Leonard Hamilton Quotations | Page 2

We're the same team that most of the media picked to finish 11th in the preseason. We didn't have any double-figure scorers returning, we were picked to finish near the bottom. How foolish would it have been for me to go out and build a killer schedule when no one thought we were any good?

Todd miraculously played rather well considering he hadn't practiced all week. We didn't know until game time if he was going to play.

We've had more ups than downs. But more than anything else, I think we've had so many learning opportunities that I think now it's going to cause us to accelerate our growth process. Probably the most important thing is we've grown mentally.

We have a clear understanding of the NCAA rules and understand how this process works. We will make sure that Alexander and his family have all of that information available to them during this process.

This team is very capable if we're playing up to our abilities. In other years, maybe we had to play above ourselves. Right now we need to play up to our abilities.

This team has shown ability to bounce back and I guess this is another opportunity for us to show our faith and courage.

This was a very important game for Maryland tonight and a very important game for us. We have a team that is maturing a little bit.

What I was looking for was for the players to gain some confidence in themselves and the system.

We knew he was a good shooter, we just didn't think he'd be shooting them from the parking lot. I thought they did a very good job of finding him. Every time we lost him, he made us pay.

We knew he was a good shooter, but we didn't think he'd be shooting from the parking lot.

You guys have heard me from the beginning of the year; I've been consistent about this. This is going to be a different year from what you guys have been exposed to. This league will be -- with the exception of one team and maybe two, it's going to be rock 'em sock 'em, and you're not going to be able to determine how this thing is going to shape up until the latter part of the season.

Through this whole period we wanted to see that consistency from players. We're starting to see that develop.

We feel like we're getting better, but we're at a point now where we have to avoid allowing ourselves to be affected by coming close and not coming away with victories.

At the end of day, the record won't reflect guys weren't available, someone was sick. At the end of the year, we need to have a few more Ws.

At this particular point, I don't have absolutely any say in the criteria. That's already been determined, and me making any speculation right now would be just that - speculation.

Diaz and Hite were too much for us. When the game was on the line, I think they made a few more plays than we did. You have to give Diaz and Hite credit. They were defended about as well as you could defend them.

The team kind of hung together. This is the kind of game that will test your character and your togetherness and your spirit.

The thing that I like about this team is that we still are a team that has a lot of room for improvement. We are getting better in all areas. We're not quite there yet. But our best basketball, I think, is ahead of us.

I've been around long enough to know how fragile it can be. We need to continue to get better. We haven't proven anything yet ? not enough to start relaxing. We've got a chance ? a window of opportunity. We've got to jump through it.

Sometimes you don't really know what to say because conversation sometimes makes it worse. You just have to give a person a hug and tell him you love him, you support him and be there for them.

South Carolina will test us physically. They change defenses an awful lot and try to keep you out of rhythm.

Once you understand the type of energy that it takes, the type of effort and communication it takes with your teammates, then it becomes fun when you're all on the same page.

Any comments that I make in relation to the technical foul, and the impact that it did or did not have on the game, I think would be seen as (taking) away from how outstanding I think Duke's players played. They made tough shots. They made the plays they had to make to win the game. We had equal opportunities, and we didn't come away with the points. We didn't get the stops that were necessary during the critical parts of the game, and we had maybe even some better looks than what they had; they knocked theirs down and we didn't.

As big a jump as he's made this year, we expect him to make a bigger jump next year.

As I was coming in (the interview room), I was thinking about how much energy he brought to the game tonight. His comments and his enthusiasm on the bench and his communication with the players was extremely animated, unlike A.J. Sometimes he is very quiet, but he had a lot to say.

That's who we are. We don't necessarily feel that we're more talented than anyone else, but we feel if we play hard and aggressive ? then maybe we can have an advantage because of our quality of depth.

Al has always had a burning desire to be a good player. He spends more time in the gym by himself than anyone we've had. For him, it was just a matter of adjusting to our style and feeling comfortable. He's now reacting and not thinking.

This is the first game of the second third of our season. In the ACC every game will be similar to what we had today.

This is part of the journey. This is part of the process you go through, building programs. You have to give your team credit for making this kind of progress, but you also have to find a way to get over the hump, and that's mostly mental at this point.

They were defended about as well as we can defend them. They made shots that were tough shots and that's what great players do. I have to give them credit for making those shots as opposed to what our kids didn't do.

They got 13 offensive rebounds, and if you give a team that many second opportunities in a close game, that's something very difficult to overcome.

They get every team's best shot because they're Duke. It's a heavy burden for them to have to be at their best every night.

They are entertainers and they're speaking from their heart and the information that they have, but at this particular time, none of that matters, because we still got games to play. I'm not gonna allow myself to get all caught up in all these things, because if you win enough games, it takes care of itself.

There were things we created just as a result of being aggressive. (We) played like a team that was very, very hungry.

This is very painful because when something comes to an end that you want so bad, you want to continue to keep playing. It hurts.

This is uncharted waters for us. I'm sure that in the future we'll try to win games by a little larger margin.

They play to each other's strengths. They play with an unselfish spirit, and they play to win without any ego.

They have such great perimeter shooters that we had to go to switching one through four just to make sure that we were there on the catch, and we had not done a whole lot of that.

It's very difficult to throw over a (6-10) guy that close right on top of you like that. Most of the time the officials will tell you to move back a little bit, but that wasn't the case.

For him to go out and find the energy to go out and give it all ... I think says a lot about his character.

For him to find the energy to go out and give it all when we really needed this game says a lot about his character, how much he's grown up and how much this team is making sacrifices for one another.

Then they're going to find out that the cream will rise to the top. I think you will see that we're going to represent very well.

It's always interesting when we have our coaches' meetings, and it seems that we play so many teams that had to have their best night against us. We've been getting everyone's best shot. But I thought when we had to have the stops, when we had to get the rebounds and when had to make the baskets, or players stepped up.

It's funny how this thing has come full circle. Now we're fresher and we fatigue people.

It's painful, to lose a close game like this. Close is not what we're trying to do. You've got to get over the hump by winning these types of games.

That just shows there's something special in this team. We're anxious now to see if we can step it up now that we've had some success.

It's something you have to work on each and every day, preparing your team for what they have to face. There are going to be ups. There are going to be downs. Things aren't always going to go the way you want it. You just have to find a way to draw strength from the learning process. You have to find something to hang your hat on.

That gets my attention. And I think that's what we should be focusing our attention on more so than trying to prove anything.

It'll be real meaningful if we can win a couple more.

It looked like it was going in. That wouldn't surprise me.

It seemed like they scored four, five or six possessions in a row there where we couldn't get a stop. We put ourselves in a very big hole there, but I thought we picked our defense up and put ourselves back in a position where we had a chance to win the game. I thought we dug too big a hole.

It was one of those games where we gave them too many unnecessary opportunities. But when they are already shooting the ball as well as they do and they are as patient as they are on offense, and then you give them extra opportunities, therein lies a nice little butt-kicking.

They did a very good job of executing their offense. When they got shots, they knocked them down. You have to give credit to them for making every open look.

They did a very good job being patient on offense. Tech played a very solid defensive game. But even at that, as good a defense that they played, we still had open opportunities that we just didn't finish.

They came to Florida State with the idea that they wanted to improve the basketball program on their watch, and I have to say that they've accomplished that.

They were ready mentally and emotionally. They had themselves ready to play, and it really gave us a big lift. And I also think that it energized our starters.

There was a period where he kind of backed off his offensive aggressiveness to be a good team member. Now that we're kind of a little more in sync, the nature of the game is giving him certain opportunities.

There used to be a time when you felt there was a conscious effort to get the top teams. Now, it seems to be much more political than it used to be. It appears we we're not getting much credit for the quality of teams we're playing in ACC. There's a formula out there that seems to be flawed.

Any time you take over a program and you're building a program, ... you want to try and find a young man with athleticism and skills that you feel can come in and have an impact or at least be able to contribute early in his development.

I'm going to encourage my players at this particular point to have absolutely no comment to make plus or minus, good or bad about what their plans are because I think that takes on a life of itself.

I hope this was a sign of us growing up. We definitely needed this victory.

I guess all things have to come to an end.

I'm very happy and proud for them because they've been model citizens. They keep our 100 percent graduation rate intact. But more than anything they're fine people. They're good basketball players, but I'm most proud of the fact that they have helped us move our program forward. Their last home game will be something to remember.

If you go in every day with the idea that you have to be a certain place in March and don't take care of business that particular day, then you miss out on that day you could have gotten better.

I just thought our players found a way to bounce back from the disappointment. We haven't spent time dwelling on anything negative. Now we're in the NIT and we have to go about handling our business.

I know in my 30 years of coaching I have never heard of a player getting injured under any circumstances in a celebration after a game - not at a basketball game. Maybe you guys have, but I haven't.

I have to look at the bright side of it. This is part of the development process.

In the last two games, you've seen our defense kind of clicking where guys are rotating. We're getting more deflections. You're finding less people getting good, open looks because now we have a better understanding of how the defensive system works.

He's to be congratulated and commended, especially when you take under consideration that he had such a young team. They really, really exhibited teamwork and unity and played the game the way it's supposed to be played.

Hopefully when we look back at the end of the season, we'll realize how big that shot was for us.

He's only scratched the surface of his potential. I knew he played the game with an extreme passion, he enjoyed playing and I knew that we needed those kind of players at Florida State because you knew they were going to get better.

He's the kind of guy we had to give some cushion because he's a good driver. He's a very good player.

I am not going to be a coach that is going to try and campaign to get into the NCAA Tournament. I just think we are a top-65 team. I am not the one evaluating it, but it would be a little more significant if we are successful (today).

I don't necessarily think that size has anything to do with rebounding. I think (it's) desire, willingness to be consistent with the fundamentals of rebounding.

Andrew probably has been through as much adversity as any youngster I've known in my coaching career, just having the number of injuries he's had to endure. He's always maintained a positive attitude, and he's earned respect of his teammates. They're extremely happy for him.

And now at the end of the season it appears that we're stronger than we were because we have been able to develop quality depth. Hopefully, that will make a difference here in the tournament.