Tommy Amaker Kids Quotations

We have no one to blame. That's what I wanted the kids to know.

Maybe I've been cautious with him, but it's in all of our best interests. I don't know what is realistic, but one thing we've seen is that these kids are not the same when they first come back from an injury. I think it takes a while.

Obviously it was a disappointing ending and loss. You can certainly look at a lot of different stats and reasons but none more telling than 24 turnovers. That was our undoing and it was unfortunate for us. I thought our kids gave great effort, especially our seniors, and I'm very disappointed for them to end their career home game with something like this.

Because we had the nucleus of our team win that tournament two years ago -- the juniors and seniors right now were freshmen and sophomores -- I worry about that being more of a negative than a positive. These kids have recognized that they've already done that.

Our kids showed they still have some spirit about them. I love that about our kids right now. They have shown the fight and energy. I think many people were counting them out.

I was really impressed with the energy and effort that our kids brought here this evening. I was very pleased with the way we played defensively.

We have the kind of kids who are going to respect their opponents and prepare the right way. I love that about our kids and our program.

With a different group of players you have a different team. Two years ago we were fairly young with a youthful exuberance and excitement about our program. I think this year the kids have been mature. It has been a different set of circumstances that allowed us to get to this point.

This game can be fragile, and kids can play well sometimes and raise their confidence level.

It's healthy for our kids to look at this as we're the No. 1-ranked conference in America, and we've been able to finish .500 with us and Michigan State, both finishing 8-8 in our league and splitting with one another throughout the regular season. Obviously (the Spartans) are going to be a team (in the NCAA). No one is talking about them not being in.

They aren't as deep, but those kids that are out there know they are going to be out there. They're a very athletic team, long and rangy. I think they're a very confident team. They play with a great deal of confidence and you're able to see that. Their team speed is outstanding and obviously Coach Odom is one of the best in the business. They've been on a tear here down the stretch and they were on the verge of winning their conference tournament before coming up a little short. They've gone on the road to win some big-time games in this tournament, at Cincinnati and at Florida State . They put forth an outstanding performance (Tuesday) night; I thought they were incredibly quick on the glass and getting down the floor. They are a very confident group that seems to play well together.