Tommy Amaker Quotes (143 Quotes)

Getting to this point is such a significant accomplishment for any program, with the history and tradition of the NIT. It really is a big thrill - particularly for our seniors. It has been well documented how much they have done for our program, and it is very fitting that we have an opportunity to compete for a championship in their final game in their final year.

I told him prior to (the Northwestern) game - in front of the team - that it was important for him to stay aggressive, and I wanted him to listen to me and not worry about anything or anybody else, to be aggressive on the floor. Whether or not he listened to me, he looked like he was playing pretty well.

I really feel like we're moving our program in a direction we're all going to be very proud. Right now, certainly, we're growing, we're maturing. More than anything else, I think you see the confidence growing. I think that's the key word for us.

He gave us solid minutes. We didn't want to play him too much.

You need seniors to on the road. And we certainly needed our senior leader ball handler out there on the court for us.

We've let a lot of people down -- I've let a lot of people down.

They're a team that's already played in a different venue. They've gone on the road to win a couple games in this tournament, which shows toughness on their part. What the Colonial conference has done this season, certainly, this is a team that needs to be reckoned with.

I thought our veterans led the way for us with a lot of toughness and heart.

I think all of our games will be must-win situations at some point. I don't know if one win is going to make or break what we've done over the course of the season, but certainly it would help if we could have a win over a team like Illinois.

You need things to go your way when you're down like that. You have no margin for error. And certainly a missed shot or a missed lay-up ... things like that happened for us. And every one of those opportunities that we didn't take advantage of kind of let the air out of our opportunity to make a run at the lead.

I thought they brought it from the opening tap. They had us on our heels early and it was too much to overcome.

There are trappings in every step along the trail. Concerns over complacency or (being) overconfident and feeling too good about yourself. But I'm hopeful and I'm very confident given the group that we have that these guys are going to maintain their focus and their hunger. They'll push forward.

Daniel has a way to will shots in and will us to victory. His courage and his will were certainly on display tonight.

Their ability to get the three-point shot but, more importantly, to make them was the difference.

It's a signature win for us because we recognize how good Illinois has been. It was also important for us to stay in the thick of the Big Ten race.

Courtney did what he's capable of doing around the goal.

Maybe I've been cautious with him, but it's in all of our best interests. I don't know what is realistic, but one thing we've seen is that these kids are not the same when they first come back from an injury. I think it takes a while.

I said Tuesday that if the season ended then, I thought we'd be in. I feel that same way tonight. This was a good win to put on our resume.

He's a big-time post presence. His double-double and his ability to score around the rim was certainly hurtful for us.

I'm hoping he's going to respond in the correct manner, and so far he has. I've always thought of every moment as a teaching moment. Unfortunately, sometimes teaching moments have to come in some adverse situations and circumstances.

I think he's been everything to this program. He's been an absolute high-level competitor since the day he stepped foot on campus. I'm going to miss him, as a coach and as a teacher. He's been a special player for me to have an opportunity to interact with.

We started to get some stops in the second half, and that was a key for us. We did some things that kind of put us in a hole early, but we showed some maturity to claw our way back in, and we didn't panic.

We have no one to blame. That's what I wanted the kids to know.

Daniel Horton has been a catalyst for us all season in so many ways. But certainly one of the differences for us (four-game winning streak) is that we've been able to play 10 players.

I thought our veterans really led the way with a lot of toughness and a lot of heart. And certainly our crowd this evening really pulled us through tonight.

You have to be disciplined, you have to be tough, and sometimes you have to be a little lucky and hope sometimes he's going to miss a couple of those shots. We've seen him before where he's made a lot of those shots and beaten a lot of people by himself. Fortunately for us, we had that performance on our side tonight.

A lot of times, shooting becomes contagious, and once they started knocking down shots, there wasn't a lot we could do about it.

But this is a team that has grown up. This is a team that has been together for awhile. We have a veteran group and I'm sure coach Ryan can attest to the veterans he's had in the past.

We hope so. Chris being a senior more than anything else, that's what we need, senior play. That doesn't just equate to offensive play. We need senior play, senior players.

I thought we would have to play a lot of people to stay fresh and play the way we wanted to play against them.

I would say one possession here or there was going to determine the outcome of this ballgame for either team. I thought both teams laid it on the line, put great effort out there to make things happen.

They have an opportunity to add to it if we're fortunate to come out on top. To have a chance to raise another banner and for them to win their last game, with two NIT championships, would be a phenomenal achievement. We talked about how we didn't finish strong in the regular season but we wanted to finish right. I can't think of a way, based on where we are now, that we aren't finishing right this season.

If it ended tonight, I think we'd be in. There's a lot of basketball left to play but it doesn't hurt to have this win on our resume.

On the floor, I thought we had a terrific defensive performance. I thought we were very active, I thought our team shared the basketball really well. We certainly tried to take care of it. Obviously, with 23 assists and 13 turnovers, for us, that was the difference.

He started a lot last year when we had a lot of injuries. I felt that allowed him as a freshman to gain confidence. Ron has filled in nicely.

One possession here or there was going to determine this game for either team. Dee's three-point play late was somewhat of a dagger, but he's done that a few times.

It's obvious that we need to continue to take steps climbing the ladder. We are moving our program in the direction where we're going to be very proud. We're maturing and more than anything else, you see the confidence growing. That's the key word for us.

We always know the follow-up of an emotional win or loss is critical. We certainly know there's a lot of basketball to be played, and the focus for us is to stay in the hunt for the conference title.

We start five seniors and that is something that we are very proud of going into this NIT tournament. Anytime you get an opportunity to play for a championship, where something is on the line and you have a chance to raise a banner, you have to feel good about it.

He did struggle. We certainly needed all of our perimeter players to play well and I thought it hurt us when Dion (Harris) got the two fouls (early). ... That probably forced some other guys to step up their production on the perimeter and it wasn't there. I thought Ronnie was right in the middle of that.

We need to get back to our order. I'm hoping we can do that the next couple days prior to our game on Wednesday.

I'm sure he brings some toughness and even some leadership to that group. When you have a guy like that, where you gain some of the intangible things that we gain from a Graham Brown, they're invaluable to your team.

He certainly played at a high level. Down the stretch you want to give everything you have, and he certainly has performed very well.

We anticipated the post-double. When you post-double, you choose what shots to give your opponent. They chose to give us shots on the perimeter, so we thought we might have a good afternoon. It was something we were looking forward to. ... Tell me we're going to get open threes, I'll take our chances.

Anytime you're thought of by your peers in the coaches' poll and you guys (media in attendance) thinking of us in a positive way with our program and team right now makes you feel good. We're honored. Hopefully, we're deserving of it. But also we want to keep things in perspective. For us, it's never been about us trying to crack the polls. We're still on our journey to become champions in our conference. So, nothing has changed in that regard.

Boy, he was just an efficient basketball player as a senior. And when you think back on some of the really good senior players who have played in Madison, you think of those moments where a kid like Wilkinson is really in a nice state of mind. That's the difference in Daniel Horton.

I thought he had a tremendous floor game. I mentioned to him at halftime that I thought he played a tremendous first half. ... It was beautiful to watch him play that way.

They rammed it down our throats the first part of the game. But the second half, our veterans really showed something. We showed some heart and toughness.

This game can be fragile, and kids can play well sometimes and raise their confidence level.

Our guards have to handle the basketball better. I'm not sure what else I can talk about or say. We're going to have turnovers, that's a part of it the way we play and the pace we play. We certainly have to do a better job of valuing the ball.