Jim Calhoun Win Quotations

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.

Overall, I thought it was a good win for us, but I don't think we played as well as we're capable of.

Our defense was inconsistent. The defense got us going but that wasn't the key because we let up so many times. I think it was a good win but we didn't play as well as we're capable of.

My theory is simply that there is no way you should ever shut off the engine. I do play to win as much as I can, for my kids. We play to win. But I can't convince them - and I should be able to at this point - that you have to play 40 minutes to win. You can't go to sleep. You cannot go to sleep.

I still felt right to the end we would win the game. This team is walking out 30-4. If we keep winning 30 games a year, I think we'll be in pretty good shape and we'll win our championships again. We didn't get there this year, but we'll do that.

I thought it was a good win for us. I don't think we played as well as we should have. ... Overall I think we did a decent job on defense, but the thing that is bothering me a little bit is we were inconsistent.

When the ball did fall in to send us into overtime, I thought we were going to win the basketball game.

We're bigger, we're stronger and we're quicker. Those kind of things are going to allow you to win most of the times.

We did things necessary to stop our opponents at crucial times and win games. Defensive rebounds and taking good shots in the last four to five minutes.

We worked on the 1-3-1 for three straight days this week and it paid off. It means a little something extra to go home with a win against such a great team. The enthusiasm of each shot is big when playing in such a hostile environment as we were today.

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,

We've proved that we're ready now. Whether we're ready to win Tuesday night on the road remains to be seen. Do I think we're good enough? Yes.

There's no question we don't win this without Ben Gordon.

There's no good losses, no moral victories, nothing of that nature. But the champion in them did come out. They weren't going away without trying to win a game.

I've watched him grow as a person, but he's still been able to maintain his wit, his optimism and that ever-ready smile. A lot of kids would have spit the bit at different times if they weren't starting. All he wants to really do is play and win and that's exactly what he's done. He's as comfortable in his skin as any kid I've ever had. I'm telling you right now ? and hopefully it will be five weeks, six weeks before it's the end of his career ? I will miss him for his personality, along with obviously his basketball game. He's a terrific kid.

I've always thought he was unappreciated, ... It wasn't until he got to the Final Four in the Meadowlands in 1996 that I felt he was truly appreciated. I remember the first 10 years in the league I had to answer why Jim can't win this or that. We're the old guard of the Big East.

A lot of times games are built up and they don't fulfill their promise. This game more than fulfilled its promise. Villanova may be, pound-for-pound, the toughest team that we've played anywhere, any time. Early in the game, we had to match their toughness. They were getting every offensive rebound. They were hustling like crazy. Unless you have a tough team, you cannot win this conference. It was like an old Big East backyard ball amongst two really good teams.

They played some big games last year without Curtis. They can still win the league but it's going to be tougher. They scare me because of the way they spread the court and make you play small ball.

It was everything you could ask for in a college game. You had a special environment, passion on both teams and with both coaches ... I would have been disappointed if we had lost. We did enough things to win this game.

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 a great opportunity for us and a great opportunity for Albany. I think coach (Will) Brown knows what a win can do and his kids know what a win can do. It's a great time of the year.

I truly believe we win that game, particularly after the lay-up. There's no question, because it hung on the rim.

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.

No matter what you are or who you are, you have to continue to prove yourself. That?s the aspiration we set for this particular team. Freshmen and sophomores might have different aspirations. But seniors aspire to win games.

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.

(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.

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.

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.