Brian Clodi Quotations

We've always been able to score. We've got to more defensive-minded. We've got to develop that mean streak.

We're going to go as far as our defense takes us. They don't want to let each other down and just feed off each other.

We let their two leading scorers get off. They're both great players. That's why they got to the Sweet 16 last year.

We're playing our best basketball right now. But the moment of truth is the playoffs.

I can't say anything but positive things about these kids. They could have had a letdown. Streamwood hasn't won a game, but we came out and we were the aggressors.

He was young and he had some problems. Now, he's starting to get that chip (on his shoulder). Once he gets that chip, I think he's really going to take off.

He never had it, but he's really worked on it. We told him, all of our point guards can shoot. If it's an open look, we want him to shoot it.

We're proud of everything they've given. Not just tonight, but what they've done for our program.

Guys have to come through. Those are great shots. Those are shots that we want. Anytime you get into the lane like that, it's breaking down their defense. We just have to finish, go to the line.

I think we made a positive stride in how we played. We challenged every pass. If we make some of those interior shots, things go the other way. It was a step in the right direction, except for the fouling. We know that.

I want to win the state championship. That's the ultimate goal.

That was huge. We were in a zone and he brought them back. He was three or four feet behind the line and he buried them.

Mike had 20 (points) against these guys last time. When he's in the game, we want to go inside and get him as many touches (as we can).

We were up one and we got a rebound. But they got a key steal, basket and foul shot. That was a huge turnaround. Then, they got another three-point play and next thing you know, we're down five. We felt that was the breaking point of the game.

We outsized them so we had to use that as an advantage. At one point, he (Fenton coach Dennis Cromer) went with that small lineup. I looked across (the court) and every kid we had out there was bigger (than them) except Corey (Murtaugh). That's a huge advantage.

We had a great second half. We're a senior-dominated team and we need to play like seniors. In that first half, we just didn't play like seniors. We weren't flat -- we played scared.

We got 16th place last year and we weren't walking out of there feeling too good about ourselves. Last year, there were five top-25 teams there. This year, we're all about the same.

We felt good going into the fourth quarter. That's (down 42-37) where we wanted it to be. We did not want this game to get in the 70s.

You get forced to take chances when you're down six, eight with four minutes to go.

Every three was a dagger. There was no way we could respond to that. He was Superman tonight.

There's not a lot of teams around the state of Illinois that can say they have that type schedule left. We have it (tough schedule) for a reason. We want to be tournament tested and tournament ready.

That play (block) took the air out of Elgin.

That's who we wanted (to play). They're playing great basketball. We're excited.

They're the defending (tournament) champs. We've seen them and they're not a 12 seed.

They got it down to four, but we closed out the game well. We didn't turn the ball over, we did all the things needed to win.

They had only two field goals (a pair of three-pointers out of East's zone defense from Pat Cummings) in the fourth quarter. They had 21 free throws. That's what beat us. That's where we got beat. Our team knows it.

It's a good win, especially after we had a tough defeat (in the Feb. 21 semifinals) against Larkin. We wanted to play for a championship, but we'll take third place. Elgin has been playing great basketball, but we just found a way to win.

It's been balanced all year. We've got six guys with over 200 shots (attempted). They're coming from every which way.

It was one of best games of the year. I think it was one of the best high school games of the year -- two great teams going at it.

I'm extremely proud of our effort. I think that's as hard as we've ever played.

In our conference, everybody is going to battle each other. People are going to get knocked off all the time. If we can stay ahead of the game, it's only going to make things easier later on.

He plays great defense. He fights, he scratches, he claws. He had a great game.

The game plan all week was to get the ball inside. We have more size than them, so we wanted to take advantage of that. If they wanted to double (team), then we'd look for our shooters on the outside.