I think the Big East helps. And my staff does a great job. I'll never take credit for all of our recruiting. (Assistant coach) Larry Davis did a great job with Marcus Sikes. |
I was confident he was a good player. But he's gotten better all year. |
I was sitting in a gym, and he started banging in threes. I saw him in the Augusta Peach Jam. A lot of people questioned why we recruited him. A lot of people told Tyler that he wouldn't be able to play here. A couple of other coaches when he committed made comments like 'Don't call us when you transfer because you won't play there.' I was confident that he was a good player. |
I'm proud of our effort. I'm proud of our team. I'm certainly proud of individual performances. But in no way, shape or form are we satisfied. |
I'm still floating. This is truly a dream come true. |
I've been in contact with his parents. He's OK. I think he has some personal things he's working through right now. … I plan on meeting with him when we get back, then we'll go from there. |
I've been planning on this for the last three weeks. I knew it was a possibility when I got the job. In our first conversation, he asked for his release. |
It had to be fast. These guys go quickly. You can't waste days on personal stuff. Those are the days I used to try to beat people to the punch and get in there. ... People have developed relationships with these kids, and you're trying to play catch-up. |
It obviously didn't help us, not having him. But we make no excuses. |
My players are who the little kids look up to. |
Obviously, I wish we could have had him. Things happen. What are you going to do? |
Our tradition helps our recruiting, there's no doubt about it. It makes the phone calls a lot easier, when you're calling from a team the players see on TV all the time and they see the atmosphere and the fans filling up arena. There's no doubt it makes recruiting easier. |
That was not a surprise to me. You have two talented, athletic teams that try to play with toughness and take pride in how they get after people. I thought the game might come down to turnovers and who gets more easy baskets. … It was hard to find baskets out there. |
That's the great shame about his death at just 51: Steve had so much more to live for. |
The guy was fifth in the nation in scoring. He's 6 foot 2 and he's strong. I'm into guys that can play multiple positions. |