Mark Schmidt Good Quotations

We started off too slow and didn't seem to have our legs. I think they were itching to play because of the time off, and it was hard to get back into it. But give St. Francis credit. They made a run, and we didn't do a good job stopping it.

But we just didn't do a good job closing games out. That's disappointing. Part of it is we're young. We're inexperienced. We might tighten up. I'm not sure.

He's a good scorer, one of the better players we play against every year. He can shoot it, take you off the dribble. He's a complete player. He's had a wonderful career.

We need people who can defend the other big guys in the league, and he'll benefit us. You can't teach height. We'll need patience, but he can be a difference-maker. He's going to have a chance to be a very good player.

We have a good atmosphere. Our goal is to give the crowds exciting basketball because they have been loud, especially this season.

We were going inside. We just tried to get a good shot.

We expected A.J. to have an immediate impact and he certainly has not disappointed anyone. It's hard sometimes sitting out a year, but he did a good job of playing hard and staying sharp last season during practice. He's gotten stronger over the last year, and A.J. certainly gives us a physical presence on the inside. What really also adds to his effectiveness and opens up opposing defenses is his ability to hit the outside shot.

Sacred Heart is a good team, and we didn't play well against them. We knew this road trip was going to be tough. (On Thursday), we got behind by 12 and cut it to nine, but then had to fight an uphill battle from there.

A game like this builds chemistry. It's good for the walk-ons to get rewarded with playing time.

Derek played his best game since he's been here. He shot the ball with great confidence. He just was terrific. When he plays like that, we're a good team.

I knew it was going to be a close game because you have two good undersized teams who try to out-scrap each other. We didn't always play well but we played hard and we made plays when we had to.

The game plan was not for A.J. to get two fouls in the first three minutes. Jeremy did a good job carrying us. He did a tremendous job in the first half.

The cardinal rule is you don't foul jump shooters -- especially 3-point shooters. That's not what a good team does.