Jim Calhoun Won Quotations

For the first time, I'm wondering if our kids are as good as they're supposed to be. I'm not sure of anything because I'm just stunned.

For the first time, I'm wondering if a couple of our kids are as good as they're supposed to be. They were in Maui, and they aren't now. Marquette had a lot to do with that.

I see nothing but greatness ahead for him and therefore it made sense for all of us. There's no question that Rudy will fulfill the promise of those people who draft him. He's got every attribute. He's bright, he's a wonderful person, incredibly well raised and he's just a tremendously, tremendously talented young guy.

They gave us a good old-fashioned butt-whipping. We were god-awful. For the first time, I'm wondering if a couple of our kids are as good as they're supposed to be.

Both of our NCAA Championships (1999, 2004) came in years where we won the Big East Tournament. Time will tell if that's an automatic correlation. There are no good losses. No moral victories. But I do know this team is one to be reckoned with at the NCAA tourney.

We played them twice this year and on both of those occasions we were able to physically dominate them inside. We did a tremendous job last Saturday, won by 18 points and dominated them again. They turned the tide on us tonight. They physically dominated us in every aspect of the game.

Any team that's won 20 games, we're going to have respect for. They have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. But you know what? We have a lot to gain, too. We're really excited about it. I like this time of year. I hope my kids like it as much as I do.

Any team that's won 20 games, we're going to have respect for.

I'll go home and sleep exceptionally well. I feel wonderful about the win. I feel wonderful about the fact that our character and our toughness are being tested.

I can still see Calvin Murphy getting 62 points, and I can still see flashbacks from the pictures of Wilt getting 100, ... You go from the biggest to the smallest. The wonders of the game, from the guys playing pickup to the kids shooting in Indiana to the inner city kid who finds a way out through the sport of basketball - and I don't mean necessarily to the NBA - are embodied in this game. It doesn't take wealth or pure size. It takes heart, repetition, talent. All that stuff is embodied in the game. When I walk through that building, it's embodied there.

People have questioned Rudy and I have said simply that Rudy is emerging every day. You are watching something wonderful before you.

I don't want our kids playing the scoreboard because, quite frankly, we won't always be here at the Civic Center. In the second half we matched baskets and we won by five. I don't think we should do that. We should take more pride in what we're doing.

When you look out there and see Ray (Allen), Mec (Emeka Okafor), Johnny Gwynn ... any of those people. You don?t win the number of games we?ve been able to win or the championships we?ve won without those players,

I don't care who we are playing. We have so much to gain. It's a wonderful opportunity for these kids. I would hate to leave the floor and not have given it our very best.

I can feel the emotions start to build, ... I've had conversations with my first recruit at Northeastern, with eight kids from my Dedham High School team that won 21 straight games, a lot of phone calls from my former players ... it's an exciting time for me.

He plays a great game with great enthusiasm. What a wonderful thing.

What they need down the stretch is experience. It's what we have. Our experience and our toughness won this game.

If we're not playing defense and I call time out, I can tell you right now it's going to be X-rated. I'll go after some people or make some changes. It's not like this is the middle of the season and we can get it done next time. We're all here and it's a perilous journey. It's a wonderful journey, but the band plays on if you lose.