Jim Calhoun Game Quotations

Whether it was 50 bucks being sent to me at school, traveling through a snowstorm to see me play, coming to a football game in high school, all those things gave me a sense of love and belief and those things inspired confidence.

What Louisville needed late in the game was experience. That's what we had, some guys coming down the stretch who know what to do. We turned our defense up in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the game, we took care of the ball, took good shots and made good decisions. This was a grind-it-out game.

We did it, but it's tough to get all the way through. It won't surprise me to see somebody playing a fourth game in four days, the league is like that this year. This was the most games that came down to last three minutes, at least our most in 10 years and yet we were 27-2, which means we were there to finish the deal. But in a one-game tournament anything can happen.

This proves that you can't just show up in postseason play, because instead of going to practice and preparing for a game tomorrow, we have to wait a week. Next time we lose, we're going home.

Now the game has taken me back to Springfield and I am so deeply honored and humbled to be in such a sacred place.

Obviously, we are disappointed that Jeff will miss the game at Providence, but the rule as stated in the rule book is very clear. Other players will have to step up and make up for his absence and I have complete confidence that will happen.

I have been a big admirer of Don Haskins for a long time. He is one of the top defensive minds in the game and he is good man, a real coach.

I felt bad for Rashad. He wanted to be so good. It's really unfortunate he didn't have the type of game he's capable of having.

For us to tell our kids that this is just a regular season game ... we've always set goals, to try to win the Big East championship. To back away from that a day before or two days before the game would be foolhardy.

I would say our defense got us going, but it certainly wasn't the key to the game because I thought we let up many, many times. They all elevate. It hides sometimes bad defense. That was my concern tonight, the fact they were penetrating, particularly in the second half.

I thought we would eventually take control of the game, and Kentucky kept fighting back. That was not in the game plan.

I thought our big kids dominated the game. The difference in the game was our power.

I think Craig will play more. That was just a game where we got into a flow with the big three kids. ... We thought we were going to use more guard play.

I said coming into the game that it was going to be a battle of ... can they keep us away from the paint. And generally speaking, they were able to get us on the outside, keep us there with double teams, and certainly the way this game was called and played, it didn't allow us to be a factor in the paint.

Overall, we just kind of overwhelmed them. When we play offensively like that we're very good. And this was their third game in five days so it made it very difficult for them to stay with us. Our depth is going to wear you out anyway. We didn't play great defense but we ran the court well.

Pittsburgh has turned into a rivalry game for us. They certainly have become a formidable opponent, an obstacle for us to get to a championship, or for seeding, or quite frankly just to get wins.

I think Indiana is a very good basketball team. I just think there were moments and minutes in that game where we were pretty special. It didn't matter who we were playing because we blocked everything, we ran out and we made good decisions. I'm very proud of my basketball team today.

John Thompson took something that could be perceived as almost menacing, because he was so big and was so serious looking, and used that to his advantage to create Hoya Paranoia, ... Every game they played, John was the underdog and yet he had Ewing and Wingate and Williams. That takes a masterful genius to do that.

That was the most physical game I have been involved in in a couple of years.

When that game ended, I knew I had tied Don Haskins in career wins. That was a special moment for me that I didn't share with people, but it was nice to know I tied him.

Will it hurt us? Sure. Jeff has been a factor in every game he's played in. Hopefully the depth that we have will come into play in this game.

Will it hurt us? Sure. I think Jeff has been a factor in every game he has played. So it will hurt us, but hopefully the depth we have will come into play.

We were 7-for-18 from the foul line. Coming down the stretch, a couple of those foul shots would have made it a one possession game and it would have been a lot more interesting.

We're a league of 16 now. It seems like the old wars of the '80s and '90s again. Every game comes down to 10 kids on the floor after loose balls, someone making a big play, someone getting a big rebound, someone making a stop.

Well, to state the obvious, we're happy to be here today. We survived an incredible basketball game between two incredibly competitive teams. I think that game could go up as Exhibition A of what this tournament has been.

We're not a team that breaks you down off the dribble. We have to do it in other ways, on the full-court break or with our power game inside. (Wednesday), South Florida took us out of what we should have run. We stopped setting screens, stopped doing some of the things we're capable of doing.

Those jump shots were killers. Sheridan stepped up big-time for them and did the job. In a competitive game like this somebody has to step up and that's obviously what he did.

Those jump shots were killers. In a game like that, they were killers.

We still have a chance to have a special season, there's no question in my mind. In order for us to finish up the season the way we have to, we have to eliminate some of those inconsistent moments, because pretty soon every game becomes important, and if you have an inconsistent game, you go home.

This was an advertisement for how hard the teams in this league play. Increasing our toughness was one thing I thought we had to do. We knew we could score, but we had to show we could come up with that kind of game like we had other times this season.

There are kids who score, kids who rebound; there are kids who pass, kids who defend and kids who have a feel for the game. He has all those attributes. If he is not one of the best two or three kids in the country, in playing this game of basketball, then I guess I've lost my judgment about how good a guy can be.

This was the first time Hilton's taken over a game in his entire career. He's had good starts to games before. Tonight was the first time he's been able to maintain it throughout.

We got out ahead and they just took over the game as we started standing around. But we came back with that run which really speaks to the character of this team.

It was the worst mistake he ever made. That was the game we were down by 25 and I turned to him every play and blamed him on it.

Sometimes you're thrust into a game that all of a sudden evolves entirely differently than all your game plans. I thought we could take control of this game, and Kentucky kept fighting back. And that was not in the game plan.

Terrific defense. They are trying to be the toughest, scrappiest team in every game they play, and it's working. You can see it on tape.

Quite frankly, you have to go to somebody. You have to have your inside game or your outside game. And, usually, somebody's got to make plays.

Rashad wanted to be so good tonight, and of all guys who I thought wanted the limelight at home, it's really unfortunate he didn't have the kind of game he's capable of having. He's a terrific basketball player ... the best sixth man in college basketball.

People had the misconception that if you have three 6-10 kids, all of a sudden you have a good basketball team. The game takes instinct.

On the way down here, it was just a really happy team. They really felt they played well. ... It's going to be a different kind of game (tonight). Over the next 24 hours, at the team meeting (Sunday) and at the shoot-around (today), we'll get an opportunity to really tell them. With only six games to go, there is significance to the game.

Coming off a Villanova game where he played 13 minutes and didn't score a point, I started him the next game to tell him we've got to get him back. For us to win, we've got to get him back. ... Thank God we got them back.

And the Elvin Hayes-Jabbar game at the Astrodome, that was something I was thinking about for days.

The bottom line is that I'd rather let the kids play on. Kids are going to get emotional in a game like that and I don't think Brandon or Rudy were trying to do anything more. It was such an incredibly intense game, they just kind of got into each other a little bit. They were not doing anything.

That's what this game is all about, getting ourselves ready for the next three games and then head on into our league games.

They shocked us into such a state that I witnessed our poorest offensive effort in my 20 years at Connecticut. Albany gave us everything they had. I hugged (Albany coach) Will Brown after the game and I don't know Will Brown. I told him that, 'Your guys are special.' And they were.

They space the floor, and that can cause problems sometimes because our game is a game of power. And Villanova's backcourt disrupted us, so we couldn't use our power.

They're trying to be the toughest, scrappiest team on the floor in every game they play. It's working.

A lot of beat writers asked the question, 'Do you think you looked by this game with the Villanova game coming up?'. We didn't. We didn't look by it. The first 25 minutes was a pretty good indication of that.

They doubled us, trapped up, took us out of our offense. They were allowed to be physical. The way this game was called and played, they were able to keep the ball out of the paint.

They are a tough, tough basketball team. They made our life awfully, awfully miserable. We thought the game was going to be as easy as it was early.

It was a terrific, terrific win in a very hostile basketball atmosphere. We got the ball where we wanted to most of the time. ... The difference in the game was our power inside.

It?s not Rashad?s fault, trust me. Whatever we ask our kids to do, it?s our responsibility. We make the choice of who plays who. ... I?m incredibly, incredibly disappointed in the loss, incredibly disappointed in myself. I would have changed a couple of things probably the last two, three minutes of the game and into overtime.

It's an important game for them and for us it's an important game, too. You've got to make sure you take care of the home court and stay aggressive.

Talent eventually wins out, and in this particular game it certainly did.

It's both being fortunate and having the basketball gods smiling on you a little bit because quite frankly they had every right to win that game as much as we did. We took our foot off the pedal and we can't do that.

It was an incredible game fought by two teams who gave everything they possibly could. I don't know if either team could have gone another minute.

It was like that scene in 'Good Will Hunting' when Ben Affleck tells Matt Damon that one day he wants to ring the bell and not have anyone answer it, ... My coach told me my friends just wanted me to stay there and that if I succeeded it would make their failures worse. He asked me if I really wanted to play in the Eastern League for $30 a game for the rest of my life.

No team has disrupted our half-court offense as much as Washington. It was an incredible game by two teams who fought with everything they had. I don't think either team could have gone another minute.

It won't surprise me to see someone playing their fourth game in four days on Saturday. I just think the league has been like that.

They did more than enough to win this game. More than enough. We were fortunate that the basketball gods were smiling on us. They had every right to win that game as much as we did.

They came out and pressed us and generally teams that press us allow to get ourselves going. And this was their third game in five days so it made it very difficult for them to stay with us.

It was just an incredible game fought by two teams who gave it everything they possibly had. I just thought it was an incredible display of what competition is all about.

It was just an incredible game fought by two teams that gave it everything they had. I don't know if the teams could have gone another minute.

It was just an amazing game for them. They made us look poor. And we made ourselves look poor. It takes two.

(Notre Dame) had every right to win that game just as much as we did. We had to will our way back in. Thank God it was here at the Civic Center. I'm not sure we could win that game on the road.

I'm not that impressed by my team very much, but we were very good tonight. I can't think of a game where we shared the ball so well and ran so well.

In my opinion and certainly by the big scoreboard, the way the game was played they were the team that deserved to win.

Because of all their traps and because they were allowed to be aggressive, they kept us on the outside with a lot of double-teams, stripping the ball. The way this game was called and played, they kept the ball from getting into the paint.

If he plays well, then we've got a chance to win it. If Marcus were to sprain an ankle in the first 10 minutes against Albany, then we'll struggle but we would probably win. After that, it's 50-50 if we'll win a game or not.

I don?t want to put everything into one game. We have a lot more we?d like to accomplish. But we always said our goal is to win the Big East championship, and I think to back away from that two days before the game would be foolhardy.

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

He plays a great game with great enthusiasm. He's dedicated himself the past year to be a starter this year. He was the difference maker today. He cleaned up the middle by blocking shots and obviously scored a few baskets for us.

This is my favorite time of the year. I love it. I just hope we come out and play the best basketball possible. Win and advance: that's all we think about. It's one game at a time. We don't talk at all about Indianapolis or Washington, D.C.

All of a sudden the game changed when Jeff Adrien got in it. That was something for a freshman to express his emotion the way he did.

The game was allowed to be physical on the outside through double teams, that's just the way the game evolved. Inside, we would have been fine with that.

The game has taken me back to Springfield and I am so deeply honored and humbled to be in such a sacred place.

The game changes when Jeff comes in. When he got a rebound, nobody was going try and grab it away from him.

The game became much more physical than I would like to have seen. It reminded me of a Big East game probably back in the early '90s.

The college game is controlled by guards, has been and will be. You guys are going to try to name all the great big men who have carried their teams to Final Fours recently. You're not going to come up with any. You're going to come up with teams that are dominated by good inside play and terrific guard play. In the college game, guys that control the ball control the game.