Brian Randle Quotations

We thought we could be anywhere from a No. 2 seed to a No. 4. It's not a diss. It's the way things have gone. But we have fire in our bellies for all we did let slip away in the regular season and in the Big Ten Tournament.

Last year, we had a lot of notoriety, a lot of people watching. This year, people don't know what to expect.

Last year's team was special, but I think we are, too. I'm down to earth and I'm going to tell it to you straight: I think we can do great things.

For us to keep going and not bow down and get beat by 30 or 40, which could have easily been done, I'm still proud of our team. I don't know if you would use the word casual or laid back, but we just didn't come with it right away. Especially on the road, that's going to get you killed.

When they're on the bench, obviously it hurts us. But at the same time, for the young guys to step up and keep their composure, it's huge.

He was getting me early. I think a lot of the guys he's gone up against have been his size or shorter, so I think it was a different look for him.

I think it's going to be a big game for revenge, even though it shouldn't be. It will be big, I guess. . . . They have a totally new team, and we have a totally new team.

I think a lot of guys really paid attention to that statement because we thought we were doing well. Obviously, coach thinks we need to do a little more.

I think it's really just a tribute to our program, a tribute to Coach Weber, the guys we've had in here in the past and just a tribute to our program. The intensity at which we play, how we prepare and go about things.

I think (Tim) Doyle tried to be smart one time and say I should punch my hand through some glass or something. Needless to say, when I got the dunk I said something back to him.

I woke up the next morning about 8 o'clock mentally ready to play. The same thing with Sunday morning, waking up early. The mindset was to get up, get the day started and go to the game.

I thought it was good, to be honest. I've seen him make that shot so many times. After that, I felt a sense of longing.

We came into the second half fired up, but when you can't take that first wave it kind of gets to you.

We were shut down. For this team to do that, it's just not acceptable.

We prayed for them in the locker room.

We've bounced back pretty strong. And now, I guess if we don't bounce back we can bounce on home. It's one-and-done from now on.

We shot some bad shots. We let the crowd get into it, and they got into our heads a bit. We just shut down. For us to do that, that's not acceptable.

The players and coaches have more confidence. We won two games on the road. The way we're playing, is helping our confidence.

We're the backup singers. We make everything roll.

It was a huge swing of emotion in the game.

Dee's a prime-time player. I'm biased, but he's probably the best basketball player in the country. He has a great amount of energy, and everything he says to you is real. He's not going to sugarcoat anything. We definitely feed off of that.

Dee's a big-time player. He hits big-time shots.

Dee's a big-time player and hit some big-time shots. As someone who's been through the rigors and the ups and downs, we look for him to do that. Without him, some of these games might have been a little different.

The way we were playing and the loss (to Penn State) gave us great motivation to play harder and to evaluate ourselves. We weren't doing it right.

This is the hardest we've probably played in a while.

This is the hardest we've played in a while, with being cohesive at the same time. It's better now to start peaking than reaching that peak at the beginning of the season.

It's about getting on a roll and staying on a roll. Winning the (conference) tournament gets us another ring. If nothing else, it gets us ready for the NCAA.

It's been intense. We didn't like the feeling of the Iowa game.

It wasn't at the Dean Dome but it was still in North Carolina. I was involved and the energy was amazing. I'm ready, especially after what happened last year.

They are Illinois basketball. They have brought the program to where it is today and they epitomize what it is.

They were talking trash. One guy told me to punch my hand into glass . . . I told him something after my dunk.

They were talking a little trash. Sometimes that can be the downfall for a team. For them to be so high to be able talk to us whatever way they did, then when Dee knocked down shots like that, it breaks your back.

They hit big shots right away and things didn't go our way. When you get down so quickly and they get baskets so quickly, it's hard to come back.

It's really a tribute to the program and Coach Weber and the guys who were here in the past. It's a tribute to the intensity we play with and the way we prepare. Also, it's a thank you to the fans.

I'm glad we finally got a T-shirt. They got, like, six last year.

I'm going to have to stay down on defense all the time. If I stand up he's going to take advantage of that 'cause he's a great player. The biggest thing is definitely to not let him get touches but when he does touch the ball, just stay down. Push him into the defensive help.

I like playing defense. I pride myself in it. I didn't think of myself as a stopper. It's just something I did.

I'm blessed to be with my parents. If anything, I thank the people who brought me into this world for putting me into the position I'm in.

I had a job to do tonight, to defend Gardner and play my butt off, and that's what I did. Tonight really gave me a bar to set myself at for the rest of the year.

He's probably the best basketball player in the country. I'm biased, but that's what I think. He has a great amount of energy and life. Everything he says is real. Dee isn't one to sugarcoat things. He has our best interests at heart, the team's interests at heart, and we definitely feed off that.

The game against Penn State, there were too many worries. That's what got us behind. We had to stay positive with each other, then good things would happen.