Ball Quotations | Page 5

We knew they were a good team. But we just didn't tackle. We weren't aggressive enough. They came off the ball and just physically whipped us inside. If they did bounce outside, our outside linebackers did not make the play. It just was not a good night defensively for us.

We knew they wanted to run the ball and use the clock. Once we got ahead, we were able to not let that happen.

We knew they (South Carolina State) were smaller. We wanted to get the ball inside and take advantage of our size.

We knew they'd start shooting the ball better. But I'm pleased with our defense. We played great tonight. I'm particularly pleased with how we played heading into Districts.

We knew they'd press. We didn't handle the ball as well as we wanted and dug ourselves a huge hole. Against Hilton Head Prep, you can't pull yourself back from that far. I thought we put ourselves in position to win.

We knew they could shoot the ball real well. And we knew who their shooters were they have quick guards and they're good shooters. I guess our guys had to believe it for themselves.

We lacked rhythm. We dropped the ball or we made a bad throw or we had a protection breakdown seemed it was something different every time.

We know what type of players we have and we know what type of potential we have. If we go out and pass the ball successfully and run the ball successfully, I don't care what they say, they're not going to beat us.

We know what Eric should be able to do. Anthony has really improved. He was throwing his breaking ball over for strikes. They both looked good.

We know we've got playmakers back there. When the ball is in the air, we're trying to get it.

We know we've all got a job to do together. We've got to get that ball down the field. Whoever is doing it, the rest of us have got his back.

We know West is a good ball team and we are going to need our best game to beat them.

We know we're not out of this (playoff chase). We have to keep battling and keep doing whatever it takes to win ball games. We're playing our best, and I look for us to keep playing well the rest of the year.

We know we're capable of beating them. It's a matter of us playing our style of basketball. And they're kind of similar. They focus on the defensive end and share the ball a lot. It's up to us to enforce our will on them, instead of them doing it to us.

We know we could play that ball club in their gym.

We know he's going to try to attack us. I see him getting the ball off a lot quicker. I'm sure that'll be in the back of his mind.

When I was a little kid, I can remember that they used to let the kids come in for free. The whole upper deck was always empty and you could hear the ball echo in there.

Walker shot the ball extremely well. Our guards did an excellent job finding her in the transition. She rushed a few shots but she was aggressively looking for her shot and I?d rather have that.

Wales didn't control the ball enough so they put themselves under pressure,

Wakefield was probably as good as I've seen him. His ball was moving all over the place. We could have been out there for another three hours and I don't think we'd have gotten any more hits off him.

Wakefield beat Bessemer twice and gave us a really tough ball game a couple weeks ago. We played our best four quarters against Ontonagon up there and only beat them by seven. They've got good size and some kids that can shoot from outside.

Wow, it's going to be disgusting how good we can be. As long as we run the ball well, it's going to make defenses play us honest. We do so much off play-action. Last year we didn't have much of a running attack but we still had a pretty good passing attack as the season went on. Now, with LaMont Jordan running the ball, we will be hell to deal with.

Wow, how can you lose a ball game like that. I just don't understand sometimes the capabilities of this team to disappoint.

Wow. He's doing a great job of coming through for us, of clutching up. He's playing some great ball. That play in the ninth was huge. He's playing inspiring ball right now.

Woody threw the ball well, just had some tough luck in the (two-run) first inning.

Woods drove the ball poorly and didnt putt well either and he now needs to produce something very special to haul himself back into contention,

Woods are built to get the ball into the air quicker. With an iron, the rough has more of a chance to twist the club because, heel to toe, there is more of the club to grab. As long as these holes are, I'm just hoping to drive it in the fairway. I can't compete from the rough. I have to drive it in play and go from there.

Woodland has a lot of weapons. There is not a better team in the league when it comes to throwing the football. But they are also capable of pounding the ball at you.

Woodall's ability to get out of the pocket and make plays and get rid of the ball is what concerns me the most. We have to start with the containment of him.

We're still swinging the bats well. We're hitting the ball hard and getting hits at the right times.

We're still juggling the lineup. We put Preston Edwards in the leadoff spot, and he's done a good job for us. He put the ball in play. We're still looking for somebody to step up. When Patrick gets hot, he gets hot. He did swing a good bat for us. Hopefully he can stay hot for us.

We're still going to run the ball first and set up our pass game through the run game. That's our identity, and we're not going to change that because Duce or Jerome's injured.

We're still a run-oriented team. We take pride in our offensive line. Even with a line that was 4/5th new last year we ran for 2,000 yards. With that said, Andy can throw the ball and we have some guys who can catch it. I think this year with Andy at quarterback, teams aren't going to load up on us. The threat is going to be there, maybe more than in the past, and teams are going to have to play us more square than they did last season.

We're starting to put something together. One of the things were doing is putting the bat on the ball and getting key hits.

We're starting to know what each other will do. It's fun playing with him. He's a great shortstop. It's hard to see in the day games here. The ball was a rocket at him. He made a great play and gave me a perfect feed. Then it was easy for me.

We're starting to hit the ball a little better and that's good. We got some good experience and some good at-bats and that's what we needed.

We're seeing the ball and hitting the ball well. We want to take advantage and jump on people early. We haven't been doing that and we're starting to do that.

We're satisfied. We played two of our better ball games out here. We're young, with all juniors and a ninth-grader playing most of the time. Our two big girls probably didn't play more than 30 minutes all night, so we're happy.

We're running the ball perfect, 300-some yards a week.

We're looking for him to have a good year. He's one of our captains, he takes charge in the huddle. He throws the ball very accurately and he's probably one of our two or three best runners.

We're looking for a much better start than we've had the last two weeks. I'm talking about ball control and our discipline in terms of not conceding penalties.

We're looking for a good ball game. We want it to be competitive to start. If we're competitive to start, we'll be in a better position to win.

We're looking for a good ball game. Our team is blue-collar and the kids are fired up to play. If we can make them change their game plan a little bit, we feel like we can give them a tough game and be right in it.

We've got next year to look forward to. We've got a good ball club, and we've seen the whole demeanor of things change.

We've got more and more kids coming around. The kids are hitting the ball hard.

We've got guys turning the ball over right and left. We had 10 turnovers a game during league play, and we doubled that tonight. That's what's frustrating. When you have four guards on the floor, you shouldn't be turning the ball over.

We've got Gideon in the midfield and we want him to touch the ball as much as possible. He really likes to get his teammates into the game, but he's got a strong foot on him and I need him to shoot more.

We've got four seniors this year who are giving us some good leadership. We lost three, but we gained four. And we've got some younger players who are hitting the ball just as well as anybody.

We've got four freshmen on this team. If I subbed in more, I would have the size to get the ball inside.

We've got film on them, and they like to pound the ball. They push the ball and shoot a lot of threes. They're going to score some points. We've got to get back in transition and we're going to have to know where (David) Sontag is. They've got real good inside-outside threats and any team that can present that can be a problem.

We've got a tough group. You have to do something special to get a game ball from them, but (Smith) did a great job.

We've got a new batsman in, the new ball is due and Prince will have to start again.

We've wanted to do something like this for some time. We connected this whole week to Crystal Ball on Saturday, and it just happened that this year Valentine's Day landed during the week.

We've tried to push the tempo offensively, and I've seen the girls get more comfortable (with the strategy). Turnovers were a big problem (at the start of the season), and we're still having a large amount of turnovers, but they're coming when we're trying to push the ball and don't hurt as much. They're learning how to push the ball and score in transition.

We've tried to have it here. I'd like to know I have the pitching strength. Bethany can move the ball better than the other three. Nichole can pitch really fast. Emily and Michelle are young and they have a lot to learn.

We want to score more points, ... If the profile of the game dictates that we play good defense, special teams, run the ball and throw the ball effectively enough to keep a game under control, that's exactly what we'll do. Yes, we'd like to score more points. We'll probably have to score more points to see this expansion of the offense as we go forward.

We want to rush and pass the ball with production and variety to keep defenses guessing.

We want to run the ball more, ... Earlier in the year we didn't have that luxury because we were behind.

We want to run the ball but we want to mix it with the pass.

We want to push the ball every time we get it. We also play a tough man-to-man defense. It affects a lot of these teams.

We have to handle the press and not turn the ball over. We have to shoot fairly well and get off to a good start.

We have to handle the ball a little sharper, defensively. You look at the breakdown: The first five runs they scored were all unearned.

We have to guard the ball a lot better. And he's got to go to the rim a little more with his blocks.

We have to go out and hit the ball first of all. We haven't been hitting the ball the last three games. Offensively we need our bats to come through, and defensively we've been making mistakes which we need to eliminate.

We have to give Missouri a lot of credit. They have a great ball club. We didn't pitch the way we usually do, and they came out and swung the bat well. But, we played hard and you have to give us credit for not giving up and really playing those nine innings.

We have to get the ball in the end zone. It's tough to win kicking field goals.

We have to get people on base. That's what we have to do. We have to get people on base and we have to get the big base hit. We're not doing any of that right now. We also have to start driving the ball to the gaps -- doubles. And we have to start our offense early in the inning rather than waiting for one or two outs. Those are the things we have to do and then things will fall into place. We will score runs. We will have the opportunity to score runs. We will have the opportunity to drive runs in.

We have to get our game onto the court and not play into their hands. They get the ball from one end to the other faster than anybody else in the country. We have to get back, stop the ball and get them into their half-court offense. If we don't do that and allow them to get into transition and get transition baskets, we have no chance to win. If we do stop them, that's the key. We have to get the long rebounds which cost us against Houston.

We have to get off to better starts. We have an opportunity (today), but we have to play better than we did in the sectional. We have to refine some things offensively, and we have to get back to pushing the ball up and down the court.

We have to (get better). We didn't run the ball particularly well. We had to rely too much on the pass. That has been a focal point for us in camp. With the level we're playing at, you have to be able to run the ball.

We have to get better skilled. We have to be able to catch a ground ball and just simple things that we work on. We don't teach them to drop balls at first base and things like that. As young as we are, we are where we are. We have to get a lot better.

We have to get ball tough. We drill. We work on it in practice. You have to take it personal.

We have to get aggressive. We have to deny passes. The last couple games, teams have been catching it too easy on the perimeter. We've got to knock passes down, put more ball pressure on and get more defensive rebounds.

We have to find ourselves. We have to find what we are doing wrong. I think overall it's just penalties -- penalties here and there. We controlled the ball today like we were supposed to but, we don't have anything to show for it. If you don't have anything to show for it there is no use to hold onto the ball for 15-20 minutes with no points. That's what we have to work on, we have to finish. If we don't finish there are going to be long days ahead.

We have to find other ways to use Tyson. The main thing is he has to find ways to stay on the floor by not fouling. We've got to get him the ball and ... let him do some different things.

We have no post presence. We have some guards who can spread the ball around the perimeter.

We have new guys back there and Clarksville didn't throw the ball a lot the other night. So it could be very interesting on both sides.

Whenever we run the ball that gives us an aggressiveness. It gets those safeties really interested in what's going on up front. If we can (draw) those guys up, our receivers are going to have a field day out there.

Whenever we needed a lift, Rosie gave us a spark. She's tough inside and has the ability to handle the ball in the open floor. She's also able to hold the other team's best player in check.

Whenever we have to walk the ball up and try to attack teams in their half court, it?s not easy for us, because we don?t have a huge inside presence. So I?m constantly urging us to run.

Whenever we have to walk the ball up and attack teams in the half court, it's not easy for us, because we don't have the huge inside presence that can make teams collapse. I'm constantly urging us to run.

Whenever we go in there and are playing Ravens-style defense, then teams are in trouble. We really haven't gotten into that because the quarterbacks have been able to get the ball out. It takes away our aggressiveness.

Whenever the ball hit the floor, all you saw were five white shirts boxing out.

When you score that little in a quarter, it's probably part defense and part you're missing some shots that you normally make. So we're not going to pound ourselves on the chest because I remember three or four they had right in a row at the basket over our midgets where the ball just happened to fall out. We try to play good defense yet we understand how good of an offensive team they are.

When your timing is off and you're pushing the ball instead of throwing the ball, there will be a decrease in velocity. If the timing is off or the arm slot is off, you won't see the same thing.

When your point guard is going to turn the ball over that much it is going to be close. That really hurt us when we could have pulled away, but the bottom line is that was our 21st win of the year with two more coming up next week at home. Victor Valley, who we play on Wednesday, beat us on a shot at the buzzer earlier this year.

When your perimeter shots aren't falling, you've got to attack the basket. We wanted to try to pound the ball inside.

When you're trying to turn a program around, it starts with the guy who has his hands on the ball the most. To me, there are three questions you have to ask. Does the team win, does he make his teammates better and do guys like to play with him? Yes, yes and yes.

When you're trying for a College World Series title, you want to do anything you can to help the team. Now I realize in pro ball it's about longevity and doing what's right for your arm and yourself and the team.

When he gets the ball in his hands, good things are going to happen. It's tough to match his level of competition. We have to be at our best.

When he gets a ball in the zone that he can handle, most of the time he's going to put it in play. He's not a big swing-and-miss guy. He's not a guy that really fouls a lot of balls that are there for him to hit. I think over time he will walk more.

When he first hit it, I thought it was going to just be a fly ball, but it took off. It was (going to be) a homer. It was out. Same with Edmonds. The ball just took off. The ball was carrying out.

When he dove for the ball he ended up getting stomach cramps. Something cramped up in his stomach and he couldn't do much after that.

We want punters to worry about us coming after them, while trying to kick the ball away from us. I've been trying to emphasize, we were No. 1 in the country with this unit a year ago, and there is no reason why we can't be again this year. I don't want to take a step back in that department.

We want more people to play. We want to make the game fun for the average player. Clearly, the golf consumer likes to watch the ball hit a long way, and when they play themselves, they like to hit it a long way.

We want Justin to have the ball in his hands. This week we've made some moves to showcase his athleticism.

We want J.J. to spread it around to a lot people. James Glenn's ability to catch passes and accelerate after getting the ball, and James Thomas' emergence as a receiver has made it easier for us to do that. They complement each other in our offense. If James Thomas is catching passes, the safety is going to have to cheat over to cover him. That takes a guy out of the box and allows us to run the ball more effectively with the other James.

We wanted to win today, get the magic number down to one. I felt good, but in the sixth inning I got the ball up a little bit.

We wanted to use our speed and really pressure the ball and get into the passing lanes. We didn't want to give them any open looks. They can shoot the ball with the best of them if you let them.

We wanted to use all of it, to shoot the ball with very little time left so that the worst thing that could happen was overtime.