Famous Quotes & Sayings

Hakeem Olajuwon

Allah says in the Qur'an not to despise one another. So the criterion in Islam is not color or social status. It's who is most righteous. If I go to a mosque - and I'm a basketball player with money and prestige - if I go to a mosque and see an imam, I feel inferior. He's better than me. It's about knowledge.

Hakeem Olajuwon

Basketball is in my blood. It is my obligation to try.

Hakeem Olajuwon

When you get to that level, it's not a matter of talent anymore - because all the players are so talented - it's about preparation, about playing smart and making good decisions.

Greg Norman

Setting goals for your game is an art. The trick is in setting them at the right level - neither too low nor too high. A good goal should be lofty enough to inspire hard work, yet realistic enough to provide solid hope of attainment.

Jim Calhoun

We feel that the 2-2-1 press is a very effective means of controlling tempo and providing us with opportunities to capitalize on the mistakes of our opponents. At the same time we feel it is a very safe press because we work very hard at the necessary rotations.

Jim Calhoun

We stop practice every time we see one of our players not blocking out.

Jim Calhoun

...Basketball doesn't care what color your skin is. It doesn't care what language you speak or what religion you practice. It doesn't care if you're big or small, fast or slow. It just asks you to play, to complete, to lose with dignity, to win humility.

Jim Brown

I could run 200 yards at a stretch, I could duck between players, I felt free to make plays that suited me best. It wasn't like football then and basketball today, where coaches tell you what foot to put down.

Jerry Krause

Coach now the way you want to coach 10 years from now.

Jay Hernandez

I'm pretty athletic and I play basketball a lot.

Jay Leno

Magic Johnson, former basketball player, may run for mayor of L.A. in the next election. Remember the good 'ol days when only qualified people ran for office like actors and professional wrestlers.

Jay Leno

I wanted to have a career in sports when I was young, but I had to give up the idea. I'm only six feet tall, so I couldn't play basketball. I'm only 190 pounds, so I couldn't play football, and I have 20/20 vision, so I couldn't be a referee.

Jay Bilas

The players I respected most were the toughest players, not those who talked a good game or blocked a shot and acted like a fool.

Jay Bilas

The greatest compliment to any player is he is a great teammate. We can't all be great players, but we can all be great teammates

Jay Bilas

The tough player is the one who is difficult to play against and easy to play with

Carlisle Floyd

I had all the normal interests - I played basketball and I headed the school paper. But I also developed very early a great love for music and literature and the theater.

Candace Parker

My whole career has been trying to please people in basketball. Now it's time to please myself.

Byron Scott

Unlike last year, we're not just happy to be here in the Finals

Bud Wilkinson

Play against the Game, not your opponent.

Bud Wilkinson

Morale and attitude are the fundamentals to success.

Bud Wilkinson

Remember, 'Rome was not built in a day.' Instant success is never possible. Competence results only from sustained, consistent, self-disciplined effort over an extended period of time.

Pat Buchanan

It's in the struggle itself that you define yourself.

Pat Conroy

Basketball allowed me to revere my father without him knowing what I was up to. I took up basketball as a form of homage and mimicry.

Pat Conroy

We old athletes carry the disfigurements and markings of contests remembered only by us and no one else. Nothing is more lost than a forgotten game.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Your mind is what makes everything else work.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I think Kwame will be an asset to the Lakers.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

When the line started to blur between the fans and the players, sometimes things can get ugly.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The first time I shot the hook, I was in fourth grade, and I was about five feet eight inches tall. I put the ball up and felt totally at ease with the shot. I was completely confident it would go in. I've been shooting it ever since.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

As a parent, I have a job as a role model to my children, and by extension, to other young people.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

The extra pass and the extra effort on defense always get the job done.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I can do something else besides stuff a ball through a hoop. My biggest resource is my mind.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Center is a very tough position to play.