Bruce Pearl Quotes (131 Quotes)

We have to focus on getting better down the stretch and playing better basketball. There's no margin for error with this team. When we slip up a little bit, obviously a team like Kentucky is able to expose that.

I was dreading it because my wife was dreading it and it brought her to tears. It would have been very difficult for our families. I think the Milwaukee kids would have been licking their chops and I say that with all due respect. I think they would have loved to have played us.

We've tried to do a lot of things this year to embrace the history of Tennessee basketball.

Of course it was Bradshaw. Who else Who else would make the play to win the game

For the first time our confidence has got to be shook a little bit. We were disrupted by South Carolina.

This is what March is all about. Alabama is a very good team. They've made four straight NCAA tournaments and reached the Elite Eight last year. But we represent a high level of basketball as well, and when you get in this tournament, you get the opportunity to show it.

In the second half, Arkansas clearly was fresher. We did not have the energy to speed things up. Their size and athleticism made a difference. We struggled with our interior defense, and got dominated under the boards. It is hard to win when the numbers come out this way.

At the National Association of Basketball Coaches Meeting a few years ago, they explained how pods and seeding worked. One thing was clear. If a team is a three seed, it could easily be a two or a four. A lot of it has to do with travel, match-ups and how long it's been since a team has been in the tournament.

Kentucky played terrific in the second half. 'We had no answer for Rondo off the dribble and Morris finished everything under the basket.

We played with great passion and great energy in the second half.

That's a great crowd for a Christmas break. When you're trying to build a program, you need a village.

It's something he'll learn, and it will make him a better player. It will make us a better team as well.

Great players are going to have to step up if you're going to beat the best team in the country. Certainly Chris carried us.

I think the body of work and the fact that we had such a tough schedule was respected here tonight.

They talk about the last 10 (games, but) in the last 10 we beat Kentucky at Kentucky, Florida at Florida, Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt. That's how much we've struggled.

Half of them were very well-defended and contested. Those are the ones that just sort of take your breath away and take the wind out of the opponents' sails. That's what makes him so special.

I've enjoyed watching that team as much as any team I've watched in a long time.

My wife normally packs my suits, and the next time we go to Florida or a place that's pretty hot and humid we'll wear a darker suit for sure. It doesn't bother me at all. We're working hard, and as long as we get out of there with a great win I don't care how I looked.

At this time, we are dealing with discipline internally.

South Carolina is one of the few teams in the SEC that we can kind of match up with, size-wise. With Andre starting now we have a stronger inside presence with him and Major Wingate than before.

Lofton was the man. He had that look in him that the whole country saw who were watching on television. Everybody saw it.

I love his passion and his energy. He's a one-man press. You talk about the one-two-one-one, he's just the one in front of that press with his length. He compares favorably with a lot of the big men in this league.

He does more in the game of basketball than make baskets, but certainly we don't win without him making baskets. You can get other guys to rebound. You can get other guys to steal the ball. You can't get other guys to make the shots he's making.

It's incredible. To be seeded higher than any team in the history of Tennessee basketball, goes a long way. I'm happy with where we're at. Now we have to take advantage of this opportunity.

Regardless of the effectiveness of his play, he needs to play with passion the entire time. There were times where he wasn't very effective that it also affected his intensity. That won't happen to my team.

Right now we're focused on trying to win the East. We know what a task that is. We take it one at a time. (But) we talk about seeding because you want to give your kids confidence and get them to thinking along those lines.

We're not playing our best basketball right now and haven't been. I think that for the first time the confidence has to be shook a little bit.

We put a lot of pressure on our offense in the second half. When you shoot 55 percent actually 54.8 and score 48 points, you're doing a lot of things right. We couldn't stop them in the half-court.

They're the kind of team that could make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. We were playing for a (league) championship today, but they were playing for the (NCAA) tournament. They didn't play harder than we did -- nobody does -- but they played hard enough. I thought they wore us down with their offensive execution.

We are committed to up-tempo basketball. We will press 94 feet. There's a definite advantage because there is a different preparation (for opponents). I think the players do fit our style.

She didn't tell me when to wear it, but she just gave it to me today so I wore it on the first day. I wasn't sure it had any many wins left in it after all the wins she's had.

It is harder than most because of the crowd. But there's Florida and other places, too.

He was extremely distraught after the game. I worried about him. So much emotion. So much going into that one shot. But I understand. I'm numb sitting here myself.

This is the biggest win of the year for us. The reason I say this is such a big win is Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee are all competing for the Eastern Division title. When you beat one of those three, it counts twice, a win for you and a loss for them.

We understand there's been a lot of discussion about whether we deserved a No. 2 seed. We had an unbelievable regular season. We've got to find the hunger once again to prove to people that we're deserving, and continue to bring honor to Tennessee basketball.

Georgia is pretty darn athletic. Their guards are terrific. When both teams are fresh, you have to give the advantage to Georgia. ... They were much quicker, much more athletic.

You weren't recruited at that high major level, you don't travel the way (power conferences) travel, you're not on television as much.

I wanted them to learn to not take any possessions off, just trying to be as intense as we can. We try to play eight or nine people, keep people fresh so we can be as disruptive defensively as we can.

It's difficult to play at the pace we like to play at and win against such high-level teams with just seven guys. After our games with Florida and Kentucky, I don't think we could have come back and played again the next day.

He is a big lad. He's such an effective passer and is poised and is a real tough cover. You sort of scratch where it itches. If people show him a lot of attention, then they've got talent off the ball and in the post that can also score.

I am disappointed in some of the decisions that Jemere has made. We have a set of expectations for our student-athletes, both on and off the court, and he has not met them.

I think a lot of times, you find your (conference) tournament champion being somebody that underachieved.

We're not communicating. We're capable of defending better. I call it having a sense of urgency. You need it this part of the season.

I hope if Kentucky ever becomes irritated with me, it's because my team is good enough to compete with them.

I'm not upset with what happened at all. But we have to understand, we have to act like we've been there before. It's not often you beat the No. 2 team in the country ... The bottom line is, we can't have that happen again this year.

I am very disappointed, but Kentucky played a terrific second half. We must focus on playing better. Every night we have had intense games, and there is no margin of error for this team.

Fatigue may be a factor, but I don't want to make excuses. We're capable of defending better.

I am very disappointed in these young men. Our players need to take their responsibility for being a role model seriously, and if they don't act responsibly they won't be playing at Tennessee.

I don't think anybody is scared of our half-court defense. When you get ready to play Tennessee, you can say lots of different things about how they might beat you, but our half-court defense isn't one of them.

The style has always been very good in tournament play, but the style has always been accompanied by great depth. In the past, I've had teams with 10 guys playing double-digit minutes. This year, for the first time in my career, we've only played seven. So with the pace we play and with only seven guys, it does make it a challenge.