Jalen Rose Quotations

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When you're 0-4, things just aren't going your way. We're just not getting it done, our record indicates that, and I'm not going to make any excuses for it.

Obviously you want to come back and play well. Guys that say they don't like playing against their former teams are definitely lying. So many guys on that bench did so much for my career.

Obviously, with my age and my salary I didn't fit long term.

I would have been totally surprised had it not been a team that had been speculated practically since the Vince Carter trade. Everybody understands Toronto's actively in a rebuilding mode.

I'd be lying to say it doesn't add to it to be going to New York. Every player, when they step into the Garden, there's a different bounce to that arena, a different atmosphere, a different feeling being in New York ... I'm definitely going to be a little bit nervous and excited about playing my first game there.

I give all the credit to the coaching staff and my teammates, because they always encourage me to do well, whether it's in practice or in a game. They believe I can get out there and make plays, and when I get going, everybody is pumping me up, trying to have me continue to attack and play well.

I feel like the team needs me to produce. I just felt like if I had been on the floor, I hopefully would have made a play, at least grabbed a rebound, an assist, something. I guess you can't do nothing with all zeros.

I don't think it's a total rebuilding situation.

For us to add him (Francis) to our team is only going to be a plus. Then it's just about us getting that continuity and then going out and playing and getting some wins.

Fortunately the good Lord was looking down on me because I had missed my X number of previous shots. It was a total team win.

He was counting. All I heard him say was ,'One one-thousand,' but I think he forgot the other four.

He makes a lot of those 'No-no-no-no, then it goes in, yes!' shots. We see him do that all the time. We're just happy that when he has the clock and the ball in those situations, he finds a way to get it in the basket.

Whatever Coach Brown needs me to do to help the team is my focus. I am thrilled to be a Knick.

We've got to learn to communicate better on offense and play better on defense. That's what winning teams do.

He wasn't the guy that pulled the trigger. I played point guard for Isiah. We have a great relationship.

He can't change what has happened. But (Wednesday) night he wanted us to start being a better team. That's the bottom line.

Guys were giving up good shots to get great shots.

I thought about taking the three, but when you're 0-for-5, I guess you've got to get a better look at it.

It felt good to be out there, hear your name called, what college you went to.

It felt good to be out there and hear your name called. They had 20 more shots than we did, but we did a good job of keeping the turnovers low and knocking down open looks when we had them. We did a better job in the second half of playing defense.

Just because I got traded doesn't mean we'll be able to compete with the Spurs and the Pistons right away.

That's the thing about the NBA it's all about runs. We didn't attack the basket and didn't get to the free-throw line enough. We came back but they put us out of range with that second quarter.

I wasn't surprised about being traded. I would have been surprised if it was a team that wasn't speculated in the rumors.

You just have to give Dallas the credit. They have a good team. They have been playing well this season. They ran into a team that has not been playing well, and trying to learn things that they are doing. At this point, it didn't show.

You just gotta play. You've got to be aggressive at all times. If you feel like you have an opportunity to step up and knock down a shot, you've got to knock it down. If you have an opportunity to penetrate and finish the play, you have to finish. If there's a penetrate-and-kick situation, you've got to kick it out. I think he understands. He's just not playing the way he's capable of playing right now.

When you're contesting those jumpers, yeah, it's tough to watch. But you know, it happened and you've got to deal with it. When you play ball, when you play sports, your failures go with success. You've got to be able to endure both.

We had a lot of positive moments from a lot of guys, that's why I take this loss upon myself. ... I feel like if I dealt with what I was supposed to deal with down the stretch, we would be in a victorious locker-room.

We just didn't get it done. We shot a horrible percentage, and we didn't have confidence. . . it just showed in our overall effort.

Yeah? Which guys wear chains outside of their shirts? No comment. I'm going to let the individuals who choose to fight the rule fight the rule. It is what it is.

We're not talking about just anybody. We're talking about Kobe. He's had 40, 50, 60 and 80 this year. So it's not the first time he's gone off on a team.

We are not getting it down. It's an embarrassment. We lost by 30 points at home.

When you're not winning games ... it's about how you're not getting it done. To the winner goes the spoils, and since we're not getting it done at a high level, it's always going to be about sideshows and distractions.

Yeah, I can play a little bit. Somebody put a memo on my locker, saying I'll be 33 this month, so i figure I had to step my game up.

We gave them way too many fast-break points and that was the difference in the game. The bottom line is we just didn't get it done.

The reality of it is, 14 seconds to go, a seven-foot guy falling like he's been shot by a gun, normally that doesn't warrant a call,

Winning is the cure all. Sometimes when you're losing things aren't as bad as they seem. Sometimes when you're winning things are not as good. It's only one game but hopefully it's something we can build on.

When you have a young team like we do, the No. 1 thing they have to learn is how to compete.

We've got a lot of guys in here that are learning how to win. And when you're learning that on the fly over an 82-game schedule, you're going to have some tough times.

When you look up at the schedule, all you look at is the win total. When you really break it down, you're going to say two of their seven wins are against the Hawks.

What can you say about the Raptors' all-time guy in games played? We joke with him about: 'Perseverance. Persistence. Passion. Pride . . . ' and Peterson.

We got some good looks at some shots, but they just didn't go down. Had they, we would have put some pressure on their team.

Being around the league for a long time, who's to say whether it's a charge or not. The reality of it is, 14 seconds to go, the seven-foot guy falling like he got shot with a gun. Normally that doesn't warrant a call.

Being around the league for a long time, ... who is to say if it was a charge or not? Normally it doesn't warrant a call, but any time you get a couple of turnovers like I had, the refs aren't going to give you any breaks.

Everybody goes through a slump during the season. I'm no different. I guess when you're 1-13, now 1-14.

Everybody goes through a slump during the season,

At the end of the day, we're all going to be judged by wins and losses and since they're not a first-place team, he's going to take a lot of criticism but I think he's made some good moves.

At the end of the day, I don't do it because I'm Jalen and I have X amount of money, ... I do it because I care.

Don't get me wrong, it's nothing to celebrate, it's nothing you want to be on the butt end of the jokes about. But it's kind of like losing the Super Bowl or the championship. In 30, 40 years, when somebody breaks his record, you know, nobody's going to remember who it was against.

Fatigue will make a coward of all of us and I'm not going to let that be an excuse. The bottom line is they played better than us for four quarters.

I've never said that I wanted to play for another team. I'm not saying that now,

The thing about professional sports is anything can happen. Obviously, that vote of confidence along with it being after the trade deadline, means we intend on staying with the guys we got. I think we have 20-plus games remaining, let's try to finish them strong and we'll see what happens from here on out.

I've never been part of a situation like that -- and I'm sure I've never heard anybody in professional sports make a comment so negative that early in the season,

I wanted that one. I wanted that one very bad and I'd have liked to see what had happened had he not blocked my shot.

Ron got hot for a stretch in the third and fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough.

Right now, they just have our number. There was a 16-game span when Toronto beat them as well. That's what happens in pro sports. You hate to be on the back end of that.

Somebody put a memo in my locker, saying I was turning 33 this month, so I figured I had to step my game up.

Coach! You're a rookie and you're going to miss practice already?

The bottom line is they did a good job of denying our play. Guys were trying to do what they could to get open. ... I heard him say 1-1,000, but I think he forgot the other four.

That's what they do. They lead the league in 3-point attempts for a reason, and sometimes they are going to knock them down.

That number won't haunt this club. They did a nice job of running. They had 36 points on the break. Having played in Denver, I understand how they feed off the altitude. When they get a long rebound, Anthony is taking off. They throw the touchdown pass to him and he's athletic and is a very good finisher.

You're a win streak away from striking distance.

This is one of the only gyms I get a chance to run up and down the court where I contributed some blood and some sweat to the banners that are hanging up. So it does feel good to get back here.

A lot of guys contributed. Jamal made a huge shot at the end of the game. We didn't get down. A lot of times when things don't go your way and you only have 19 wins or so on the season, you tend to get discouraged.

A lot of times when you're down and you have an overall record like we have, it's easy to look up at the score and say 'here we go again. We pulled together, we persevered, and obviously were not going to take is as more than one game, but it does feel good to get a win on the road.

They played this game like it was their championship game, and rightfully so. Those guys are hungry for NBA jobs.

They got on me real good about that. Real good.

Ask any athlete - One of his dreams is to play in New York wearing a Knick uniform. It's also always been a dream of mine.

It's ... a situation that's more geared to wanting to win and be a playoff team. The sooner the better.

It probably wasn't the prettiest game you'll see but at least we gave the effort.

It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you have the overall record that we do.

It's frustrating to lose the ballgame, especially when we're giving a valiant effort, ... It's doubly frustrating because of the way I've been playing. The guys are doing what they can to help us win ballgames, and they need me to step up and play the way I'm capable of playing.

It's frustrating to lose the ball game, especially when we are giving a valiant effort,

It's good to see Chris Bosh show some intensity. I told him in the locker room he's growing some hair on his chest. Hopefully they will start giving him the respect he deserves and he will definitely be an all-star this year.

It's putting years on my career. I'm never angry or upset about it.

It's pretty strange for us to have a big-time blowout like that. When we have a record like we have overall, you don't see too many games like that.

It's pretty strange for us to have a big-time blowout like that.

(Dolan) also acknowledged the fact that you'll probably see and hear a lot of speculation about him possibly making changes with the coach staff or the front office, and he acknowledged that's not going to happen.

Everybody wants to contribute and help the team get a win, and obviously I'm no different,

Everybody wants to be hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy and I'm no different. But you have to appreciate every role you get. I got down on my knees a lot of years and prayed for this NBA opportunity, so it's something I never take for granted. But as a 12-year veteran, the most important thing is winning. The personal goals and ego go out the window.

The Bad News Bears coach wouldn't tell (his team) that.

Nothing feels better than spoiling another team's playoff chances.

They did a good job of denying us and they closed out the game. Guys did their best to get open.

I'm excited to go to New York. Every player, when they step into the Garden, there is a different pulse to that building. I'm definitely going to be a little bit nervous and excited.

I'm a dresser, so it's not going to be that much of a change for me.

If you're Mark Cuban, you're not less of an owner if you have on a Mavericks shirt than if you have on a blazer.

In the second quarter we just could not score. We had nine points in the second quarter, and obviously in the NBA, you can't win with that.

Home is supposed to be where you're most comfortable. A number of guys are not comfortable playing here right now. You have to be emotionally tough to play here.

Even bad teams have optimism. You don't want to take away the optimism so early in the season. The Bad News Bears coach wouldn't even tell (his team) that.

I really like Rafer Alston. We get along great. We have a lot of fun times together that I can’t share with you guys.

Larry Bird is like a basketball god to me for what he's done for my career.

I remember an incident overseas about five years ago where a player punched a referee and knocked him cold. I don't think anything like that will ever happen in the NBA. Emotions run rampant. The games are so intense, and the stakes are so high. (But) At the end of the day, players and coaches really respect officials and really appreciate that they try to do a good job.

When you're not winning it's about how you're not getting it done.

Name 12 players better than me.

I'm a GM in fantasy basketball and I'm a GM on PlayStation, so on PlayStation I probably would have got a little more, but this is real life, so I don't know.

For me, Duke was personal. I hated Duke. And I hated everything I felt Duke stood for. Schools like Duke didn't recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms.

There's always going to be criticism when your name is Jalen. You have to wear a bulletproof vest and be ready for it.

I remember draft night, I shook David Stern's hand while rocking a red suit with white pinstripes and red gators I've always been a trendsetter.

An athletic scholarship shouldn’t be the best opportunity to receive a quality education.

We don't know what's going to happen this summer or who's going to be here next year. We have no control over any of that. So, we're going to play our [22 remaining] games and do the best we can and show up for the New York Knick fans. That's the most important thing.