Jim Rosborough Quotations

We've got a lot to look forward to. I think we'll finally walk away from this crazy season feeling good about ourselves.

If we were sitting there with five losses instead of 10, I don't think we would have lost the (Washington) game. Instead we had 10 and every one of them knocks away at you a little.

He's had no problems. That's what kind of scares you, because if it's something not too serious, he's going to be up and at 'em.

He may need another week of rehab. We don't want to rush it, but he could go next week or the middle of next week.

He's 6-5, 6-6 and really, really versatile. I really like him. He's kind of like the old point-forward.

He's a good kid. The guys like him, he's a personable kid, he's a good student - we're not going to have to worry about him in the classroom or anything - and kids from Mater Dei know how to play.

We looked each other in the eye and told the truth. The facts are: Last six games, 11.5 points a game, three games out of double figures in the last six and every one was in double figures before then. You tell me. He just had to pick it up.

Kirk needs to understand this is going to be a whole lot more physical. They bang you, they push you. It's a whole new ball of wax.

I wouldn't put anything past him. Whatever he says typically gets done. He's just never, ever let any of his handicaps hold him back at all.

I think the guys would like Kirk to get back into a position where he can get us 25 minutes a game.

It got our attention. We had some good motivation; everybody was counting us out.

I think they want to get better. We had a really good practice on Friday. We got the kids' attention and now they're on a roll.

I still think we can be the best team in the league. There's a thin edge at this time of the season. But with five home games remaining, we've still got a lot to shoot for.

It all depends on how you practice. Chris didn't have a bad practice today, but I thought Daniel had a very good practice. Chris is a great on-ball defender, but Daniel is probably a more complete defender.

We need a good weekend, so if they're going to be desperate, we're probably in the same category. We had a good weekend this weekend, but Oregon State is kind of down. This weekend will be a whole lot different.

We're trying to create chaos all over the place, trapping and running and jumping. It's going to be a little more proactive. I think we've got the quickness.

We all had some things we just had to point out. But it was for them to kind of watch and make comments.

What they did earlier doesn't matter. They're playing well now.

Dick's a whale of a guy. He's a great coach, a great defensive coach, and he's a better guy than he is a coach.

Salim has been a pleasant surprise, too. He and Channing both deserve a lot of credit.

You're facing one of the toughest systems in the whole country. You never look forward to playing a Dick Bennett team.

They've changed the landscape. They've changed the tone, in my mind, of what we're going to have to deal with. But at least we'll know what we're facing if all their guys come back.

This makes it a brighter day, I'll say that.

They pretty much took us apart. Something happened. Their defensive attitude changed.

It was one thing to drop out of the Top 25 after we won by 30 at Utah and broke their long home-court winning streak. But to see that banner? It got our attention. We had some good motivation; everybody was counting us out.

It was a whale of a game. That's my favorite memory of the place.

I told the guys I'm not going to say a whole lot, but that we cannot go up there, bust our fannies to sweep, and then come back and stumble on our home court. We're going to have to play hard. That's what they need to understand.

It's one of the last things we talk about before we come out. But we never, ever practice it.

It just boiled down to a playing time issue with Salim (Stoudamire) here. He is a good kid.

It was a good night. We always had a hand in the shooters' face. We switched well. Our quickness enabled us to get a lot of long rebounds and convert them into points on the break. The guys are learning what we're teaching them.

It's very frustrating. Hassan is back, and he's an All-American candidate. Chris (Rodgers) can defend. And Staf (Shakur) is getting better. That's what's frustrating.

It won't require surgery, so all he'll have to do is rehab it.

The truth of the matter is that most (NBA) people have said that. You can't guarantee a lottery pick, but he's going to be bigger and stronger. He made a good decision.

The value of this is that there hasn't been a pickup game in history that was as good as a practice.

They were very nice. It was my impression they had a marvelous time.

Every weakness he had was exposed, and those (NBA) guys didn't forget about it. That may have hurt him more in terms of his pro career than anything. So the risk is immense. But I don't say that in regards to Staf. I say that in regards to Jason and anybody thinking about doing that.

I hope he comes back, but I honestly don't know. He's been a little bit to himself.

He's probably so tired they'll need to take him home on a stretcher. But I'll tell you what; I'd hate to think where we'd be without him.

He's pretty complete. The only thing he has to do is get in the weight room and really bust it hard.

I don't think I have to say it. This is a huge, huge weekend.

Channing has had a fabulous year. He's going to be either the rookie of the year or runner-up. I would make him the rookie of the year.

He's a guy who's going to come in here and not have high expectations of playing time or anything else. David's just a kid that's happy to be here. He'll do whatever we want in practice to help the team, whether that's run the scout team or work down low with the big guys ... whatever we need him to do.

Good questions. We'd be sitting here 22-4 if we played the 10 games we've lost like this.

The truth is that we've played well in these cities. The goal is to go in there and sweep. Of course, their goal is to beat the heck out of us.

The guy who has to decide is Staf. Staf feels he played dang well the last couple of games, which he did. So if that's what he's basing it on, that's what he's basing it on.

You want to see what we saw last year, that he was kind of a fireball out on the court. We feel we can get more out of him, being one of the better four-men (power forwards) around. We expect him to be more consistent but we need to see more zip and enthusiasm out of him.