I think they understand [their roles], but once in a while they slip out of it. The big guys are posted up at 9 feet [from the basket], and I tell them they're not Karl Malone. But they don't know who Karl Malone is, so that doesn't do any good. |
I think they're happy to be here, they're excited. This was a great memory. College is a great time. I just hope they keep coming back. |
I think they're here to stay. |
I think we did a good job of scheduling for our team. We took advantage of it and maybe won a couple of games that people didn't expect us to win, including myself. |
I thought we came out and set the tone with a great deal of energy. Dee and James played like seniors should. |
I thought we came out in the second half playing really lethargic, and the game was up-and-down the court with both teams scoring every possession. I told our kids we couldn't go on the road and win games like that. |
I thought we did a pretty good job on Roy, though early on he had his way. |
I thought we had a great finish to the first half both defensively and offensively. But they just kept coming at us. |
I told Dee afterwards, we have played him a lot of minutes. It's tough on him. Now Chester ... is getting back to where he's comfortable. We trust him a little more. I want to ease Dee's minutes and the pressure on him. Chester brings energy. Chester brought some good body language to the game. |
I told the whole team, all the things you face in a season you'll face on this trip. Then it's a matter of how you deal with it. It's not only the basketball, it's the toughness, the discipline, the growing up. It's all part of this trip. |
I told them after today's game, we're making progress. Now, put it all together on the road against a good team. If you're going to compete and get a high (NCAA tournament) seed, you have to win some road games. |
I told them they have to act and play like upperclassmen. It might not come overnight. They need some playing time, some minutes and confidence. We're going to have to be patient. We have two very good seniors and a lot of question marks. |
I want them back because it's good publicity, but also to be around our other guys. I know Luther will keep coming back; I hope Deron will come back and then Dee and James down the road. |
I was just talking to another Big Ten coach on the phone about that today as well as some other coaching friends, and just about how fragile your team can be. You think about the ups and downs in our league. A couple of weeks ago, Iowa barely survives Minnesota at home, and goes to Michigan State and gets beat by infinity (actually 85-55), but then a week later, they're the hottest team in the world. Then the next game they lose on the road to Northwestern. |
I was telling Jay I wasn't sure he was good enough for the Big Ten. |