I've never had a better defensive team in all the years I've coached. They get after it and play hard every possession. |
I've received so many letters and telephone calls, it's hard to keep up. I appreciated it so much. But I'm fine. |
If anybody saw (the Memphis game) and knows we've beaten Arizona and LSU, if they don't think we're a tournament team, then they don't know basketball. I've taken worse teams than this to the Sweet 16. I don't think I have to lobby for it. |
If we didn't do that (go small), we lose. Had we walked up and down the floor with them and let them pound it inside, we would have been in much deeper foul trouble, and we would have had nothing on the offensive end. I'll always give up rebounding for defense and great quickness. |
In my opinion he has no confidence in himself right now. If he's playing like he normally is, we don't lose these games. That's the responsibility that comes with being a front-line player. |
It all depends on what market you're in, as to how easy it is. In some cities and towns, a team can be bad and all the people will show up to boo the coach. In Houston, they just don't show up. |
It's a good chance for fans to come and meet the players and get to know them a little bit. And it's also a chance for the players to meet the fans, which is always a good thing. |
It's a good thing I didn't die. They would have gotten two more free throws and possession [of the ball]. |
Oliver has discovered that he can do other things (than shoot 3s), which is something we've been on him about since Christmas. I think he's starting to believe it. |
Rather than get giddy after beating LSU, which is an unbelievably talented team, the guys immediately turned their focus on Arizona and that final score wasn't indicative of the margin of that game. This is best defensive team I've ever had. They really get after it. These are very athletic, quick long-armed kids who pressure all over. |
That (shot by Henderson) hurt. We played great defense, and then he just kind of flung it up there to beat the shot clock. |
That's our game. Pressure. Try to create some easy buckets. That's what we're trying to build here first. That's the foundation. It's a different style and it is not conservative. We try to force teams not to run their regular stuff. |
There's no fire-and-brimstone lecture (for tonight's game). It's a game we want to win because we want to win our 19th game, and we want to play in the postseason. Not because it's Rice. And that's no disrespect to Rice. I've never coached that way. |
They are an outstanding ball club. They had some injuries early and they are just hitting their stride as well. Doc Sadler has got his team playing really, really well. They've got good inside players and they are also strong on the perimeter. And they have an experienced point guard in Edgar Moreno. They are an outstanding club. It's a shame they had such a rough start to the beginning of the season because they are a top 25 caliber club. |
This can be a Sweet 16 team. We're going to be really good in February. We're just scratching the surface right now. |