Melvin Watkins Quotations

What he told us is, it's an opportunity to get back to playing basketball. All the speculation was a heavy burden.

We're fragile, but what you saw today, there have been other teams that have come here and got spanked pretty good.

The external motivation lasts maybe one or two plays ? I?m just directing things a little bit. We needed to shake things up a bit and just get back to the basics and fundamentals.

On game day, I expect the guys to have energy no matter who the coach is. We just didn't have it today. Kansas just took it to us and that's the way I'm going to look at it.

I feel like I know better than anyone what needs to happen here in terms of the players we need to get in with what we've got returning. I'm going to have the upper hand on anyone in terms of trying to get this thing turned around and get it back in the right direction quicker than anyone that's out there. That's my opinion.

I thought we played the way we should be playing. I can live with (the result) if you're not good enough and you play hard.

It gets to the point where maybe the kids need to hear a new voice. I always tell the kids you should never quit. I'm not quitting on them, but maybe there comes a point in time where you just can't do it there anymore.

I thanked them for the effort and all the things that we've been through this year. Under the circumstances, I really wanted to be able to thank the team and hug them for allowing me to step into their lives a little bit, and they did not quit.

Surely, they hear what's going on around campus or whatever and the Internet. Our kids have done a good job, at least as far as we can see, of not bringing that stuff to practice. ... Coach (Snyder) has done a good job of saying, 'Let's stick with the task at hand.' Some of those things we can't control, and we're not going to worry about, and I think our kids will follow suit in that.

We played the way I think we should be playing all the time. I thought our guys were into the game. I thought our guys had some energy out there for long periods of time. Where there's an emptiness in our gut because we didn't get the win, I can live with that fact that we're not quite good enough, but we played to the best of our ability.

We tend to beat ourselves. We tend to get a little hesitant and I just can't figure out why.

We talked about, hey, whatever baggage we had, don't get on the plane with that. Leave it over in your dorms or apartments and when we come out there this is a fresh start.

They may be playing the best basketball in the conference right now. You are seeing a team grow up right before your eyes.

They're playing the best basketball in the conference right now. They're playing with a lot of confidence, hitting shots and playing very well as a team.

It's a decision that he's been contemplating for some time. I do hope he would keep his options open.

It's all in our hands now. With Nebraska being that team standing in front of us, we better put a lot into us getting ourselves ready to play. If not, we'll be coming home.

I'm excited about the opportunity to be a part of what I feel is an exciting brand of basketball and a winning brand of basketball. How can you not want to be a part of this?

I maybe have a few years left in me. I enjoy this. I enjoy the kids. . . . Yes, I want to be a head coach. I was a head coach, and I want to continue to be a head coach.

If you're talking to me, I want to be the head coach here.

I could probably write a book about that.

All the things we've been through this year, under the circumstance, I wanted to thank the team, hug them. I encouraged them to go back and be students. You can't just stop your life.