Marty Simmons Guys Quotations

We're fired up. There's no doubt. We know how hard it was to get there last year, and to be able to back it up is just a tremendous accomplishment for the group of guys on this team.

He's been a monster for us all year. He's a playmaker. It seems like he guards about six guys out there at one time. He scores big points, he grabs big rebounds and he gets big steals. I can't say enough about him.

Just to have the opportunity to compete for a conference championships with four games to go in the season would be something that any college basketball player would relish. Our guys have done a tremendous job of putting us in this position.

Our guys showed a lot of character and heart. It wasn't going to real good there at the beginning. But we made some plays at the end of the half to give us some momentum, a little feel-good going into the locker room.

Our guys played well enough to win. The effort was there. They played their hearts out. Tip your hat to Virginia Union. They made some big plays down the stretch.

Our guys played their hearts out. We battled and battled and deserved to win. But Virginia Union made one more play than us.

That 3-point shot at the end of the half really meant a lot to us. We came back out to start the (second) half and got another three, and the guys got more aggressive.

Maybe it is not scoring or rebounding. The guys are doing a good job defensively of creating good opportunities for their teammates. They are a good team to coach.

You just have to give the players their credit. They are playing hard and playing together. It seems like we have different guys stepping up on different nights.

They're young guys who work extremely hard. They're in here at the crack of dawn and they leave late at night. They put so much into it. They've done a good job of relating to our guys and getting our guys to understand what it takes to be good at this level.

This is what you play for, a chance to win a divisional title with two games left. Our guys have done a good job with putting us in this position. Now it is up to us to find a way to win.

The kids stepped up at the end and hit the shots. Give credit to (Northern Kentucky). We were adjusting to them all day. We had some guys with their tongues hanging out there, but we got through it.

I am proud of the guys. We tied for the West Division Championship. That's a heck of an accomplishment. Are we disappointed that we weren't able to win it out right at home in the last two games? I don't think there is any question. Our guys have put themselves in a position to compete for the conference championship.

The guys worked really hard to get out and contest shots, and we did a much better job of blocking out. We got off to a good start, which is always important. We're just happy to come away with a win.