Doug Bruno Quotations

We've been here (playing a top seed) before, but it was always in the first or second round. The kids have to be able to focus and still enjoy it. One-and-out basketball is still one-and-out basketball, whether it is the first game or the third.

There are things that are more important than just a basketball game, and there's no way our team wouldn't go to that wake.

We were careless with the basketball and the game turned back around Notre Dame's way.

Liberty earned our respect last year on a bus ride home. That respect can't be lost because they graduated a few players.

She's been sick for a week, but to her credit, she's been able to play through it. We always want to be a balanced scoring team. Jenna and Allie (Quigley) have done a great job all season in stepping up when we need them.

She said, 'I like to knit and read good books. Maggie had the gift of Irish blarney.

She's making progress. It affects her conditioning. It's hard for her to be sharp. It affects her teammates because they're not making the same plays to the same person in practice.

She had the gift of being able to talk to paupers and princes equally. If you asked me how old she was, I'd tell you 38-to-42. And I mean that as compliment to her maturity.

She knows when to hold 'em, she knows when to fold 'em. She knows when to walk away. ... I just love how she's playing the game very simply and that's a total compliment.

My team impressed me again in their ability to comprehend and understand what I was going through.

Basketball is a game of easy baskets ... and we had no place to go for easy baskets.

Because we played them last year, there is a lot of background. I haven't seen tape on them this year, but I trust Liberty is good because they beat us last year.

Having a bye can be a curse or a blessing. The blessing, obviously, is you don't have to play four straight games. The curse is the team you're playing has a game under its belt. If you're not ready, they can use that to their advantage. My players came out ready to play.

I think it's fair to call any of the other 10 teams dark horses. These teams that (No. 4) St. John's and DePaul are facing Sunday are capable of beating us, so that makes them a dark horse.

I thought we were just a little hurried in the first half. You can't throw the ball to them. You can't just give them the ball.

I thought we got some pretty good looks the last seven minutes. They're just a big-time team playing a big-time game in a big-time atmosphere.

I thought we got some pretty good looks in the last seven minutes but once they got it spread there in the last two minutes I started running some thing to get quick shots. It's a tough team to get quick shots against. That's a big time team playing a big time game in a big time atmosphere.

Resurrecting the kids from the Carolina defeat and bringing them back to the point to be able to beat LSU, that's a huge dynamic. That's a huge achievement.

Pitt is a good basketball team. They have talented players, who play at a high level, and are deserving of playing in the next tournament (the NCAA).

Our players have earned the right to have the stage here in Chicago.

We're blessed that God dropped her into Alumni Hall one day.

You know, I noticed that she went smaller, but I don't think it made a difference.

We had some moments, but we didn't have enough consistent moments.

We were able to hang for a half, then got stuck on 33 for a long, long time. I thought we were never going to get off it.

We do have an offense that can get us quick shots. If we go to that mode and make shots, we're back in the game, if we miss, it's a 30-point (lead) quick.

There are 100 more teams playing now than when the team began with 10.

When you have an All-American player, you go to her. We went to her early in this game and she didn't answer the bell. When you get her the ball on the block, you expect her to score. She missed some bunnies and that's why I gave her an early seat. When she went back in, our kids are smart enough to realize she's our bread and butter. This time she produced.

Financial independence in women's basketball is a goal of mine and should be a goal of all coaches. If any of us can guarantee the financial rewards that Hartford can, than we should talk about moving it. But until then, they've created it and we should all ride it.

We weren't where we needed to be defensively in the second half. They are the most efficient team I've seen.

We weren't very smart, which is a nice way to say we played dumb.

When you lose three in a row, your next game is your Super Bowl. You lose a couple, that's what it is.

What?s great about the tournament is every first-round game has a story line.

We didn't lose to them; they just beat us. They kicked out butts last year, and we were a pretty good team.

We cried, we laughed, told stories. We walked away reflected. She was a bubbly, fun-loving personality.

Except for that 14-1 run by Notre Dame, we did a find job defensively.

Something that coach taught us, basketball is important but basketball life and people involved with the sport are more important than the game. And no game can keep you from doing and having the opportunity to pay your respects to someone as great as coach Ray.

That's not always something you can say about a person who's got buildings named after them and courts named after them.

Al McGuire's locker room was next to ours. Ray would be yelling, he'd pause for a second and then you'd hear Al yelling. Al would pause for a second, and you'd hear Ray yelling. It was great.

Al McGuire 's locker room was next to ours. Ray would be yelling, he'd pause for a second and then you'd hear Al yelling. Al would pause for a second, and you'd hear Ray yelling. It was great.

Al Maguire's locker room was next to ours. Ray would be yelling, he'd pause for a second and then you'd hear Al yelling. Al would pause for a second, and you'd hear Ray yelling. It was great.

You can't just give them the ball. You quick-shot against them and they're explosive coming up the floor. It's hard to overcome that kind of stuff.

This is what we brought Rachael here to do. A shoulder injury got her season started late.

It's hard to imagine Maggie with the generals.

I?m really kind of oblivious to it. I think the players are, too. I just think these kinds of streaks come and go, and this one has just kind of happened. I?m impressed by our players? mental ability to respect our opponents.

I really thought our second unit turned the game in our favor in the later part of the first half. We were able to press a little, turn the tempo up and that's how we took the lead.

It has to play itself out . . . and some people say this is posturing, and in January that was posturing, but now it's March. When we compare our top eight to other power conferences' fourth and fifth teams, we show very well.

I always try to pre-play the last minute or two of different game situations. We needed one stop, and as great a game as Caprice played, she didn't make my five for defense.

I don't see anybody better than her right now. She's multidimensional. She's a great scorer. She's a great leader. She's a great defender.

I believed all year that this was a two-team race. It should be a great game. They have great strengths and different strengths.