Mark Gottfried Players Quotations

Whether we play Winthrop or Louisiana Tech or (future opponents) Temple or (North Carolina) State, the players realize we schedule very, very good basketball teams and we've got to play at a high level every night.

Obviously, Ole Miss came to Tuscaloosa and won. Our players have a lot of respect for how good they can be.

I don't think our players will be satisfied, nor will I, with just getting in. We want to advance, we want to advance deep.

I was there. I know what it's like to be a part of that. There's a sense of belonging in the Final Four. We're supposed to be there. You take a program like ours and we've been to one Elite Eight. You have to get your players to believe they're capable of doing that.

We were stunned (after the loss to Ole Miss) when Chuck went down, and we played like it. But now we've gained some confidence. We've had some different players step up and carry us. That's been the difference between then and now.

This is devastating for our team as it gives us only 10 scholarship players and a thin backcourt. We'll have to play a small forward at the guard position this year. We'll have to adjust.

They've got a number of young players. We have a bunch of young players as well, so there's probably going to be more freshmen on the floor than we've had in the last number of years playing in this game.

It wasn't until the middle of December that things started to turn for him. In hindsight, I should have sat him a couple of games. He wanted to play, like all players do. We had that full week during finals where we were able to sit him and I think that helped.

It was sure a relief when our name came across there. I'm excited for our players and our program. It's quite a statement that this is five in a row for us.

It's important to have our legs back underneath us. But the players are in pretty good shape and in good basketball condition and can handle it pretty well.

It throws you off a little bit, but the most important thing is to make sure the building is safe. The players understand that. Let's make sure everybody is safe.

(Arkansas is) one of the most athletic groups, players 1 through 9, in this whole tournament.

I'm not going to talk about it (to the team), and I'm not sure our players will, either.

I'm proud of our guys. I think our players just decided to rally, play hard and do everything they can to give themselves a chance to win.

Chuck is a great player for us. But we have some other players that are great for us too.

College basketball is a long season, probably the longest season on a college campus. So when you get to the end of the season, you want your players to be fresh physically and mentally.