Herb Sendek Quotations

When you think of Tony, you think back to all that he's had to overcome in terms of injuries. What he's meant our team this year has really hard to calculate; he's been invaluable to us. Only now that we've seen how brilliant he has been you can't help but wonder what he could have meant to our team last year. In retrospect, we can now connect the dots and see what Julius was talking about when he could only practice with us that year.

We bring every recruit here to let them know how this campus will increase the value of their degree exponentially.

We're going to have a short turnaround and less time to prepare. We have to turn that into a positive. Hopefully, it will be good preparation for March when we are in the tournament.

With their inside prowess, it makes it more challenging to guard them. What makes them so special is their balanced. Stopping that trio of guards is equally challenging.

We're just trying to recover from a hard-fought double-overtime game. It was one of those games really neither team lost. Both teams played winning basketball and we were fortunate to come away with a win.

We have had this kind of challenge here before.

New Hampshire made us look bad. Our attention has got to be on our defense.

Obviously, in a situation like this, as you're well aware, we're really not at liberty to talk about it. Right now, he's practicing with our team. He's going to class. That's where I think we need to leave it.

Nothing came easy today for either team. The difference sometimes is almost an illusion. Sometimes it's a possession here, it's a possession there.

On his 20th birthday? How about that! He's a good shooter -- if he's open at the top of the key he can take it.

I was really proud of the way we responded in the first and second overtimes after the way Miami fought back and tied the game in regulation. It showed tremendous heart.

Ideally, I'd like to have some more time. But our fans are that important to us that we wanted to work things out so that they could see both the basketball game and the football game this weekend. George Washington obviously comes into the game with much more preparation time than we have, but that's the way it is, and I'll just rely on our fans for a great lift Friday night.

Cedric was sensational. Not only the baskets he scored, but the presence he gives us. It's hard to overestimate how that opens things up for other people.

Cedric just continues to get better every night out. Duke's game plan defensively made it very important for us to go in to him. Our guys did a good job of doing that and he responded with another really good game for us.

Basketball is a game of runs. Our team responded well tonight when they made their runs. We bent, but did not break.

I don't think we played with the kind of effort that we needed to have. I don't have any idea (why).

He has been shooting the ball really well and with a lot of confidence. His performance for us so far this season has been incredible.

He did a great job at the point of playing with fouls, and still playing. A lot of guys play with fouls but they don't do anything. They do everything not to foul, but they don't help you. He did both.

He gave us a great energy boost. He did a lot to ignite us in the first half and did the same thing in the second half.

He made some big shots off their bench. We had a hard enough time preparing for this. He just made it more challenging.

He's a good player, but he seems to light up when he sees us. He's like a dagger in our hearts every time we play Clemson.

He was like a hockey goal-tender. We had difficulty getting things over, around or through him.

He was a great player in high school. Texas did a great job recruiting him.

He was a great player for us, but he's really been a great ambassador for the program off the court.

He did a remarkable job of being out in front with the 3-point shot. I can remember some coaches expressing such disdain for it they almost didn't want their teams to take it.

He just seems to always attract at least one other defender. As a result, that opens everything up for the entire Cal offense.

I think it's a good thing to have high expectations for your basketball program,

I thought we were quick to settle for the 3. At the same time, we did miss some open shots.

It is a long season, and you must have the capacity to get back up off the mat and fight another day. We certainly did not play very well, and that is obvious.

I think the difference in the second half was just being here at the RBC Center. The crowd really stepped up to the challenge and gave us the support we needed.

I thought our guys just showed tremendous character tonight. It's always good to be on the bus with these guys.

I thought our crowd was terrific. I thought that really gave us a shot in the arm down the home stretch.

I think we've improved in every area, and I think they could say the same. That game was the first weekend in January before we started going through this gauntlet. I think both teams just have so many more experiences; so many more practices that have hopefully made us better in every area. And I think we both probably are.

I think it was really a severe injury,

I think they're playing very hard. They're really getting after it both defensively and on offense. Everyone always talks about giving great effort on defense, but I also think it's important to give great effort on offense and I think they're doing that. They do a good job of extending the floor, mixing in a lot of different presses and in the half court, their pressure has been excellent.

I see great potential here. It makes you say, 'Hey, wait a minute, what's possible here?

Our guys have nothing to be ashamed of. Our guys competed really hard and played really well. We didn't win the game, but I want them to feel good about themselves. Saturday, we have another big game (Wake Forest) and the train is moving on.

Our guys have been working to become a team since we started school in August. One of the great things about college basketball is that you do have a new beginning.

Our guys are still doing some really good things. In some cases we've played excellent basketball during this stretch. We've overcome some adversity with some health issues and hopefully we'll continue to heal and get better.

Our guys are just really making big plays down the home stretch. Our guys are doing what it takes right now.

Our guys obviously have had a tough patch here at the end of the year. A lot of attention has been drawn to that. In some cases we've played excellent basketball during this stretch.

Our team had a lot of resolve today. We showed a lot of grit and determination.

Our rebounding was basically non-existent tonight, and I'm very disappointed in the way we played. Noel had it going and their entire team really played well, but we certainly helped their cause.

Part of being a senior is you've been able to learn, overcome and grow from the sum total of your experiences, both the good and the not so good. These three young men that we'll honor have had terrific basketball careers and all have added great value to our program.

I was extremely proud of their grit, of their determination ... really showed tremendous resolve. At the end of day, we had guys step up and make plays.

I still think we're in the process of deciding our roles. When you go through the season, those roles change. I think our guys have done a good job of coming together early in the season.

I think they're a great basketball team. They're as talented as anybody and play very hard at both ends of the floor.

I think they're a great basketball team. I think they're as talented as anybody. They play both ends of the floor. They have great depth. They play very hard. I've been exceedingly impressed with Florida State this season.

Just a big shot -- a reflection of his mental toughness.

I think this team does have the capacity to be a low-turnover team.

That's the nature of this conference. There's so much balance, there's so much excellence, that during any one cluster or segment of games, chances are that if there's six games, five of them are coming down to the last possession.

We just went to the line with great poise and composure and it allowed us to keep scoring. We have great confidence in our guys when they go to the stripe. It's not easy to do all the time. It's different in OT and on the road.

We went to the line with great poise and composure, and it allowed us to keep scoring.

We are trying to cram a lot of preparation into a short time. Texas doesn't seem to have any weaknesses. It's no wonder they've had such an outstanding season.

We're really not at liberty to talk about it. What I can tell you is that Gavin is a true gentleman, and he is working hard to pursue his degree at N.C. State.

Today was just another hard-fought, down to the buzzer, ACC game. What else would we expect from these two teams in this league?

Today was a good team win. There's nothing wrong with that. There really isn't.

We've been fortunate to be on the positive end of the stick on most of those. That's really helped us.

We've been fortunate to be on the positive end of the stick of most of those. We've been on an unbelievable path here lately. Every game comes down to the end for sure.

We have not played our best recently. There also is a reality that March is a new season. We have to play better than we have.

Those are tough shots. It's one thing to make that putt in your office on your carpet. That same distance putt at Augusta's a little tougher.

We were just too far down to get off the mat. We just never got on a run. We never seemingly hit back-to-back shots or did anything that kind of got us where we could get one foot back in the door.

We were just too far down to get off the mat.

We were just too far down down to get off the mat. Our guys battled in the second half, and we just came up short in every way tonight.

We do expect him to play this year. He just needs some additional time.

We didn't have crisp ball movement, weren't penetrating well, and we were cutting away from the basket instead of toward the basket. Those kind of things really kept us from performing well.

The fact that we moved the game from Friday to Saturday shows how important we think out fans are. From a preparation standpoint, it would have been a lot better for us to have an extra day, especially considering George Washington comes into our game without a game this week.

The fact that they're 14-0 right now is a remarkable accomplishment. It's so difficult to get to the point that they're at.

To be on the road and do that shows tremendous constitution and heart by our team.

The one thing that stands out in my mind is the field goals we gave up after missed free throws. If I am not mistaken, the Duke shooter got two offensive rebounds on missed free throws. I think in both of those cases they resulted in follow-up three pointers.

We always talk about (scoring in transition). We're fine scoring in transition if the opportunity presents itself. Sometimes it doesn't. Tonight our guys did a good job of getting some stops that led to some transition opportunities for us.

We'd be far better to try to play our way rather than talk our way in.

Experience always has great value, no matter how talented the guys are,

We've been on an unbelievable run of these lately. It seems like every game comes down to the end, but we're not unique in this league when it comes down to close games.

We wanted to take this as a one-game season. We have the utmost respect for Greensboro. The Southern Conference plays very good basketball, and if you don't come ready to play, you'll go down.

We've had a tough patch here at the end of the year, and a lot of attention has been drawn to that part of our season. I don't want that to take away from the fact that this team has played outstanding basketball and really enjoyed a heck of a season. Our challenge now is to rest up a little bit, regroup and prepare for the tournament next week.

Tony continues to rehab and nurse the groin injury that he suffered in the first round of the ACC Tournament against Florida State,

We had a great understanding of what we were trying to accomplish. But we do understand we have a long way to go.

We had a great body of work. We've had an excellent season. You have to take full account of the season and that's why we're in the field. Even if you've had a so-called strong finish, there's no guarantee you're going to win in the first round either.

Those three guys have a wealth of experience and have played together a long time. As good as they are individually, they feed off each other very well.

We fully expect him to be with us and have a terrific senior season.

We talked about being on our game. If you're not ready to play, you'll go down.

We just never got a run, never hit back-to-back shots to give us anything so that we could get back in the door.

We just had to get the margin sliced before the half, and we did some good things. When Tony hit that big 3 and cut the lead to five, that was huge for us.

We just had a difficult time getting things over, around, or through him.

We were outplayed, out-coached and thoroughly whipped by a very good North Carolina team. Our rebounding was basically nonexistent, and I'm very disappointed in the way we played.

We had the utmost respect for them coming in. We talked about the fact that we had to come ready and play excellent basketball tonight. I don't think for even one-half a second our guys took UNCG lightly, not even for one-half second.

We got some good looks but just didn't knock 'em down.

Very little came easily for us. Boston College was great defensively, especially down the stretch.

We did a good job taking care of the basketball, but we didn't do a good job of putting pressure on the ball to force turnovers.

We did a good job bouncing back and our guys came together and they battled. I think foul trouble really hurt both teams and especially us with Cedric Simmons in foul trouble. (Simmons) was really only a shell of himself trying not to pick up extra fouls.

We went to D.C. not knowing whether we were in the (NCAA) Tournament or not. We went to the tournament feeling we'd better do something to help ourselves.

Even the doctors can't pinpoint and give us definitive terms or a timetable.

Ben has worked very hard since he got here and though he has seen limited time he is playing smart and making things happen when he is out on the court. If he continues to progress, as our coaching staff believes he will, there is no question McCauley will be a good player in this conference. The potential is certainly there.

Different teams guard you different ways. It's good to be able to do different things.

Duke's game plan defensively made it very important for us to go in to him.

Eric Williams was sensational. Right from the outset we had a difficult time contending with him.

Eric Williams dominated and we had no counter for his ability to dominate around the basket.

Eric Williams did a tremendous job in the paint. We really didn't have a counter for his tremendous presence down low. A lot of things revolved around his ability to dominate inside.

It was very back-and-forth all game. We just kept trading shots and we were fortunate to have one more run in us.