess with the basketball gods, they punish you in the end. All the talk of massaging and losing games, that's not in our minds right now. We're trying to win every single game each time we step on the court. Wherever we are at the end of the year, hopefully we'll have some momentum and play well in the playoffs.

In the years prior to this year, we were playing our best basketball at the beginning of the year, and you don't really want to be doing that. So, we paced ourselves this year.

In the first half, we played the best basketball that we have played all year. We were really clicking on all cylinders. We were really psyched for this game.

In the first half we didn't take care of the basketball and it hurt us a little bit.

In the last five or six games, we've been playing our best basketball in this league. I'm really proud of how our kids have stayed together and gotten better in the course of a very difficult year.

Steve Alford

In the last five minutes, they were the tougher basketball team. They got the stops they needed, and we did not.

In the end it was our horrible start that did us in, which is the opposite of what we usually do (come out strong and fade as the game goes on). Our big thing is that we don't play consistent basketball but tonight I thought we did except for the first quarter and the last two minutes of the third.

Pat Williams

In the history of basketball, if you wondered who would do that, I don't think he would have gotten many votes. But everything came together that evening. It was a magical evening down in the Magic land. . . . It was basketball the old-fashioned way. Rip it and run.

Charles Brown

Integration started with the students that came in that had nothing to do with basketball, nothing to do with sports. The second year, then the basketball part came in. That's the thing that kind of kicked the whole thing off.

Alejandro Toledo

In our fight to recover democracy in Peru, we will not put all our eggs in the basket of the Organization of American States.

In order for her to be a good basketball player, she has to play that way. She's not the quickest thing in the world, but she's pretty smart. She'll dive on the court for loose balls, and that takes a toll on her.

Herb Kohl

No two umpires, or no two referees, have the same strike zone or call the same kind of a basketball game, ... And ballplayers and basketball players understand that, depending upon who the umpire is and who the referee is, the game can be called entirely differently.

Rabih Alameddine

Now I love hoops. I'm a diehard UCLA fan, have been since my freshman year. But basketball is the '1812 Overture.' Pomp and circumstance, fireworks and cannons, lots and lots of fun, and in the end, still Tchaikovsky.

Craig Robertson

Oh yes, we love all that stuff. Basketball is all about having fun. That's what keeps us up for games.

During our 13 days off, we worked on defense. I knew we'd be good at that. The shooting ... well, I wasn't sure.

Defensively, we were disruptive also. Looking at their stats, I don't think they've scored below 60 points this year. In fact, I think they only scored below 80 once. So to hold their basketball team to under 60 points tonight was great. We forced them into long shots and long turnovers, and we got run outs.

Defensively, we have to match up with them. They have a lot of guards that can handle the basketball. Justin Murray is their post player. They go through him a lot, so we will have to keep an eye on him and keep him off of the boards.

Defensively, we are playing our best basketball and when we use our defense to generate our offense, that's when we're exciting. Tournament-time, no matter who we play, the way we match up if going to come down to how we defend and how we rebound.

Defense was the key for us tonight. It's what Bulldog basketball is all about...getting in their face and forcing mistakes.

Andrew Bogut

Definitely not. I don't like how it looks, but I don't play basketball for looks.

Tony Parker

Definitely difficult to lose him. He was coming back very well. He was starting to play very well. He was playing good basketball so it is hard to lose him again.

Coach said we needed to play 40 minutes of basketball tonight and we only played 36. We had a lot of turnovers and they capitalized on them.

Coach Rupp was kind of an iconic figure. He led the greatest basketball program in the country and was an easy target for those who say he didn't do enough. Whether he did or didn't can be argued.

Coach just told us that we were the best basketball team to come through Woodinville, girls or boys. He told us we brought a lot of joy to his life. He told us to stay in touch.

Coach had challenged me to come out early and get some buckets. The basket just got bigger. In the end result, it really doesn't count because we didn't get the win.

Coach Grieves is a man who cares about the team and the program. He's going to do whatever's in his power to get us back in the gym. I feel like we had a little more time to work on our game, get in condition, stay focused on basketball and not think about the hurricane.

Coach Fisher taught me how to drive. He was also my brother's basketball coach.

Ben Howland

Coach watches every game. I knew that and embraced it. He's the greatest coach in the history of basketball. What he did in college basketball will never be repeated. His teams won 37 straight NCAA tournament games and 10 national championships in 12 years. You know how everyone wants to be like Mike -- Michael Jordan -- as a player? Every coach wants to be like John. So I don't feel a shadow. I embrace it.

Chris Duhon

Coach was the male influence in my life when I grew up, ... He taught me a lot about basketball and about life. That was the type of guy he was.

Coaches are never satisfied. The overall grade of the game was an 'A,' but finishing at the basket was a 'C-plus' and our rebounding was about a 'C-plus/B-minus,' but in the overall context we played a really good game.

Cole came through with several big plays. He had a couple late, making the basket and the free throw, that kept us in the lead.

Coming out of basketball we missed two meets going into the second week of playoffs. She jumped into the first meet, and it was like she was in the middle of the season. Her techniques are well right now.

Despite not winning, a game like this will only make us better. As long as I can remember, Averill Park hasn't won a girls' basketball championship. We're looking to change that. Our motto is, 'One practice, one game at a time.' And that's not going to change.