Stan Heath Game Quotations

We're more concerned about playing at a high level. We're doing a lot of things well, but we have to bring our 'A' game because we have high goals.

On film sometimes you say you are doing that in the Patriot League, but he also had 20 something against Kansas and a big game against Syracuse. He's a high level player that just happens to be at a school that maybe doesn't get that much recognition.

Going to Rupp and playing in a nationally televised game on CBS is a great opportunity for us. I know our kids are real excited about it.

Our strength has never been the three. We definitely want the game more in the paint.

I think if we can win a game like this, we should be in the NCAA Tournament. That should take us over the hump.

To have a player of Patrick's ability available this late in the game is rare. We are very excited about him joining our team. He's an exciting player. He plays hard on both ends of the court. He's a very good shooter with deep range and he has the ability to play both guard positions.

When you don?t block out on free throws and have the ball knocked away from you late in the game, it?s tough. You have to be aware of who is around you. We made too many mental mistakes late in the game to win.

We talked about how much the game hurt, but we don't want it to break their confidence. The next couple of days we have to find out how hungry we are. Are they going to make sacrifices and put their heart out there to get the job done?

With Florida you have got to pick a poison. I thought in the second half by using man where there was more one-on-one coverage, Steven (Hill) really held his own. I thought he had a really good game on the defensive end.

The start is a key. We have to be prepared for a rough game that goes down to the last two or three possessions and find a way to win it.

As for a pure point guard, there is a picture of Ronald Steele in the dictionary. He can turn it on and turn it off, and he never turns it off at a bad time. He finds ways during the game to rest himself and when it's time at the end of the game to take it over, he's still got the gas in his tank.

It's early in the season. It's a very important game. I don't think the season's over if you don't win it. But it's a very important game to get, and protecting home is so important.

It's a big game for both teams. It seems to be that way for everybody in the conference. I like the way we're playing. We're doing a great job defensively, and being able to guard people. We've got to pick it up a little bit offensively.

For 39:30 we outplayed them and had the game in hand. It's a game that set us back.

It's an important, important game for both basketball teams. Both teams are coming off good wins that helped us both in a big way, and to continue that momentum for us would be real important. And protecting our home, obviously, is something we've done a good job at and we would like to continue to do so.

The No. 8-9 spots are not necessarily where you want to be. That is always a tough game because it's two even teams, and even if you win, then you play a monster (the No. 1 seed) in the second round.

That kid, if his team is in first place or on national TV all the time -- or if he's playing with a Duke uniform on -- they're talking about this kid being a lottery pick. That kid does it all. He plays for 40 minutes every single game and doesn't take possessions off. That's special.

Everybody's real excited about not only being in the tournament, but going to Dallas. I think it's a great spot for us to be in a lot of fans in the Dallas area. We've already played one game there.

I'm looking forward to not playing Darrel Mitchell. He's been a thorn in our side. He dunks, falls on his head and comes back and plays. Every year his game has rose up another level. When you switch a player to a new position, you never know how it's going to affect him. It hasn't. It's made him a dual threat. He's had a banner year. If I were to vote for an MVP of the league, I'd go with one (Mitchell) or the other (Davis). I'd ask John which one. Both are dynamite.

Charles doesn't care if the game is physical. But some guys respond differently. I thought after our practices last Friday and Saturday that Hill and Townes were ready to play like All-Americans. That's what I expected to see Sunday, but it didn't happen.

Georgia is the leading team in the SEC, in conference play, in steals. We have to be smart. We need to rebound the ball, get a good running game going and get stops on defense.

The key to the game was the way we closed out the first half. We tightened up on defense and attacked them on offense.