Rick Barnes Quotes

"Obviously it was a goal we had at the beginning of the season. At the start of the year, looking at our schedule, we knew we had a target on our backs, and I am proud of the way the team handled it."

"This is one of the better situations in the country. I know this, there are a lot of guys who would like to be sitting in my chair."

"They do a great job of creating offense with their defense. Out front, if you don't handle the ball well, those turnovers usually result in easy baskets at the other end."

"Both of the honorees tonight have been tireless advocates for community and social justice in Lynchburg."

"We told him all year to play more disciplined. It?s just a bad habit of him reaching. He is too good a player to let that happen."

"P.J.'s a tough kid. He's overcome a lot more than that in his life."

"I've always loved P.J., but I love and respect him even more now because of what he has gone through and how he's handled it, ... It's amazing the turnaround that he's made."

"P.J. is special, he is. His mind-set, what he's got. I don't think he had any more motivation. ... This time of year, you would expect what he did today."

"He was a little jumpy the other night, and we got him for it. He had a great response. He definitely had a different perspective on things."

"We're a better offensive team than we were the other night. We turned down some open shots, so we need to be aggressive. Being aggressive is taking an open shot."

"I've never seen players take so much pride in their schoolwork."

"I've always told Kenton that he sells himself short. He's a much better basketball player than he thinks he is. He's got a great pace to his game. You're not going to speed him up much. He's really embraced the fact that he wants to run the team. He's comfortable now. He knows his teammates. He knows what we need to work our way into."

"I am obviously a better-looking guy than he is. If we play basketball he wasn't very good; but the reason he does all the loose-ball drills is because that's how he had to get on the court as a player. But if it got down to he and I playing, it won't be a rivalry. To have a rivalry you have got to split some games, and he would never win a game from me."

"They play with so much character and heart."

"Kansas may be the hottest team in the country right now. I think they're a Top 10 team. On any given night, Kansas can beat any team in the country."

"Our man defense was good, but we used a lot more zone than I thought we would. Both teams were throwing the ball around because of the intensity of the game."

"You could probably make a case today. (But) there's too many games this week. It's an important week for a lot of people. It depends on what we do these next couple of games."

"A year ago we were fighting to get into the NCAA tournament."

"He had it going. It hurt having them over there [on the bench]. But you have to deal with it. That's where we have got to have help from our bench."

"We're hopeful we'll know something by [Friday] afternoon, but we can't be sure of that. Mike's been great in practice, and he's been working hard, but like the rest of us he's hoping we can get a resolution to this thing and start playing him in games."