Ben Howland Players Quotations

We want to recruit the very best players in the country. That's why we're here right now: We have great players.

Obviously, we're real pleased to get the win. That was a great finish for us. It's really just a testament to the character, the toughness, the heart of our players to have the never-quit attitude. I'm really, really proud of them.

I'm always concerned about him. He's one of the top players in our conference without question. He's an NBA player. He's an L.A. kid and he's always played well against us. We've got our hands full.

He gets away with a lot of stuff too. If you watch the films ... sometimes he'll grab onto a guy, then act like he's being fouled. He's just a smart player. That's what smart players do.

He is so sharp mentally, it's incredible. But the key to his run was recruiting good players who were good people. Good people last a lifetime.

Florida has a great offensive team. It really is going to be a big challenge for us to be able to try to defend such skilled players and good passers. Everybody can shoot it.

The very best players are my kind of players.

It's a testament to the character, toughness and heart of our players and their never-quit attitude.

That's one of the things I think that you're going to continue to see, the George Mason run. I think they had three players that were fifth-year seniors. It's such an advantage to be older than your opponent both mentally and physically, and to have that experience of having gone through the ups and downs.

The biggest benefit, more than anything that we're excited about, is that the families of our players are able to get here relatively easier.

It's been frustrating, because we haven't been able to stay healthy. We've had one practice the entire year where we've had all 12 scholarship players healthy. But that's part of the game.

They both are premier players that have grown through a lot of adversity already. Both of them got a lot of experience last year and playing over the summer.

I really wanted to do this because I want our players to get the tradition and the history. They hear about it. They see it. They read about it. But the best way to feel it is to know the players and the coach himself.

He's the greatest coach in the history of the game. How can you not embrace it? That's what this is all about. The love you see his former players have for him is just incredible.