Pat Williams Quotations

Great leaders have a heart for people. They take time for people. They view people as the bottom line, not as a tool to get to the bottom line.

We can't win at home. We can't win on the road. As general manager, I just can't figure out where else to play.

Coaching in the NBA is not easy. It's like a nervous breakdown with a paycheck.

I like how the other guys are stepping up. If we keep this up, then Bell does not have to score 25 points a game for us to win.

We were so bad last year, the cheerleaders stayed home and phoned in the cheers.

We stopped caring whether he was coming or not. If he came, he came. If he didn't, he didn't. He's here now, but he's late and we're not waiting for him. We're not going to go backwards waiting for him.

Wow, ... I started eating better, started watching my weight, anything I could do to keep me safe.

One of my favorite stories came from a UCLA administrator who had just come across some old records, ... There's a record there of John Wooden writing a check to the UCLA athletic department for a dollar and 50 cents to repay a couple of phone calls he made.

He?s a refreshing kid, ... He loves to play. He?s got great enthusiasm for the game? Let?s hope he can stay strong.

My theme for the year was diversity. Chuck's contributions fit so well with my mission and he was able to work in a delicate area very effectively.

We know that we're not only overdue, but way overdue for a rupture of the southernmost part of the San Andreas Fault.

We want to go beyond what we read in the paper about what is happening on The Hill. We all agree America's immigration policy needs work and we are urging our congressmen to take a bold, active leadership role to work toward immigration reform.

With leadership comes some wonderful perks. But that good stuff ruins more leaders than anything I've seen in my life. Without character, folks, we can't lead.

Very poised. Very relaxed, ... God has tapped this kid with special gifts, and he seems very aware of it. He can tell there is a special purpose in his life.

Everything will be all right, yep, ... I'm from down south. You probably need to take two of them pills if you're working out down there, but it's good to have.

I've come here and changed everybody on the defensive line, ... I've changed Kevin and everybody. I've brought all that change. I've made it exciting and fun here. Don't take everything so serious. Have some fun.

Ray Davis made some big 3s for us. I told my kids that if they didn't want to hear me yell, then they better play hard.

Although Jeannette's tenure in the house was very short, her presence there is still felt, ... and now her portrait will act as a nudge toward courage for all the members of Congress.

That's OK (because) I'll be the one that's older and wiser.

Everybody was just straight honest with each other. Everybody's eyes opened. ... We just started to pull together.

It'll be out in time for March Madness.

They were calling to check in on the coach, ... You have to remember his last year of coaching was 30 years ago, and his first year at UCLA was 1948. These were players from 30, 40, 50 years ago calling to check in. That goes way beyond X's and O's. He engaged their hearts. That's what's going on now. John Wooden has become America 's coach.

It was Jackie Robinson that inspired Dr. King to the very core of his being and encouraged him and allowed him to live out the full potential of his life. In 1947, we were living in a very different world than we are today.

I kept telling guys, 'I'm going to break 'em.

I know they've struggled some, but I think having them in the (NCAA) tournament is vital.

I never saw Jesus doing that. People were really drawn to Him. He was like a magnet.

In the history of basketball, if you wondered who would do that, I don't think he would have gotten many votes. But everything came together that evening. It was a magical evening down in the Magic land. . . . It was basketball the old-fashioned way. Rip it and run.

He's the complete package. I'm going to make him better, and he's going to make me better.

He told me he was getting married, ... So I said, 'I want to come.' So he gave me an invitation. So my wife and I drove up there and, let me tell you what, it's all country there. That whole town shuts down at 8 o'clock.

Our children, our grandchildren, our students, our young athletes. We need to be pouring leadership principles into them constantly, and teaching, and instructing them how to become good leaders in the future.

What do you have when you have an agent buried up to his neck in sand? Not enough sand.

There are many ways to study Walt Disney, but I think learning about Walt as a leader probably has had the biggest impact on me.

We told Stanley Roberts to go on a water diet, and Lake Superior disappeared.

Steal what works, fix what's broke, fake the rest.

When you think about Walt [Disney]'s life, I don't know of anybody on Earth over the last hundred years who has touched as many people as he did. He's touched every nation on Earth.

Don't hide your goosebumps.

The Orlando Magic were so bad last season, the cheerleaders stayed home and phoned in their cheers.

Books are health food for your brain and dessert for your soul. Books are one of the few proven sources of mental exercise known to man. Reading is a workout for your mind. If your body needs thirty minutes of exercise a day, so does your thinker.

Well, just to dispel all the myths, Walt [Disney] was not anti-Semitic. He was not racist in any way, shape, or form. He was not frozen when his life ended. He's not in some frozen vault right now waiting to make a big comeback.

To live fully your well-read life -at any age- it is essential to take your selection of books seriously. When you drift from book to book, you're lulled into thinking that this lack of focus is right and natural - but it's as wrong as can be. Some serendipity in your reading is delightful, but if you wanted to build a house, would you wait for the materials to assemble themselves? - Steve Leveen

Frank went out for baseball and while he wasn't very good, it wasn't a total loss. The coach used him as a pattern to drawn the on-deck circle.

This vacation tip: If you see a gas station with a sign that says Clean Rest Rooms, it means one thing--the door is locked and no one can find the key.

I don't think leaders are born. Well, they're born; everybody's born, but I think leadership can be enhanced, they can be developed, and I think that it's important we do that, particularly with our youngsters.

As a leader you have to recognize that it all starts with you: your attitude, your commitment, your caring, your passion.

The tongue is a powerful tool. And the words we say are never forgotten. Never.

This is my 37th year, and I've never seen more demands and expectations on coaches, ... Man, it's like we need a miracle every night. Every team has to go 82-0 or we're not happy.