Steve Cleveland Quotations

When we got here in May, we had some time. Some were already committed. Some said, considering the stuff that was going on, they weren't interested.

We knew what we were getting into when we got here. I'm not gonna use it as an excuse. We just have to play the best we can with who we have.

We've tried to make it a 94-foot game to kind of hide some of our weaknesses in the interior areas.

Today is a new chapter, not only for the men's basketball team, but the entire Fresno State athletic department. We feel the NCAA has treated us fairly. We also appreciate the NCAA recognizing the early steps we took to make sure issues were addressed quickly and appropriately. We are committed to fully comply with NCAA rules. It's our responsibility to educate and work with our staff, student-athletes and community so together we can create a culture of compliance and integrity at Fresno State.

He just lost his desire to play competitively. I have full respect for that. We wish him the very best.

He knows angles to the basket. He can take a bump and finish. If you can't push him off the block, he's dangerous.

I think you've got to look at Nevada, Utah State and Louisiana Tech immediately.

I thought we played for the (first) 17 minutes, then we got in a funk. You have to give them credit for that.

That ball has to be precious every possession. You've got to take care of the basketball.

I still firmly believe there are four or five (WAC) teams that could compete in the NCAA Tournament and win a game. That's how strongly I feel about this league.

We had no answer for some of their big guys the last time. So we're just going to have to play our game and hope our shots fall this time.

We had to play well. We had to play very, very well. We're not going to beat a team like that unless we're clicking on all cylinders. Tonight, we played a complete game.

Utah State really shot the ball well. I thought we did a great job on their post guys in the first half, and their perimeter guys kind of hurt us. Then in the second half, we did a better job on the perimeter, but the post guys kind of took it to us.

We shot the ball from the three poorly. On the boards, they overwhelmed us.

This was the most dysfunctional game I've ever been in. This was the first time this year that we did not play as a team. Whatever the issues were, we did not compete on either end of the floor. In the last seven or eight minutes we finally started guarding people and that's when we made our run.

You have to just focus on the moment and every opportunity. We know we're coming here and playing a really good basketball team that really plays well at home, and that's great motivation.

The second half, we just had some breakdowns on both ends of the floor. We had open looks at the 3, but it didn't go down. We just weren't able to get anything consistent inside.

You start with Nevada but I think it will be a great tournament because of the competitiveness of this conference.

This is probably the best shooting night we've had home or away. We shot the ball well, but we didn't rebound. We got hurt on the boards and defensively we really struggled.

You to have to appreciate when you beat a quality team. You have to enjoy the fact that the game plan was executed, that we competed and just had an all-around contribution. You just have to enjoy it even for a little bit.

It's definitive that nobody will sign. We're going to keep recruiting through April. And hopefully by the beginning of May, our recruiting will be complete.

I loved my experience here. We've got a lot of special memories here.

I'm hopeful. You're asking the coach, and I'm gonna be as positive as I can.

If you don't have those things you're going to live or die with the jumper. That's kind of how it was for us.