Steve Alford Quotes (125 Quotes)

Jeff can get going. Jeff's a very good player. And when good players get going, they're hard to stop.

I just thought they exploited us every way we could be exploited. We seemed to be a step behind. They're quick and athletic, and we just seemed to not have quite the energy level that we hoped to have.

There's been a lot of pieces to it that have come at different times. But they've fit the puzzle very nicely.

Penn State got our attention at Penn State.

I thought our leadership was tremendous. At the start of the game it was very good, and at the start of the second half it was very good. It's a great way to start a tournament.

I think he was mad at me for the four minutes he sat. But he practices this hard. You should have seen Monday's practice he was on the floor right away. A lot of other guys would have been hesitant with the injury that he had. But he was ready to play the Drake game. That's just who Jeff is.

I never once had a conversation with the A.D. at Missouri. But it gets reported that way and it just gets blown up and goes from there. There was no contact on my part with Indiana. Obviously that's my alma mater, and if they wanted to talk I would have at least listened out of my respect for my alma mater.

We've got a lot of upperclassmen, and they understand the importance of that end. Tonight was as good we've helped all year, and that's what good team defense does.

It was the same scenario. The last 5 minutes, I just thought they were the tougher basketball team.

We shot extremely well. You have to make shots. It's hard to win four games in four days when you have one or two bad shooting nights. And you have to prepare to play four games, not just one.

It was a great journey this year. It's hard for the seniors that their last game had to be like this.

These are four important games. The teams you play one time, you don't get another chance to play them again if they beat you. If you win, you control your own destiny. If you don't, you have to hope somebody else beats that team.

We're going to enjoy this for 48 hours. I'm glad we don't play till Friday because playing three games of this caliber in three straight days, it gives us an extra day to get some rest.

He's a load in the paint, and I think he's a big key to their team. He's great with either hand, and they really like to get it inside to him.

He's going to sit out this weekend. It's kind of a waitandsee.

I think it's great. You never like to lose. But I think because of the loss, the guys know what they have to do. There is more sense of an urgency. They've been unified the whole time. But I sense more excitement and enthusiasm over the weekend than any kind of pressure.

They've got an incredible resume, this is a very good basketball team, and we know that. They aren't going to be intimidated or worry about playing a Big Ten opponent.

I woke up and I was upset. A lot of times I watch tape, and I pause it and see what's going on. That would have been a neat game to switch over and see what he's doing.

Maybe your anxiety and nerves are different. Every year it seems we're on the brink and not knowing how many games we had to win or in '01 knowing we needed to win all of them to get in. It's a different feeling this year. There's the pressure that we think we're a pretty good basketball team and winning one of the two Big Ten championships is out there.

I think guys are getting more confident. We're shooting the ball better, yet the defense has stayed pretty consistent. We always felt like we could go to another level as a team if our shooting would all of a sudden kick in.

In the second half, we made the plays we had to make. That's been the mark of this team all year.

When good players get going, they're hard to stop, and Jeff's a good player.

Adding Tyler to that group not only adds to our 2006 class, but will also benefit our 2007 and 2008 classes as well.

Nah, I don't answer hypothetical questions.

This is a great start. They (players) have earned it. But there is a lot that can happen in February. We've got to make sure we stay healthy and keep getting better.

I hope it's because our guys keep getting better. We've had a trend here (where) we keep getting better later in the year. That's a good trend.

I thought all the teams were going to be better in our league, with maybe the exception of Illinois. I thought they'd be very good.

I'm the head coach at Iowa. My family and I love the Iowa program and the community. We had a record-setting season with a second Big Ten Tournament championship, and I look forward to continued success with this program.

He's fine. If he had to play today, he would probably have to tape it and go. But he's going to be 100 percent by Friday.

The pros may have figured out how to keep people from the floor, but they haven't figured out how to keep players from the stands. The student body is still the most important thing about the college game.

People who come for the dogs come here primarily to eat, drink and have a good time,

I'm doing the things I believe in, and that's important. It's not always an easy task in a changing environment. Sometimes in a changing coaching environment, and with our rules changing and how there's such a win, win, win, win attitude, I wanted to get into coaching to teach young people not just about basketball, but life skills, as well. I feel like I've been able to do that.

There's no question I don't think it's a very good thing when coaches or players get booed by the home crowd. That's never something that's positive.

I know Jeff was very much in pain. But he was phenomenal in the second half.

I knew when we met in Chicago (for media day). I thought we were going to be pretty good because we're healthy, and I thought Michigan, with everybody coming back, they'd be one of the top teams in the league. Both of us have done a nice job at the midpoint. I'm not surprised at all.

You've got two guys that have probably done more for Illinois basketball than anybody in the history of the program. That says a lot, because there have been some great players here.

We should have some pretty good information on them.

I challenged Bru as much as I have ever challenged him at halftime. A first team all-league choice doesn't come in at the half with no rebounds and no field goals. He responded.

If I know Bru, he'll come back tomorrow and have a big emphasis on the boards.

This was the game where we needed him to score. He took it on himself to do that. He led the team today.

I've had a lot of special kids in my coaching career, but this guy he just wants it. And, he doesn't want to take time off. He's a special player who's the key to our team. He came back with both feet in.

This is a very difficult game to all of a sudden break in guard play, especially with the guards that they have. We just lost an outstanding player, and two days later we've got to deal with this. I thought we handled it as well as our guys are capable of handling it right now.

They played three games in three days. That's not easy. They don't have a real deep bench right now. We just wanted to wear on them.

It's probably going to be one of those years where scheduling has a lot to do with it. Who you play twice, who you play only once and where that takes place - these are all going to play an instrumental role, maybe more than in years past, just because of the parity that we have.

I think the majority of the players who leave early aren't successful. You have more failure stories than success stories with that, but that's the nature of our game right now.

It hit us at a good time. We hadn't had a break for a while. We got away from basketball Sunday, and we got away from it (Wednesday).

There was a lot of emotion for the seniors, but not just for them. Sometimes it's what your teammates do (on Senior Night), and I think we saw that.

You've got to give them credit for taking that wind out of us very quickly in the second half. They exploited us every way we could be exploited.

There was a lot of drama going on in our house.

You have notebooks, so every day he's going to say things you need to write down and study and learn. The practice sessions are a little different 'cause these are walk-ons trying out.