Famous Quotes & Sayings

Antawn Jamison

We're not a .500 basketball club, ... but we're playing like it.

We're trying to change a mind-set, because there has been a lack of success with men's basketball. One of the biggest things when I came in was to look at it from top to bottom. We're trying to put a new eye on things. ... A lot of people in the department have been here for a long time, 10 or 12 or 15 years. Hopefully I can bring some insight from (XU's) program.

We saw how we want to play. Eventually we would like our program to be where Bellefonte is and to play that type of basketball with ball movement and court spacing and rebounding and shooting.

Roy H. Williams

We saw a big-time basketball team play in a tough environment. Our guys in the second half, I love how hard we competed. ... It seemed like every time we'd get right there where I thought we could get over the hump, but we couldn't get a stop.

Corey Brewer

We said we played our worst basketball half of the year - and we're tied up.

We just haven't been getting the same financial support that basketball and football get. That's been our main disadvantage. So our programs end up having inferior equipment and poor playing conditions, and we can't hire the best instructors.

We just have not played good defense lately. That's not our character. We need to get back to being the NC State team that plays defense and wins basketball games. We can't rely on our offense to win games. Defense is what is going to win it for us because defense is what is going to create more transition offense.

We knew it would be a tough, physical basketball game and playing Central on its home floor would be a tough chore. We just kept telling the kids to stay calm and composed. Once we got the lead we were able to spread the floor and make them foul us. We didn't make a lot of free throws, but we made enough.

We knew it would be a defensive game tonight. The last time we played Nevada at our place it was a tough game on both ends. They were definitely the aggressor, they came out on a mission. They were determined to continue to play. Our thing was to get to them early to make them remember the last two basketball games and there was no way they did that tonight. They were focused, they were on a mission. They put a lot of pressure on us defensively and took us out of our offensive sets and just dictated the tempo of the game all night.

We just wrapped up a very good week of basketball. First we knocked off Lincoln, and then Bloomington and then finished like this. We are definitely playing our best basketball of the season right now.

We just weren't playing with the effort, the intensity, the desire, the passion that I think we're known for and that we've come to expect from our basketball team.

Billy Donovan

We thought the three-point line would be critical at both ends. It's the great equalizer in college basketball and we held them without one for (nearly) 35 minutes. And I thought Lee Humphrey shot the ball very well.

Mike Fratello

We thought it was the best thing for us to do. Let them have the opportunity to get back home, straighten out their personal lives if there is anything that has to be done and get them away from the heavy concentration on basketball so they can come back with a clean slate.

We thought he could have been a pretty good Division I volleyball player. He could have been an All-American. But he decided to go to HPU and play basketball, and he was a good basketball player. It was economics. You can get a full ride at HPU and Hilo, but only a partial scholarship here.

We think we're a pretty good basketball team. If we had everybody, we'd probably think we're a great basketball team, but right now we're a good basketball team turning into a great basketball team.

We're not ready at all. We're just not. I told those guys that defensively we're not ready. Offensively, I think we'll be able to score some points. Defensively, we're not ready for Big Ten basketball yet. In fairness, we haven't mixed things up and we've just played man-to-man defense.

Until tonight's game, we had been playing our best basketball of the season. Defensively, I thought we grew up this season. We played smarter and better as the season went on.

Until our administration puts more money into the (basketball) program, we are always going to have trouble with teams like Bakersfield. They have kids who come to school for one semester to play basketball, and that's not how we do it.

Nerlens Noel

Then you've got Georgetown, and I really just like everything about them. When I went down there with my mom, it really opened my eyes to what they were all about. I have to factor in what a school like that can do for me, even away from being a basketball player.

Scott Drew

Penny is an impressive young man. He is an excellent student who is extremely hard working and driven to be successful in academics, basketball and life.

Our kids really started to jell, and we played our best basketball at the end of the season. That's a testament to the coaching staff and all the hard work they put into it.

Our kids learned a good lesson about the game of basketball tonight. Basketball is all about momentum. We had it for most of the first half and then we let it go and West took it from us. We let them get back into the game.

Bob Bennett

Our kids have decided they want to go to the state tournament and we're going to make every effort. Their heads aren't down. They know they gave a great effort and they know if we can play basketball like that (today) we have a great shot of going as the No. 3 seed and that's all we can ask for.

Our kids, for the most part, followed the game plan. They fought from the beginning to the end. For 32 minutes, this was the best basketball we've had this season.

Billy Donovan

Our guys have to be able to handle that pressure. There are a lot of distractions. There is a lot of tugging and a lot of things you have to deal with that are different from the regular season. I want them to enjoy where they are at because it is the pinnacle of college basketball to get to this point. At the same time, you have to keep the focus there and put yourself in position to play the best basketball.

Our guys have been working to become a team since we started school in August. One of the great things about college basketball is that you do have a new beginning.

Bernie Bickerstaff

Our guys did everything they could to win the basketball game. Our guys played hard. They were terrific. ... I don't want them to get discouraged.

Our kids did a tremendous job in coming through down the stretch. Both teams could have won the game. It was an excellent high school basketball game.

Our kids are very unselfish and very basketball intelligent. The only way we can win is to play that way.

Our goal was to bring lacrosse to Marion County. It's different from football, basketball and soccer. It's something new here. The game is very exciting and it moves quickly.

Our goal was, as the season went on, to get better. I think we did that. When we finished our year, I do think we were playing some of our best basketball at the conference tournament.

Rick Barnes

Our guys showed a tremendous will to win. We had some tough times, but we kept believing, and our guys never doubted they were a good basketball team.

Bob Thomason

Our guys played perfect basketball over the last three minutes. The first game of a tournament is a little tougher, but we handled it. We got through it, and now we know we need to play a great 40 minutes for a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament.