Jim Wooldridge Quotations

We're finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win. That's really unfortunate. You come a million miles in a game, and you know that you need to finish it in a positive way and we haven't been able to do that in the last week and a half. If it isn't one thing it's another.

We have had a lot of those kinds of games, but I thought we played good basketball. We stayed under control, played good defense and didn't get rattled.

We have a positive thing going with our basketball team. I think our players feel good about what we're doing. Our coaches feel that way. We've been competitive. We can beat anybody in our league.

Obviously, we don't have any momentum going. We're finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win.

I have been suffering with this condition for much of the season and it has become more acute over the past 10 days. The doctors have informed me that without immediate attention that this condition will only become more serious and permanent. I hate to step away from the team at such a critical juncture of the season, but I believe that I have to take measures now to correct these health issues.

I don't know where Blalock is going to end up in the voting, but I really like him. (Curtis) Stinson made his name a little quicker, but (Blalock) impacts their team more than anybody.

I am grateful for the opportunity Kansas State gave us to coach and lead this program. We wish we could have accomplished more, but it was a great experience and I appreciate the players, staff, administration and our great fans for all they have done to support us.

I can't play golf for a while. I'm upset about it. That's the only thing I do besides coaching basketball.

He'll get things going again. Anybody with talent, which he has, can get going again if they keep playing.

We've got to turn it into a positive, but the way we've been going we'd like to be playing. They are all huge ballgames. If you are fortunate to win on the road it's a huge breakthrough for you and puts you a leg up on the competition.

We talk about it all the time. He sees the benefits of his leadership. I think he's excited about it.

His team is more important than what he is as an individual. You just can't buy that kind of attitude.

He was number 31. And he was making a lot of shots.

He is playing well. When he came in, he really elevated his game. He saw it as an opportunity to prove he could play.

I think we made a lot of progress. We have kids with a great deal of life. I wish we could have won the game today. It would have been a good way to move forward.

It gets a little better, a little better, a little better. If we're committed, perhaps we can put together a few more wins.

I think we can -- and have -- played better.

I think they're very talented and he probably expected them to have a good year.

I think in a handful of instances it's just one play that's made the difference between 6-10 or 8-8 or 9-7 or whatever it might have been.

I'm in a lot more pain with where we are as a team than I am with my neck. It doesn't look like a very good team to me right now, but that could change.

That was the most embarrassing effort I've ever been associated with as a college basketball player or coach. We had no answer for them in any shape or form.

That's been interesting hasn't it. We've been able to see this is a pretty good team, with a shot at doing some things and playing good basketball. The game Saturday, we didn't play well, and that topic came up.

Well, we don't know yet. I would term him day to day. He didn't practice (Monday) and we'll see if he can go (Tuesday).

We could never shake them because we did some bizarre things.

You have to pay close attention to him because he's the centerpiece of the offense. He can make a play at any time, but they have other weapons that tend to make you shade off of him. They can spread you out.

We just need to make one more play. One more shot, one more rebound. We've talked about that through the season. But we've got some competitive guys on this team, and the kids want to do well.

You get into league play, and people make you play in the half court. You have to generate points with five guys in front of you. That's hard to do sometimes.

We had our shot and we needed a play or two here or there. I think I have a good basketball team. I wish we could have made a couple more plays ... I think we are really close.

Big, strong, physical - a carbon copy of that we saw tonight. It'll be a very tough game for us.

Could you have believed it? How could you have guessed that anything like this was going to happen?

There's not been this doom and gloom over the top of our heads. I think our team has been supported well by our base of fans out there. I just don't feel bad about what we're doing right now. The topic your talking about remains and has been dormant. It's just not something we concentrate on.

After playing Texas and Kansas, those teams look very, very strong to me. It would be hard for one of those teams not to win his tournament.

You've just got to make the play. Whether it's a rebound, a defensive play, a field goal, you've to got make it. There's no magic wand, you've just got to make it.

They're an extraordinary team. They've got a lot of weapons - the outside shooting and the inside play, the rebounding game. They can punish you on the boards. I don't see any weak link in their game right now even though they went to Oklahoma State and ran into a buzz saw.

They're knuckleballs, but you watch the ball in flight, and you just thought they were going in. I thought it. You probably thought it.

They're just very, very strong. I know (Sunday) was probably disappointing for them, but just looking at them on paper and the consistency they've played with throughout Big 12 play, they just don't have a lot of chinks in the armor.

As we talked yesterday, it's his call. I don't have anything to say about it.

It starts with his mind-set. He's put up big numbers, but he's all about winning. When you get to that point, there's no cobwebs left. It's all about winning.

It's an improbable win if you look at where we were Wednesday.

It's been a combination of talent and good coaching. Their guard play has been better for them, and they always play good strong defense. They're just awfully talented and strong. I didn't think they would win 10 in a row, but I knew they would end up as one of the top teams in our league.

The offense just dried up on us. Then we couldn't get a stop without fouling them. I thought we could have defended better, but today Texas Tech was too much for us.

The offense dried up on us. We didn't make enough plays. I thought we were getting the ball where we wanted to get it, but today, Texas Tech was too much for us.

That is a pretty amazing way to drop that game today. It's just really unfortunate. You've got to make an offensive play; you've got to be able to get the ball down court; you've got to be able to stop somebody.

It's stunning, isn't it? Not stunning, maybe, but surprising, that that many teams went on the road and won. I don't think that's going to be the case as season progresses from here. We're projecting the future here, but I don't see that happening very often.

That first half we really got after it. Our athleticism and quickness bothered them. To create that many turnovers is pretty impressive. We kind of broke their back early in the game.

That first half, we got on them pretty good. Our athleticism, our quickness bothered them. To create that many turnovers in one half is impressive.

It's been the most improbable week of my career, in so many ways. (Nebraska) was the low of lows. To win at KU was the opposite end of the spectrum.

That said, I didn't inherit those kinds of guys at Kansas State. We've have different challenges. Some have been similar, but we've had different challenges.

That's a pretty amazing way to drop that game today, and it's just really unfortunate.

I hope we can do it consistently. It's our best mode of being successful.

I didn't feel good, but I ended up watching the whole second half. It's almost impossible, because you're pulling so hard for your guys and you want them to do well. Not having a hand in it, it's an impossible situation to stay somewhat calm.

The key is, let's sustain our effort. If we don't, we won't have much of a shot. That will be the quest.