Ben Braun Quotations

We're fortunate Richard has been such a good defender through the years.

We're healthy this time, that's the major difference.

When your (best) shooter wants to shoot some more, that's a great sign.

When you defend you have a chance. I've said it, I've said it, and I've said it. We have a chance and its great to see our guys believe on the defensive end.

Leon is really a highly competitive person. When he was struggling shooting free throws earlier in the year, he was getting up at 5 in the morning and going to a gym near his home and shooting free throws. Then he came up with a couple of 10-for-10 games, 10-for-12, 12-for-15. I think that's a testimony to who he is.

Leon is a smart guy. I have faith in Leon, in his decision-making process.

Leon has gotten stronger. He was kind of up and down, to where he'd have a solid Thursday and maybe not a solid Saturday. Now he's durable and he's been playing under a lot of duress.

Leon deserves a lot of the credit for the impact he's made. He makes a lot of things easier for a lot of guys. He's also been a really good defender for us this year. he's really improved his understanding of the game.

Leon and I have talked a lot about his future and his options. He just had the best season of his basketball career, which is a credit to his work ethic and perseverance. I trust that Leon will ultimately make a great decision.

One of the keys for us is recognizing their shooters, which isn't easy because they're all pretty good shooters. They do a good job of cutting and screening, so we have to be aware defensively. They have some good athletes and some good shooters. They are very tough to guard.

I feel good about our chances. We're playing well. It's important to go into the tournament at full strength and with some momentum.

I feel good about our chances. I also feel good that in our league, 17 wins has been a formula (for the NCAA tournament).

I can't figure out all of that. Too complicated for me.

I can't figure all that out; it's too complicated for me. To entertain mathematical possibilities, that complicates our job. We just want to play our best and grab a victory or two. That gives us a chance to grab a championship. That's the dream of every coach and player, to have the chance to win a championship.

Getting Leon back is a big plus for us. His absence put us in a hole last year.

I don't think we should get penalized for losing an overtime game to (the conference champions). I think that game puts in perspective how far this team has come this season.

I don't think you can play a game like that and not be down afterward.

If Stanford was going to beat us or tie us, Chris Hernandez wasn't going to do it. That's respect for Chris. Our players felt we couldn't give him a look. He wasn't going to beat us. He's beaten too many people over the years, including us.

He's had a chance to work on his shooting and his range. His passing skills have really picked up and he's making the guys around him better.

He hit some unbelievable shots. That's one of the best halves of basketball anybody's played against us this year.

He hit some tremendous shots. He had a phenomenal second half, knocking down shot after shot.

He doesn't quit, even on offensive rebounds. It's just great to see a player who wants to get better.

He's a great defender, he challenges shots and he runs the floor well. His post skills are catching up. He's been a real factor for us.

His teams have focused more on ball control than on transition. They're going to work hard on the defensive end. They're very similar to his teams at Pitt, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that.

When they're scoring, they're a very difficult team to beat.

He was hobbling pretty good. Let's give it a day and see.

He can take a lot of pride knowing he is playing for a championship now as he leaves Cal. He has worked so hard over the years.

He'll be fine. He survived two knee operations, so he'll be alright. He really put us on his back tonight. He's a real warrior.

I thought we were tentative at times. The teams we're playing have to catch us. It's a nice position to be in. We can't worry about what the significance of a win or loss is.

I thought there was some questionable judgment in those situations.

I think we do deserve to be in the NCAA tournament. But I don't think my opinion matters much. I don't have a vote.

I saw what our team can do when it's healthy.

Our guys have to stay in the moment, and it's not easy. I was worried about our team when we were up 21-2 against Oregon State.

Our intensity was good, our spirit was good. That's the kind of effort you need against Washington. They're that kind of team.

Our team obviously is down after the game. I don't know how you can play that game and not be down. We have to come back. That's our challenge right now. We have to bounce back. We can't go back to this game. It's over. We have to have the same mentality we had during that stretch. That's going to be our challenge right now.

Our players were hungry. I can't ask our players to go out and play harder than they played today.

Our players have the game in perspective. We know what we're up against ? and we're facing a very dangerous team.

It feels pretty good to see everyone in the community. They're all so proud.

I think our team remembers Washington came in here and had their way with us.

I thought he had a huge year. He took his team over the hump tonight. He put them on his back. He was phenomenal.

That was probably the only time we made consecutive mistakes.

We have to turn the tables on the pressure. We have to remember the other teams have to catch us.

Those guys now know the value of being vocal. We've had team-building exercises set up some of those things.

We're a lot more inside-oriented than we were then.

When you're entrenched in principles, you're not thinking about streaks or standings. Staying in the present does take discipline and focus.

We need to fight hard against a good, patient team like Washington State.

We had to make adjustments at halftime. Our defense in the second half was the big difference.

When you shoot 11-for-24 from the free throw line, you're not brimming with confidence. It was the first thing we talked about in the locker room after the game. It's a different game if we knock down and convert some free throws. We have nobody to blame, that's us.

We're not sure of the extent of it, but he's definitely out. I thought he was making pretty good progress. He was able to log some minutes. This is a separate issue.

To be where we're at is great. But we still have a lot of basketball to go. We sure would like to be where we're at. That's a good spot to be in. But our next challenge is Oregon State.

We don't have a lot of guys that have been deep in the postseason. (But) Richard is one of those guys. Our team has to understand that we don't have second chances now. It's going to be a huge challenge for us this week.

We want to have great emotion, we want to have great spirit.

We'll just have to see how he responds.

We can't play under pressure. We can only put pressure on ourselves to do our best. There's enough pressure playing against Washington State. Let's not play under any more pressure than there really is.

We can't operate now with our heads down. We're disappointed. We've got basketball ahead of us and we have a huge game Saturday. It's important for our team to bounce back. The natural reaction might be to be down, but we can't afford that. We have to step up.

We can't operate now with our heads down. It's important that our team bounces back. It's crucial we fight and battle.

We have to bounce back, that's our challenge right now. We have to have that same mentality during the last couple of weeks. We can't sit here and dwell on this.

While this is obviously a temporary setback for Leon, he has handled it well and we are confident he will return to action relatively soon. The good news is he had no pain symptoms, and Leon knows he has a lot of basketball ahead of him this season.

We finished the game strong. We showed what we can do at full strength.

You have to guard everyone on the team.

We've put in a lot of hard work and this is our reward now to see where we stand as a team. This trip gives us more time to solidify our team and work towards a positive direction.

Through the years we've been a pretty good defensive team when we've had our guys healthy and playing. I guess we surprised UCLA too, then. Maybe we just had a lucky weekend, I don't know.

We just need to stick to our principles. As long as we rebound and play defense, we'll be alright.

We weren't strong with the ball in that stretch.

We turned it around in the second half on the defensive end. USC attacked the basket and we had to make adjustments at halftime. Leon is grabbing a lot of rebounds and that helps.

We felt if we had beaten UCLA, we would have won this thing (the regular-season title). So it's probably fitting that we're playing. I just hope we get our legs back.

We're going to be a little fatigued, but I wouldn't trade that at all. I'd rather be fatigued and in that game than be well-rested and not be playing anywhere.

USC is going to be very energetic, very hungry and determined. We've beaten every team in the league, but going out and trying to do it again is going to be the hard part.

You feel bad for Rod and what he has been through. He was just getting over a foot injury, and I thought he was improving. He was getting more time and was more active. He was getting closer to coming back at full strength.

Washington will be a similar challenge as Arizona. They have a similar style. This upcoming game is an opportunity for us ... We're ready to go right back and challenge our defense.

Every game has been about surviving and believing in ourselves. That's what teams have to do.

I've seen Jones go from center to forward to guard.

I've never put 'vulnerable' and 'Arizona' in the same sentence.

Roy took them over the hump. He put them on his back.

And their defense has not been spotty. It's been good game to game.

As hard as Leon was working, I thought he had opportunities to go after the rim a few times, and we came away with no basket and a foul. In my opinion, there were some questionable judgments in those situations.

That's just disappointing because we had opportunities. We have to learn from this game. This is kind of a rerun in the rebounding department. To me it's one of the bigger indicators we have.

Young people do what they see. It has to be a priority from the coaches down to the players. Team chemistry comes from having the same goal and same agenda.

This is something he's done in practice. He plays on the scout team and he's lighting us up.

This game we knew was not about appearance or style. It was about grit.

They're trying to get the ball in Hairston's hands more.

They've got a little edge right now, but we're going to have to take that edge away somehow, psychologically.

They've been the most dominant team in our league.

They made some plays down the stretch, they kept their composure, I think experience was a factor.

They made it tough for us. They took away our top scorer. They made some great adjustments in the second half.

There were only two or three teams in this league right now that really challenge at the end, and we were one of them.

They're both good basketball players. I like having those options with those guys.

They're not going to give you easy baskets. They make it tough to get to the interior.

It's a great accomplishment. That shows how tough this conference is. For any team in a tough conference, when you can go and nail down a win on the road in your opener, that's a statement. I don't care where you are or who you're playing.

It's a great position for us to be in. It's an honor to be able to play for a Pac-10 championship. I'm happy for our players that they're going to have the opportunity to fight for the championship. That's what you dream of as a player and as a coach.

It's a different game for us if we knock those down. That really takes the air out of you.

That's the biggest shot Theo has hit since he's been with us.

That's the effort you have to have against Washington.

That's OK. He sure made things look easy for us. It's good to see him become a basketball player.

That had to be one of the biggest shots someone has made against us.

That is what you dream of as a player and a coach. You love to be in that position and our team is in that position.

It's tough. I thought our guys came out and played very hard. But give N.C. State credit, they played well. They didn't make a whole lot of threes like they normally do, but the ones they did make were some real momentum changers.

They were a good team then (Dec. 31, first meeting), and they are a good team now. They have some weapons, they are playing solid defense and they are used to winning.

They've improved in that area. Those guys have given them their team a big lift, and there's no question that has helped their performance in the last few games.

At times, we played like a team that had 11 days off.