Bernie Bickerstaff Guys Quotations

Obviously it's always very difficult. It has its benefits because we watch guys evolve and they get an opportunity. But where the difficulty comes in is all the things you've implemented you can't do, especially offensively. That's the tough part when you're sitting there and you're wondering what to call and how to call it. That's the challenge.

Obviously, if you've only got nine or 10 guys that play a lot of minutes over two nights, you're not able to rotate the ball as well to your shooters. When it was winning time we didn't get it done, but I'm proud of their effort tonight.

Peoria, Connecticut, Atlanta, ... I've got the Big East tournament on Thursday, the ACC on Friday, the SEC on Saturday. Then we've got the NCAA tournament. We've had guys out for the past six months. We've seen all the consensus top high school guys. We've been to Europe. We've ranked all the NBA players from all 29 teams. We've got guys everywhere.

We made mistakes and paid for them in the third quarter. We had our opportunities and we just didn't get to the loose balls. Guys get tired and when they do, they make mental mistakes. We just ran out of steam playing a good team on their home floor.

I thought our guys played hard and played terrific. They did everything that they could to win the basketball game. The one concern I have is with Gerald and Raymond, is that I don't want them to get discouraged. I want them to keep taking that basketball to the hole, but they get discouraged when they don't get rewarded.

Our guys did everything they could to win the basketball game. Our guys played hard. They were terrific. ... I don't want them to get discouraged.

The 11 guys in that room are giving it everything they've got and their decisions are good. And guys who have not had an opportunity before are stepping up and performing.

Well, it's important and what it does is help our players. That there's an appreciation for what we do. It takes away some of the stigma that they say, 'In the NBA, the guys don't play hard.' I don't agree with that. Teams play hard in this league. You get out there and try to play 82 games. I just think these guys make it look so easy because of their skill level that people think they're just going through the motions.

We had it, we just didn't secure it. We had a possession there, all we had to do was pick the basketball up. It was a mistake of commission. They (Milwaukee) went and got it and I don't think anybody feels any worse than the guys in that locker room.

We had two good looks in the last few seconds. You had guys who shoot the ball from the outside, and shoot it well, that took the shots. Call it the bounce of the basketball.

When you play here in the Garden, it always has that special quality to it. The ghosts are still here. We try to remind the young guys that this is a great stage to perform on.

We've hit the wall as a team. Our guys have played a lot of minutes and were having mental lapses, and the common things we just didn't get done. It was an indication of a basketball team that has hit the wall. We were giving it up on the defensive end and we were really lacking.

Those three guys are pretty good. When you've got three guys who can score, you can put the ball in their hands.

We finished this one. We made it hard though. I told the guys that they are kind of hard on their coaches.

Brevin has earned the starting spot. But guys have to maintain that status with commitment to effort and with consistent effort. We think we'll have that kind of competition throughout the lineup next season.

I understand the historical significance of this. This building is terrific. ... You know what I'm pleased about? When the guys walk through the building they see things that please them. They're happy they have something that belongs to them.

You've seen guys when it gets to this point of the season, the wagon has already been backed up to the door. We're going to close it out like professionals.

The way we are, we just can't match up with the athletic big guys like Howard. I don't care how much you fight, those guys are just too athletic. Those are the guys we have had problems with.

They say the X-rays are negative. But every ... X-ray we've taken has been negative and all the guys have been out.

It's not an embarrassment to lose to Detroit that way. They are a very good basketball team. But I told my guys that I would go in a foxhole with them any day. They never lay down, and I'm very proud of them.

They contested our shots, that's what they do. Some of their shots we contested and they made them. Those guys made some tough shots.

I'm not interested in the bottom-feeding guys. The guys that aren't in the playoffs, we're all bottom feeders.

If there's something out there that's close to what Gerald represents, something's wrong, because I think that player is already in the league. I think the guys are beat up right now, but we have to recover.

You've got to have some vets, ... They're the ones who teach the young guys how to be professional. But you've got to have the right kind of vets, the guys who understand their roles. A lot of teams are saying they're just going to put big money players out there. We've said all along if that player will make a difference for our team we're going to have to seriously consider taking him.