Ben Howland Quotes (113 Quotes)

The normal fan out there has no idea how hard they work and how committed they are to the academic side.

I don't think Stanford's streak means that much to most of our players. What it says is how good their program has been over the last 15 years. They execute extremely well, and they come to Pauley with a lot of confidence. We have to be ready for that, as well as the start of Pac-10.

I'm so happy for our guys. I'm most glad we're Pac-10 champions. We decided it ourselves. We don't have to wait for anybody and get in the backdoor. Any time you win a championship, it's special.

He's the greatest coach in the history of the game. How can you not embrace it That's what this is all about. The love you see his former players have for him is just incredible.

This will be unbelievably hard on everyone, even though, you know, religiously, we all understand that this is a celebration day of her life. But it's too short a life as far as we're all concerned.

We can play any way you want to play. At the end of the day, we have to defend, rebound, take good shots and take care of the basketball.

They need to understand this is a unique fraternity and it is truly an honor to be part of it. And I really think they get it. They totally get it. They understand.

We had lost two straight games, and we needed this one. There was not even a remote thought of looking past this team.

If anyone is questioning the level of play in the Pac-10, they should watch this game. They should rewind it.

Well, I tried to guard him. That's the key. We played mostly half-court, so it was easier to hold, grab and foul as opposed to when you've got Johnny between the top of the keys. Once in a while when that happened, it was over for me.

I feel very fortunate. I thought our defense was much better in the second half. If that's not a very good team we just played, I don't know what is. We knew they were very, very good and we feel very, very fortunate to move on.

Credit Florida. They are terrific.

It's a testament to the character, toughness and heart of our players and their never-quit attitude.

I'm really proud of Ryan. He did a great job again today. Here is a kid who has worked so hard to get it to where he's at right now. He's a factor.

I thought they were terrific. They did an outstanding job of dealing with our press. We were trying real hard.

Will anybody ever get a program at that level It will be very difficult to win 10 in 12 years.

I saw him at Nike camp. He played hard. He was under the radar.

It's just a credit to our players. Hey, they just roll with the punches. That's just a testament to their toughness and their character.

The bottom line is if we make our foul shots, it doesn't come down to Steele taking a 3-point shot at the end.

Arizona's an outstanding team. I have the utmost respect for coach (Lute) Olson. He's one of the great coaches of all time.

This was just a great gut-check win for our program. We beat an NCAA tournament team tonight, and to come out in this type of environment and play so well is a testament to our guys.

That was a mistake. He grabbed the ball away and the official saw the second part of the play.

That's my expectation, that we're going to feed off this win and it's going to make us better. We're going to need to be better, a lot better, to have a chance to beat Memphis.

Bill is telling me I have to watch film. I'm not doing my job.

I have the best two guards in the country on the same team. I will continue to say that because I believe it, and I don't say things I don't believe.

Usually, the team that makes the most mistakes is going to be on the wrong side of the winloss column. Credit Florida. They were terrific. This was their night.

We want to recruit the very best players in the country. That's why we're here right now We have great players.

The last seven, eight games, Ryan is playing the best basketball of his career.

I laugh at some of these commentators who say they are not a good defensive team. They hold opponents to 43 percent from the field.

He's a great player. He'll be playing in the NBA whenever he leaves college.

My heart sunk watching Steele even get a shot off.

I feel very bad that Hassan is not here. Hassan Adams is a great kid, a great competitor, and he's going to really bounce back and do great in the NCAA tournament. But we need to beat Arizona. It's hard to beat a good team like Arizona three times. So it's going to be a big challenge for us to come out and have success.

Arizona has played the toughest schedule by far in our conference, playing some of the top teams in the country. (Olson) had done a good job of what works best.

It's really exciting to watch how he's developed. He's very, very athletic. He takes great pride in being so bright out there and knowing everything he's supposed to do.

I was uncomfortable standing there. I'm wanting water after water out of the machine.

Our defense is what kept us in the game. I thought Oregon played very good defense as well. Somehow we hung around because we were playing good defense, playing every possession really tough.

We had autograph seekers knocking on our players' doors at midnight the night before we played Memphis .

Thomas is the Shawn Marion of college basketball. And Shawn Marion is the greatest athlete in all of the NBA.

Coach is always there at the home games, sitting behind the bench. He's the greatest coach in the history of college basketball.

He is so sharp mentally, it's incredible. But the key to his run was recruiting good players who were good people. Good people last a lifetime.

This is his second broken nose of the year. He's got two broken noses and a broken leg going right now. Hopefully, he can stay healthy here the rest of the way.

We've got to make our free throws and out-board our opponents if we're going to win any more games in this tournament.

I had no idea that he was that good of a passer. It causes you to pause in what you do (double-teaming). He was just terrific. The best thing about him is that he doesn't even care if he scores. That kid is all about winning.

There's no question Cal is an NCAA Tournament team. It's just a matter of seeding.

They're obviously a great shooting team. Any time you shoot 39 percent on the year from three as a team, that's outstanding.

I'm proud of our guys for seizing the opportunity against Gonzaga. That gave us a chance to play another day. And now we're moving forward.

To hold him to 20 is a minor miracle.

This is what they've worked so hard for, to get a chance to continue to play. We've got our work really cut out for us in playing one of the top teams in the country in Gonzaga.

If we make our foul shots, it's probably not as tight.

I'm not buying it. I grew up in Southern California. I'm not buying into (the notion) that has to be the image of L.A.