Rick Barnes Quotes (119 Quotes)

One thing about Daniel is he does take a lot of pride in wanting to guard people. If I called a time out, say someone is playing really well, and I say 'who wants to guard them' There's no doubt he puts his hand up quicker than anybody.

We're better than we played tonight. I've said all along, 'We've got to improve. We need to continue to get better.' I think this group has responded all year. I'll be disappointed if we don't try to improve.

I thought they were great defensively, maybe as good a defensive effort as I've seen this year. They really realize their athletic ability. They can create a lot of problems.

A few days before the start of the NCAA tournament last March, Texas coach Rick Barnes looked on as reporters fired questions at guard Brandon Mouton, most of which were a variation on one theme You play so well during the season, but then you disappear in the tournament -- what's up with that ... Brandon, I've heard all those questions. I know you don't choke. But if you don't play well in this tournament, that's what I'm going to tell the world you did .

We want him to want the ball. He's going to have to demand it. ... The worst thing he can do is be passive this time of year.

When the game was in doubt, they made plays and we didn't.

This is one of the better situations in the country. I know this, there are a lot of guys who would like to be sitting in my chair.

I don't know if it's an advantage or a disadvantage. I told the guys were only going to worry about the game in front of us. From there, you move on to the next one if you're successful.

They play with so much character and heart.

There were times when Daniel didn't know when to pass and when to shoot. More importantly, he was letting his offense affect his defense. Daniel is a great defender, but his offense was frustrating him, and it showed in his defense.

Coming in, they were like us, a team that's up there. They start three seniors, and they are a good basketball team. If people thought they were just going to go away, you don't get ranked in the top five or six in the preseason if you don't have a good team.

I thought the first 20 minutes we were outstanding defensively. I thought we played smarter defensively, and I thought we did a good job of corralling to the ball and rotation was pretty good for the most part.

He really can shoot college threes.

Thomas Gardner has probably improved as much as any player in the league. He's a guy that can make some really tough shots.

We were really swarming and helping each other. I liked most of all we had seven turnovers. I thought we looked like a team.

We're a better offensive team than we were the other night. We turned down some open shots, so we need to be aggressive. Being aggressive is taking an open shot.

We realize we're in the middle of a conference race. We're not going to take anything for granted.

Our defense was good. Any time a team shoots 32 percent against you, you feel pretty good about it.

It's obvious he's been in pain. I've been worried all year just watching. I knew he was having a tough time.

I think there's a culture at Texas about winning. You come there expecting great things to happen, to be special. There is a culture on our campus about wanting to be the best at what you do.

That's stupidity. ... We're six games in. You've got to think teams are going to get better. That's just people wanting to write something. Our guys never thought that.

The teams that mess up are the ones that play not to lose. You don't want to be the first game of the tournament. You'd probably want to be in the middle, but you just have to deal with it.

I think it was a situation on this night that (Tech) missed a lot of shots. We were obviously taller and longer, so we could get those rebounds.

With four or five games left in the season, (a win) can swing a whole season around for anybody in this league. There are teams fighting for postseason play, and we make your rsum look pretty good.

He was a little jumpy the other night, and we got him for it. He had a great response. He definitely had a different perspective on things.

I don't think we had any idea we were getting what we got. I don't think anybody in North Carolina knew he'd be what he developed into.

Transition, we said if they make a 3 we're going to get it out quick and run the transition game. I told A.J. to push it. We did a really nice job of executing right there at the end.

I'm not going to take anything away from them because I thought they beat us in every way you could be beaten today. From looking at my team out there, I thought they acted like it was going to be (like the first game) again.

Both of the honorees tonight have been tireless advocates for community and social justice in Lynchburg.

Anyone close to our program knows the kind of kid and person he is. He knew a lot of the things that happened were his fault. He said he would fix it, and he did. I'm not sure I ever coached a player that spent as much time improving the kind of person he is as he did improving his basketball game.

I don't know if I would call it a wishbone more than I would call it that Fun 'n' Gun because they spread you out. They're going to shoot 25 threes. They make more threes than any team in the country. It's almost like playing against a no-huddle offense.

We knew going in it was going to be hard. This time of year, on the road, you can't take any of them for granted.

He's not going to post those guys up. They're older, and they know how to push you around. He doesn't have to play with his back to the basket. He's really a good face-up shooter.

Because of what we've been able to do the last couple of weeks, I think they've got confidence knowing we can play a number of different ways.

I don't know what you guys expect it's the NCAA Tournament. If you guys are thinking we're going to blow teams out, you're not watching basketball. ... You kidding me I'm glad we're going to play one more time. I'm not disappointed.

Teams may look at A. J.'s baby face and slight build and not take him seriously. Well, they won't anymore.

This is a good rule put in place for players to explore their draft position.

P.J. will make sure every knows about it.

You're not playing this time of year if you're not a good basketball team.

Fran and I spent a lot of nights watching summer league games throughout the D.C. area. I've got a lot of respect for him. You've got to marvel at the job he's done once he arrived there. His teams are very intelligent. They're not going to beat themselves. They're going to play extremely hard. They're probably more athletic than people think.

I told the team after the game they had a glimpse of how good we can be. We were terrific ... but we can still get better.

If we turn it over 24 times now, we won't have a chance.

We did a better job in the second half of taking care of the ball. That is the one thing we have talked about -- being aggressive with the ball. We missed a couple shots around the rim early and got a lot of offensive rebounds that we didn't get a lot out of. But over the course of the game, it turned out a lot like I expected it.

We really beat an outstanding team today. This is a team that we respect as much as any team we have played this year and the fact that they play hard. They compete every possession.

Right now, if there's any one thing I can change, it's handling the basketball. Sixteen turnovers at this time of year just kills you.

You could probably make a case today. (But) there's too many games this week. It's an important week for a lot of people. It depends on what we do these next couple of games.

I was worried coming in because it was a team we know. I am not sure what happened on that last play because we were switching everything. It was a great day. Wow

P.J. said it best, seeds mean nothing. You got a team today that was going to shorten the game. I'm glad we get to play one more time. ... If we made mistakes, they had a lot to do with it.

Some of our passes were ridiculous. To turn the ball over as many times as we did and win, we were fortunate. They're an older, veteran team in midseason form.

Kenton's been around. He's matured. He'll tell you his approach has changed. He's always had an excellent basketball IQ. It's just that everything else has come together for him.