Steve Alford Quotes (125 Quotes)

This isn't the end of the season, but it's a bad defeat.

Fans will see intense basketball and competitive games. It will be a great prelude to what will happen in the national tournament.

If you can win in Champaign, you're very capable of winning in here as well.

It's a tremendous win for our program. We're in the midst of a special journey. We're trying to win something. It's going to be an incredible battle, but this was a big hurdle.

I appreciate that from the media standpoint, especially our local media. I think it would have really been taking away from what our young men are doing.

I thought we had a couple of good leads in each half and we didn't finish either. It came down to our inability to keep them off the offensive glass and turnovers. That really hurt us.

We expected to see zone today - we hadn't seen zone in two weeks.

As in the past, search committees and interested officials from other programs with openings for a head basketball coach have initiated contact. I'm flattered with the interest and the recognition of the outstanding season we had this year. With that success, comes attention and speculation that I cannot control. I have not scheduled any interviews with any other institutions.

Obviously a tremendous, tremendous win for our team and our program. We're in the midst of a very special journey right now.

We know how difficult the first eight (games) were in this league. Now the tension, the pressure, the battles that are going to happen in the next eight probably are going to intensify.

That's always been a key in close games. We've got to continue to be aggressive offensively. We've got to continue to move our feet defensively.

They've been on the top of our league for the last five years. They've been the team to beat for a long time and not a lot of people have been able to do it.

Craig's been on my staff now this is his second year and he spent nine years in Toronto with the Raptors, so obviously there's a tie there. I think the basketball is getting better there. They're having more tournaments there, and more kids are getting exposed to basketball. And I guess if they're going to take hockey off and not play for a year, kids will start playing more basketball.

It's two minutes after the game. I put everything into this and these kids. We're so focused. That's where my concern has been, just to lead this team and help them understand a loss like this.

That's a heck of a stretch. Now we've got two very big home games coming up, and we have to win those games and hope something else happens.

I think the majority of Big Ten teams all think they're going to be a little better this year. It's unusual to have that many teams thinking that at this time of year. We're really going to have a highly competitive race.

We're still writing the final chapter of this book.

It will be a nightmare game for us if we don't take care of the backboard and don't take care of transition.

We've been ranked three times coming in here. But it's a lot different than years ago. This is a very good basketball team that's only going to get better.

A lot of times, those upsets happen when you don't have a veteran team. We've got to hope that experience helps us.

I thought Dee was awfully patient and then James came back in the second half and gave them a big lift. But Randle and McBride were probably the difference.

You go through a lot, whether it's two years or four years. When you look at their careers, it's really about how they did it. You never saw them down at practice. They showed up every day to get better.

Since those things broke we are 7-2, and five of those wins have come against top 25 opponents. There's a Big Ten title in there, and I think that tells everyone where our energy and focus has been.

We know we're down to five games (in the regular season). We have to do our part we have to play well.

My only focus is on our team. All my efforts and passion and enthusiasm are on this Hawkeye basketball team.

Since we got back from Michigan State, we didn't just talk about Indiana. We started talking about this week. We've grouped these two games together.

I'm a believer in both. Being old school, I always considered the NIT such a prestigious tournament. I'm somebody who would be very disappointed if it went away. Any time young people can experience the post-season and what goes into post-season play, it's a good thing.

Guys had to play different roles. Their effort while he was absent was pretty good.

I just kept trying to write 'Poise' and 'Confidence' and 'Toughness' on the board. It's not like we're going to set plays up at the end of the game. We know they're fouling.

Jeff Horner has imposed his will on this tournament. I thought the job he did on Brown was outstanding. What he did (against the Gophers) was no less than incredible.

It's hard to get a clear-cut favorite, ... It's hard to tier this league this year. I think the majority of the teams are going to be better.

Out of respect for me and my program, I hope all questions are directed at this year's team. For those of you that have that incredible urge to go elsewhere, out of respect for you, I have this comment My entire focus and energy is helping my team win a Big Ten championship and get ready for the NCAA Tournament. This is my only concern.

Our recruiting efforts have been built on establishing positive relationships, and that was a key factor in Tyler choosing our program. I appreciate the hard work (associate head coach) Craig Neal puts forth in his recruiting efforts. Those efforts are paying dividends for the program.

You never like to lose a guy who's meant so much, not only to our program, but to athletics in general at our school.

He bragged that the Shoreline Star adoption program is one of the most recognized in the country. It's not a rescue situation, ... It needs to be clear that these dogs are not in any danger.

They've been frustrated because they haven't been making shots. Today they made those shots.

This is not a make-or-break game, but it is a game that is very important to us. It would be nice to actually have some success (on the road) before we start the Big Ten on the road next week.

I thought this was a good way to start the tournament.

Everybody thought they'd be a very, very good team, but it's kind of hard to duplicate what they did a year ago. And yet, here they are going into conference play undefeated again.

Northwestern hasn't helped us in a long, long time ... so I guess it'd be nice if they would help. You have a lot of interesting games. Every team is playing for something here in this last week.

We came in wanting to make something different happen, but obviously that didn't happen.

I thought we were going to be pretty good. And I always thought Michigan, with everybody healthy and coming back would be tough. I don't think it's a surprise at all that the two of us are at the top of the league.

I can't control that. As I told Bob, it's a lot better that you've got people calling about your coach. That means your coach is getting attention other places. That doesn't mean your coach is leaving. I never talked to anyone in an official capacity at Missouri or Indiana.

We're at our best when we do things as a team defensively. They fully understand that if we're going to win, we're going to have to win it at that end.

In the last five minutes, they were the tougher basketball team. They got the stops they needed, and we did not.

I don't think it's ever a good thing when coaches or players get booed from the home crowd, that's never something that is positive. As far as me getting cheers, that's happened for a long time there...that's my alma mater, that's where I played, I won a national championship there.

My complete focus and efforts are on trying to help my team win a Big Ten championship. That's my only concern.

He was a handful no matter whom it was (guarding him). I thought Jeff made him work a little bit harder. You have to give Vincent a lot of credit but you also have to give Jeff credit for wanting that (assignment).

We didn't execute a lot down the stretch as far as foul shots, and the more you miss the more tense you get. It was a combination of missed free throws and not getting stops down the stretch that allowed them to get as close as they did.

When he got healthy as an individual, it obviously helped this team. He got his own body back. He could move defensively.