Steve McClain Quotes (41 Quotes)

Maybe I even take some of the blame. By the time we go back to Vegas, (Wyoming is) going to be really good again.

It's always a big game to them. That's part of what, still, I don't think our young guys always understand. When you put Wyoming on your chest, it's a big deal for somebody to try to beat you.

The kids are fighting their butts off and when we got down 10 I told the kids that they had a choice They either fought for four more minutes or they packed it in. We fought our butts off and came right back at the end.

All of the sudden the wrong guy was taking the ball out of bounds and our guards weren't coming to meet the ball they ran through some passes. We have five turnovers at halftime and we have nine in the second half. Those nine were when they made their run.

Most people would have said if Justin Williams doesn't play today, we don't even have a chance.

I know that in this business, as head coach I am measured, ultimately, by wins and losses. I was very proud of our players and what we accomplished last week. I have never doubted my ability to coach and lead the Cowboys successfully. I know how hard our coaches and players have worked for this program.

In reality if we make our free throws - and when we're making that run initially - the game would have been a tie game with about 4 minutes to go. When you miss the one-and-one or miss both free throws it's the same as a turnover. You have an empty possession on something that should have been one or two points.

We've never been afraid to change our lineup for the Air Force game. When practice is over after two days, I'll go, 'These eight guys have the best grasp of what we have to do.' It'll be hard not to (change) because Ross and Ike have played well, but I don't know. I can't answer that right now.

In the end we didn't make our free throws. If we make our free throws, the game unfolds all right for us. Those are the little things you have to do at the end to win a game like that.

Our kids got a little excited during that stretch of the game and didn't really take care of the ball. But I have a lot of faith in my guards and I think they settled down after that.

San Diego State is feeling good and we feel like someone tore out guts out. But if you don't ever walk over that line to compete, you don't know how it feels.

Chris really came in and played solid, which is what we need him to do -- just be solid when he comes in. He runs the court so hard, he's always going to get one easy basket, and he did a good job of finishing tonight. We need someone like that every night off the bench.

They fought to the end. We had some breakdowns, but they also shot the ball about as well as they could shoot it. We were trapping, we were going with the idea that if they rely on shooting 3s we're all right, and they knocked them down. Give them credit for that.

Justin Williams has got to step up. With so many new players out there on the court, you've got to have your guys that have been through the battles sometimes. There's no question, he's going to have to step up and play a better game down there.

We have enough fight in us. There's only one choice -- keep fighting. Maybe a ball will bounce our way one time.

That was probably our worst defensive effort of the season. I give Milwaukee credit for some of that, they are a veteran basketball team and they run their stuff very well. Yet, we just made some mental lapses that we didn't make in the first half.

People always ask you 'Have you lost your confidence' We were struggling and (something) clicks at some point that makes a team go 'Now wait a minute. We're going to fight and we're going to work to try to win this game.' Something clicked.

You look at the places they've played ... and not a lot of people would have done anything different than they've done.

It's true. But I have nothing to hang my head about.

They went through a rebuilding period. Everyone reaches a point where you have to suddenly reload and get refocused and go back to winning. There's no question in my mind that Dave Rose will have that program going again. He's going to get it back. If ever there's a year where you don't care if you're picked ninth, it's this year because everybody has a chance to win it. I don't think they'll finish at the bottom. Dave Rose will do a great job at BYU.

Even though we lost our lead, I thought that CSU lost a lot of energy and that hurt them in the end. I'm proud of our kids for playing well in this environment. Brandon (Ewing) handled himself well, he just doesn't ware down.

You never want a game to end that way because you feel so helpless. You always want a game played and finished with guys out there making plays. They called the foul that's their job. Their (the Aztecs') kid still had to step up and hit the free throw, and he did. You give them credit for that.

I was emotional after a difficult game, and I certainly shouldn't have said the things I said. I have always taken great pride in how our team handles itself following losses, as well as wins. My comments were out of character for what Cowboy basketball is all about.

Give Vegas credit. They spread us out and executed.

It always helps to make free throws. If you make free throws it's a pretty simple game, especially at the end.

I hope he kicks his butt all night. That's a challenge -- he's going to have to come up to it.

If there's a change in time or place, we'll certainly get that word out, but at this point, there hasn't been anything like that.

Our guys have got to understand that the better the team is you are playing, the more mental breakdowns is what they feed off of.

Our young guys aren't hurting us right now. Our veterans have got to step up in a game like this. I guarantee you that when I go back and watch the film, most of the turnovers came out of the veterans. That's where they have to step up.

When I look at how the match-ups played out, and when you look at how the season went for everybody, how many times could you say, 'We finished seventh in the league so we've got to play the second-place team, and we split with them' And we lost to them at their place on a shot at the buzzer.

Offensive rebounding. They get 20 of them and really, that's what hurt us in the first half. We guarded their stuff well enough. We had some trouble with transition defense and we had trouble with rebounding the basketball.

I thought he had a clean look. I knew where Brad (Jones) was going there (with the pass) because Freddy Robinson, I think, was standing in front of him ready to take a charge.

They played well, and they earned their time.

This wasn't about Steve McClain. This was about a group of kids that invested and I am proud of them. They never let it be a distraction.

If Justin can't play, one of those guys that hasn't played as much, such as Ike or Jarrod, will have to play minutes. Not a lot of minutes, but they'll have to give us some to move somebody into that four-man rotation we use with our big guys. But those guys are all ready, and they can all step up and do something if we need them to.

They're just out there competing. They're challenging each other. This group isn't afraid to get in each other's faces and if you can't take that, you can't play. Justin's a senior. He's trying to win games on his way out. He makes that point to a lot of people.

Were we as good defensively as we needed to be No. But tonight should have been a night where our offense was good enough to carry us. We didn't get enough from our big guys to carry us.

Our world's a little different because we can get so many tapes on people compared to high-school and junior-college. Every one of the teams, you might have about 14-15 tapes you've got to watch and know everything about them.

Like all of us, our student-athletes have to make some tough decisions, especially when finances are involved. We wish Steve could have stayed, but we certainly understand that when it comes to family, priorities change. It's unfortunate for Steve, but we wish him the very best.

To be a freshman point guard and have the whole program put on his shoulders, no question he has exceeded my expectations. I can truly look at him on the court and know I have a coach on the court.

We had 30 fouls to give tonight. We were going to make them work hard for everything.