Billy Gillispie Quotations

We stood around and watched and weren't really aggressive. Our zone attack was very stinky today, without question.

We're in the Big 12 and this is just the way games are. Preparation is easy, but converting is hard. We were right there. We just have to convert.

One defensive play, one foul or one turnover, one shot that's not finished or one missed free throw is magnified because we don't have an Antoine Wright to cover up mistakes.

Now we have time to reflect back. How motivating is this experience? Will it make you motivated or will it make you complacent? If you're complacent, then we'll be right back where we were. If the deal is you enjoyed the experience so much it motivates you, then the sky's the limit.

I felt it was very similar to Texas' zone. I thought that helped us.

I don't study that stuff as much as everybody else does. I know that we have to really play well. Just a win on Wednesday probably wouldn't do it.

For us to be able to string seven (victories) together when things didn't look so good says a lot about the kind of people we have. I've never seen a tougher team.

If we win enough, we're gonna get a chance to play in the tournament.

He has a great flair for the game and he has the ability to pass, shoot and force help.

He hasn't played much, but we have confidence he'll make the play if he has the ball.

He has more than the ability to just put the ball in the basket. He's a guy that not only makes baskets for himself, but he really knows how to pass and he really knows how to set his teammates up where all they have to do is catch and dunk. Man alive, he knows how to play the game.

We're on the surface of what I think we're going to be able to accomplish. This is a great place, and we've got great support. Our players are hungry, and our fans are hungry.

He knew what he had. He knew the talent he had and that it was only a matter of time. Sometimes it does take time to bring a team along. No one is better about guiding young players through troubled waters better than Bill.

He is one of the better players in the game of college basketball. I'm not totally aware of his situation, but he is extremely hard to defend.

I wouldn't put anything past this team right here.

Joe spent the entire halftime throwing up. He said he didn't have any energy. But he kept fighting.

Joe shouldn't have shot it. He knows that. It was my fault. I probably should have either called another timeout right there and told them exactly what we wanted to do or just reminded Joe that we didn't really need to have a 3-point shot at that point.

Joe did a really good job. He's learning to make adjustments against people and he's become a little bit more aware of how some people are playing him.

I think we were already in. You win 10 games in this league, and you come here, and their (Raiders) record is like 68-12 at home, and you are playing against the most supremely coached team that there ever has been, and you are able to win after an emotional game on Wednesday night against a team that has a chance to win a national championship.

Just a win (over Texas) probably wouldn't do it. And I don't believe a loss would eliminate us, either.

I think everybody involved in that game Wednesday is probably pretty drained.

I think he has played that way all the time, we've just had a difficult time getting him the ball consistently where he can do great things with it. But I think he has been playing great all year.

That was a hard-fought win, and I'm very, very, very happy to get it.

We couldn't get the ball to the basket because of athletic ability, couldn't finish enough plays, couldn't get to the foul line quite as much as they did.

We were 8-8, but that's not what we came here to do. We've done OK, but we have grander thoughts about where we're going to be in the future.

We put ourselves in a big hole by missing shots. We should have been attacking better, but we stood around and didn't do what we needed to do.

We really needed that. We've had a lot of things go against us.

We couldn't make any baskets (and) couldn't get any defensive rebounds. They took advantage of it. They made a lot of offensive rebound baskets on us. We couldn't get over the hump.

Today was one of those magical days where everything went right for us.

We were afraid to shoot the ball. You can't shoot shots as a second thought.

We came out and made a bunch of shots early and got a little confidence. It's a great win for us.

With 44,000 students, we have to have 10,000 fans here if they want to help our team win. We want fans to come see the home team and not just to see a good opponent. To have the program where we want it, we have to change our expectations.

We are worthy of playing in the tournament, but I am not politicking. We have to do more to get that chance, though.

We wouldn't be talking about having a chance to play in the postseason. And the development of this program wouldn't be where it is now. He's meant everything to us.

There are a lot of teams out there that will do well in the NCAA Tournament. But there are a lot of teams that still have work to do, and we're one of those teams.

We always try to push the ball. Sometimes we just have a little more success than we do at other times.

We lucked out last week, but it was a magical win. It's a great program capable of winning the championship this year. We have to muster enough to be as competitive as we can.

This was a really, really tough loss for us. Both teams played hard enough to win. There wasn't a great deal of offense on either side; you credit the defenses, but it's a tough one.

We got a little bit better in the second half. We got the ball moving and tried to attack inside. It's the way we have to play, and it's the reason we had a chance.

We got a good whipping tonight. They played harder than us. They played much, much, much smarter than us. Give them all the credit. We took a step backwards tonight.

We just keep trying hard. We're not an imposing, physical team, but we do play very well together, and that's what carries us through. Our guys have a lot of confidence in our man-to-man defense.

We just made so many mental mistakes, and that's embarrassing to me. And that is my fault.

We were really bad on offense, but we have to credit their defense. Both teams played hard enough to win. There wasn't a great deal of offense on either side.

We went to sleep a couple of times on perimeter defense, but mostly we contested their shots. They just did a good job of shooting the ball. It wasn't bad defense just great offense.

The style of play with Missouri will be quite different. Coach Huggins will definitely recruit at the very highest level, and his teams always play with unbelievable intensity. And Jeff is one of the best young guys in the country.

I've never been involved in a game where every person brought that amount of energy to the floor. I've never seen it where guys fought for so hard for 40 minutes on both sides. We just got lucky and made the last shot.

Rush is a pro. He's not only an NBA player, but a potential NBA all-star, in my opinion, with time and maturity. He's a great player. He's shown the capability to just totally dominate games at this level.

People thought P.J. didn't play all that well at our place, but he's where all your attention always goes (defensively). I wish it was not at our expense, but I'm really happy to see a guy bounce back after what happened at the end of that game. I guess I'm not that happy. But I was glad for him.

Our conference isn't getting enough respect. There are too many people out there talking that haven't watched our teams play. They weren't in this arena today and they weren't in a lot of different arenas, they just make assumptions based on stuff that's not factual.

Despite what has been reported, I am not interested in the position at Missouri. It's unfair to everyone involved that I have to respond at all.

As far as everything working right, some days we have played better defense and some days we have played better offense, but today was one of those magical days where everything just seemed to go right for us. The shots went in, the free throws went in and we defended well.

They shoot threes better than we shoot foul shots.

They're the toughest team ... toughest team I've ever seen. Not close, and I've been around some tough teams. Really tough. Really tough.

They've got a really good team, and it's a really good home-court advantage. I take my hat off to the toughness of our team. It was a great win.

A lot of people had that thought process.

They played harder and much, much, much, much smarter. That's where I thought we'd really improved, but we took a lot of steps back tonight.

They need Gerry out there to do their best, I assume.

They need Gerry out there on the court to be their best, I assume.

It was terrible zone offense. It's my fault. We stood around and watched.

It was a tough loss and a hard fought game. It was a very competitive game. I thought it was very fitting the way the game ended. We had so many close games all season long. We won a bunch of them in that fashion.

It was a real ugly win for us, and that's what we specialize in.

It's a great win for us against one of the most well-respected, winning basketball programs in the history of the game.

For his ability level, 100 percent, it's impossible to get more than that. What a performance when we need it the most.

It's hard to make baskets in this league.

Every basket's big in a game decided by four points, but those were very big baskets for a freshman.

That's the best one we've had here in my two years at A&M.

No, I think we were already in. I'm not a politician, but if you're paying attention, there's no question about it.

They captured everyone's interest and imagination. ... It was fun to watch them until they called our name to play them. Then, it wasn't so funny.

After such an emotional win against such a great team (UT) in such a great setting, it's almost impossible to bounce back and get your emotions in check. It was a major concern for us. I think everyone involved in that game was probably drained today.

I know that it's hard to make baskets in this league. I would say it's really good defense, but I don't know. We'll see as we go.

I knew we would fight every game. If you do that, it usually works out in the end.

I really thought Joseph would have a big day because of his mindset. He's been having some hard luck and struggling to stay out on the floor.

I know for a fact we haven't played better than this in two years than we did today against a real, real, real good team. Some days we have played better defense, some days we have played better offense, but today was one of those magical days where everything just seemed to go right for us.

I haven't studied all the teams in this league, but I know it's hard to make baskets in this league. I think it's attributable to the good defenses out there. There are good offenses out there, good offensive schemes, so I would say it's good defense.

He's one of those guys you'd definitely like to coach. He really knows how to pass the ball, and he knows how to set his teammates up.

I didn't think they'd get starry-eyed. I think they're mentally tough. They know what they are, a blue-collar team. They respect all their opponents, but they don't have fear of anyone. That shows great maturity on their part.

I am not a politician. I haven't been. I won't be. You don't have to be when you play in the Big 12. You finished fourth, you win your first game in the tournament, you play a team that's hopefully going to the Final Four.

I don't think too many people think 46-44 is beautiful. But I really do.

He's not a great shooter, but he makes a lot of shots. He's not an imposing defender, but he really defends well. He's not a true point guard, but he can handle the ball. Everyone wants someone who fits a profile, and sometimes we overlook someone who's just a good player.

Got a good whipping tonight. They played harder than us. They played much, much, much smarter than us. ... They executed, played with discipline, they played hard, they got to the basket, they did what they were coached to do. They have good players, and I can see why they are getting better in a hurry.

You come to Texas A&M, and people say you can't do it there. It's yet to see whether we can, because we have a lot of work to do. But I think you can say we're on the right track.

You can't stop a big guy like that. You just have to hope he doesn't totally destroy you. If you do too much, and send too many guys his way, he is a great passer. He just knows how to put the ball in the basket and make everyone better.

You can't really stop a guy like that. You just hope he doesn't totally destroy you.

These guys aren't afraid to miss. We made some shots today. That makes your offense look a lot better.

All of a sudden, it wasn't so funny.