Ritchie McKay Quotes (55 Quotes)

Winning games in different ways is how we try to build our program. We try to be a versatile team.

I wouldn't have let him rejoin the team if I didn't feel like we wanted him to be a part of it. He is a good kid. We love him and support him. We think we need him and he needs us. I'm glad to have him in our program.

Kyle is one of those junkyard dog-type players. He is one that not many will account for in the scouting report. He is a luxury to have on the team.

The chemistry is great right now. We are really together. I think we're committed to do whatever our role is to make our team win. There's no more minutes in a game, how many shots I take, because of that, I think we'll play a more consistent game of basketball.

We'll hold him out for a game or games until he has restored the trust of his teammates and coaches. It will be a minimum of one game and I don't have a maximum time. It takes time to show a person in your actions what we are asking to be shown.

We want to put our best players on the floor at any given time. Some teams happen to be guard-oriented like us.

I told him that he is the best guard in the league and he needs to play like it. He's got that ability, and we need that from him down the stretch.

We need and want and articulate to Tony to be aggressive, because that really helps our team. We keep exhorting him to be aggressive.

I don't think any of our guys are thinking about that game because the teams are so different now. We're 10 months removed. We were excited about being able to knock off Utah two times in a row, but I think that's long behind us.

Absolutely not. He's going to have to earn his playing time, and he'll get the minutes that he deserves.

If there is any doubt whatsoever, I will hold him out.

He is a point guard that can score, penetrate, defend and play either tempo. I think he'll be ready to make an impact immediately.

Joel had a great first half, but we let it get away from us in the second half. Our discipline and execution (on offense) was poor. We stood around and watched.

There weren't very many times when he had clean looks at the basket.

I don't think we thought we were going to lose the game, or the game was in danger. So I don't think we were sharp. I think we thought we could cruise to victory. There are not many cruise games in Division I basketball.

I don't really know how we got four votes. I'm not going to apologize for getting votes. But if I had a vote, I wouldn't vote us in the Top 25.

When Joel is on the floor, the spacing is better because he's got a reputation that he can shoot. He is one of the leading three-point shooters in the league, if I'm not mistaken, in terms of accuracy.

I'm not John Wooden, but he wouldn't play a guy based on potential or stats. Five seniors have stayed and they are playing for money. Five years ago I would be praised for rewarding guys for what they earned and not for what their stats say.

I am disappointed that Aaron chose to make the decision he made. I wouldn't categorize him as a person who lacks character. I just think he made a poor decision. And based on the decision he made, I had no other choice.

The last three games, he has been the best guard in the league. I'm probably a little biased, but I think he is as good as there is in this league from the perimeter.

I told our team we should have been up 10 at halftime. We didn't play with enough discipline in the second half. (Heath) just took over. He showed great fortitude and found his rhythm and got it going.

encourages his players to live a Christian life.

(The Aztecs) look like they are the best team in the league. And I think when you walk with that swagger, it makes a difference in how you play.

He's been underappreciated by many, because they don't know the value he has in practice. He's invaluable in terms of his example and his commitment to our team and the leadership he has shown in our program. You don't get guys like him coming around too often.

We are doing more and more of it, ... I think the rules necessitate you doing that a little bit more. I think for the kids these days, it's one of the biggest ways they communicate.

I've taken criticism from the first day. It's been hard this year, no question. The incident with Kyle shocked us. But we're not recruiting with a win-at-all-costs attitude. I think what has happened this year with us is some guys are making decisions without thinking about the team.

Very emphatically, I never, ever in my 18 years of coaching have forced a young man or demanded or made it mandatory for a young man to attend church, ... I appreciate the ACLU, but to not listen to my bosses and to file a complaint, maybe its mission is to be controversial. Obviously I know the difference between making it mandatory and personal convictions and what the First Amendment says.

We got a block call on Kris and I thought we played excellent defense. Down two, I thought that was the hammer stop. If we had gotten that to go our way, we could have gotten the last possession.

Obviously, I have been kept in the loop about Aaron, and I understand the process of what he has gone through. I'd be open to evaluating his situation as more information unfolds.

We'll be about nine or 10 deep. We were seven deep last year ... and before that one or two deep.

That's as close to a loss in The Pit as we have had in a long time. Antoine Hood - one of the best guards in the league - was driving down the lane with less than 20 seconds.

I am very impressed with Air Force. Going in I knew they were very good and thought they might be the best team we play all year.

We needed to know where he was every time. He hit four 3s in Laramie, and it hurt us badly, so our guys were there on the catch, and we wanted to make him bounce a little bit. We did a good job of changing defenses and not letting him get into a rhythm.

The beginning of the second half is where we lost the game. We have chances to get it to 2 three straight times and don't execute any of those. They hit a 3 and go up seven and they get confident. Then it was a little easier (for Utah) to shoot those 3s.

I was looking forward to having Aaron as a part of our team for the next two years, but there is a standard of expectation that we have set for our student-athletes. At this time, he is unable to meet that standard.

I think when you drink it impairs your ability to make sound decisions. Adherence (to the team policy) has been good, for the most part.

We were just going to play him straight up. We thought we had good defenders, and he's one of the best players in the league.

It's like an extension of college, like a college setting where guys are well prepared for the huge transition.

We're disappointed that Joel has decided to leave. He said he was unhappy. In terms of how it relates to our team, we will continue to nurture an atmosphere of preparation and investment in the program.

We're playing fairly well. I had good advice last season about (making the NCAA Tournament) and that was not to worry about things you can't control. There is no truth to the rumor that you can politic your way in. My advice to (Fisher) if he asked and I'm sure he won't is not to look beyond your team's next 40 minutes. If you get distracted in your preparation about all the (NCAA talk), that's when you can stumble.

All we can do as coaches is to provide an opportunity for young men to achieve their goals. However, when you are working with this age group, sometimes decisions are made that warrant the removal of that opportunity, at least as it exists in our program.

From Day 1, I have said that this league is very balanced and anyone can beat anyone. At the time we played them, I thought Air Force was as good a team as there was in the league. Now I think San Diego State . . . has to be the front-runner, and I think they will hold on.

Typically, I would say that it would make things difficult. But we've continued to play through the adversity.

Having more people in town to see us is huge. Having games on TV locally is real critical to our entire success.

Sharper is their Troy DeVries. Needless to say, we will attempt to know where he is at all times.

They survived our run. I thought we took some of their primary options away offensively but we couldn't do it over 40 minutes. They tired us out and we turned it over too much.

If you are involved with a substance that will alter your decision making, you are going to be put in a compromising position. If you are out at the wrong time of night or in the wrong place, it's going to reflect negatively on you.

We've got to avoid the road blues. We've got to avoid getting down early. We've been playing from behind the last 140 minutes of basketball on the road. We led Kansas State at half (which eventually was a 68-56 loss on Nov. 23), and we haven't played with the lead since.

We saw him in high school and I thought he would be great because he worked at it. I thought he was tough and a good teammate.

They're a team that's a rhythm team and they want to get it inside. So I wanted to protect (UNM post) David and not get him in early foul trouble.