People have asked me a lot about Marcus and even Rudy this season. I have said that Rudy is emerging every day and we're watching something beautiful. And with Marcus, I said recently he is the best passer I've ever coached. I think he took offense because now he's had back-to-back 20-point games.

I think clearly this is the best league in the country.

We really played our best basketball. It was one of the few games I can say you could just enjoy. It was just really a tremendous basketball game for us and hopefully it's a peek into what we're capable of. Seasons are really funny. But I think those things are good. We jump right now into a hot stove.

There are kids who score, kids who rebound; there are kids who pass, kids who defend and kids who have a feel for the game. He has all those attributes. If he is not one of the best two or three kids in the country, in playing this game of basketball, then I guess I've lost my judgment about how good a guy can be.

We'll have to take away the 3-pointers as best we can. We'll have to limit Quinn from having the ball as much as we can.

I've said Marcus, in my opinion, is the best passer that I've ever coached. I think he took affront to that. Now he's scoring. There aren't many better point guards in the country than him.

I've said all along that Marcus is the best passer I've ever coached. I think he took affront to that, because he had back-to-back 20-point games (in the tournament). There aren't many better point guards in the country.

Sometimes it can be the best thing in the world for you. A lot of times when you go through a down period, you find out a lot more about yourself than times when everything is flowing and you're winning. To some degree, Kentucky is already tournament-tested. They've been playing games with tournament implications for a while now.

Rudy had perhaps his best all-around game. He was unselfish. Certainly he could have scored 30 himself very easily but instead had eight assists, five-six blocks, four steals.

Rashad wanted to be so good tonight, and of all guys who I thought wanted the limelight at home, it's really unfortunate he didn't have the kind of game he's capable of having. He's a terrific basketball player ... the best sixth man in college basketball.

No matter how his shot looks - funny to all of us - or if someone is right in his face, it doesn't matter. He only sees orange, that little round thing. As long as he's squared up, he'll make shots. He's too good a shooter. And he really works so hard at it. This, by the way, is far and away his best season.

Denham is playing the best basketball of his life. This is the guy we had while winning the Maui Invitational. Denham had some roadblocks but thank God he stayed with it all season. But that's the story of this season. It's all about who can persevere.

Denham had arguably the best performance of his career at a great time.

They're going to utilize their quickness the best they can. We're going to try to use our size as much as we can. Certainly that makes for a very interesting battle. My guys' concern is getting the ball inside. If we get the ball inside, we'll be successful.

They're going to utilize their quickness as best they can. We're going to try to use our size as best we can. That makes it a very interesting battle.

It's a tremendous sense of accomplishment and an amazing feeling to win. This field was one of the best ever and there isn't anyone here who didn't get their money's worth.

It's a tribute to the hard work the kids put in because they played in the best league in the country. I think our kids should be honored. We have an awful lot of good players in this league. I couldn't be prouder of our kids.

I keep saying he's the best passer I've ever coached. I think he took an affront to that. Now he's scoring.

Chris West, our strength coach, said it was our best workout we've had in three months. It was no nonsense The time was short, but the attention-getting was there.

Hilton Armstrong was the best player on the court. He changed everything in the middle. He had big baskets. He was immense from the foul line.

He's the best passer I've ever coached. I think he took that as an affront because then he responded with 21 and 20. That shows what kind of player he is.

He's the best natural scorer of all the big kids. He's not the biggest by any stretch, but at any time he can take up space, he can move people without pushing, just by using his body, and you can't move him. He's a very difficult kid to move, especially with his hard work and passion for the game.

If he's not one of the best two or three kids in the country, then I guess I've lost my judgment about how good a guy can be.

He's one of the best assistants and one of the best evaluators of talent that I've ever been around, ... I think in the next week or two we are going to try to name him associate head coach because he's been that good.

This is my favorite time of the year. I love it. I just hope we come out and play the best basketball possible. Win and advance: that's all we think about. It's one game at a time. We don't talk at all about Indianapolis or Washington, D.C.

This proves that you can't just show up in postseason play, because instead of going to practice and preparing for a game tomorrow, we have to wait a week. Next time we lose, we're going home.

We're going backwards. I'm real concerned about that. We've been taking all kinds of time at it, and we're getting worse at it.

If we're not playing defense and I call time out, I can tell you right now it's going to be X-rated. I'll go after some people or make some changes. It's not like this is the middle of the season and we can get it done next time. We're all here and it's a perilous journey. It's a wonderful journey, but the band plays on if you lose.

I can feel the emotions start to build, ... I've had conversations with my first recruit at Northeastern, with eight kids from my Dedham High School team that won 21 straight games, a lot of phone calls from my former players ... it's an exciting time for me.

I think a lot of credit has to go to Louisville when you have a leader out. I'm not sure how well our offense would have been if we didn't have Marcus Williams. Marcus is not the scorer, but he is the runner of the team. He gets the ball to the right people in the right time at the right spots. They didn't have that tonight. They worked like crazy.

I can't remember the last time we were up three with 11 seconds to go and lost. We got beat by that shot by Gerry. Anything can happen in overtime. We made the decision of who would have the assignment. Gerry made a better play and hit a great 3.

I think as we've gotten down to the time of the season where you're playing for a chance at a Big East championship, playing to get a bye in New York and, obviously, playing for seeding in the NCAA Tournament, there's no room for experiments or getting young kids some experience.

Over the last 15 years, the type of players we've had here, the fortune to be successful, we've had the bull's-eye. Now there's the added bull's-eye of a new league, being No. 1. They just pile up. That's exactly where you want to be. You want to be playing from the top. I hear guys say they like to be the underdog. But there's a reason you're the underdog. I'd like to be playing from the top any time I can.

Marcus is not the scorer, but he is the runner of the team. He gets the ball to the right people in the right time at the right spots.

This was the first time Hilton's taken over a game in his entire career. He's had good starts to games before. Tonight was the first time he's been able to maintain it throughout.

Both of our NCAA Championships (1999, 2004) came in years where we won the Big East Tournament. Time will tell if that's an automatic correlation. There are no good losses. No moral victories. But I do know this team is one to be reckoned with at the NCAA tourney.

The second half would have been a good night to play against anybody. Every time you made a change ... You pressed us? We dunked it. You zoned us? We 3-pointed it.

There's got to be an adjustment on that. I don't think it's as productive as it should be, in a true sense of competitiveness ... just because of the time aspect about it.

The thing that scares me always the most and the thing I caution our players on is that next week, you go home. You go home for the Big East tournament. And then next time you go home, we pack up the uniforms. And this team is good enough to get to Indianapolis. Will it get to Indianapolis? I have no idea. ... Maybe the first round of the tournament some team gets up, plays us tough and we don't execute.

Any team that's won 20 games, we're going to have respect for. They have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. But you know what? We have a lot to gain, too. We're really excited about it. I like this time of year. I hope my kids like it as much as I do.

This is the time of season when you really need to get your act straight for the crunch run.

This is the time for a tremendously talented guy to take advantage of a tremendous opportunity. I see nothing but greatness ahead for him. There's no question that Rudy will fulfill the promise that those people who draft him have in him.

It?s a time we have to play. I don?t think for college kids it makes any difference. I talked to players today and asked them, ?How?d you sleep last night?? They said they went to bed early ? they were in bed by 1:15 a.m.

It's back to the Big East of old, to some degree. There are no easy games. This is a Georgetown-Syracuse weekend, which we've faced on a number of occasions. It's an important time for us.

It's a great opportunity for us and a great opportunity for Albany. I think coach (Will) Brown knows what a win can do and his kids know what a win can do. It's a great time of the year.

It's the first time he's done that in his entire career. It's the first time he's been able to maintain that. He played exceptionally well, I was really happy for him.

It's always good to be No. 1 in anything but it's not great at this time of year. I want it at the beginning of April, but I'll take it now. Being No. 1 isn't a goal of ours like the Big East championship or the national championship, but we feel we're one of the better programs in the country for the last 15 years and being No. 1 is another notch for us as a total program.

It's an important time because no one wants anyone else to get off to a 7-0 start. The league is off to a good start.

That's something you really have a difficult time answering in the sense that you can't get inside the team's mind.

It's considered serious by me. I don't think it's punishable by expulsion. I believe Marcus will be back some time this year. I don't know about A.J. The only reason I don't know now is medically. And I don't know the ramifications of everything else.