Jim Yerkovich Quotations

His rebounding, and he gets after the ball. He makes our other players better.

I think he will offensively. He fits. He's a smart player but we won't have as much depth as we did this year.

There's nothing harder and more unpredictable than high school state tournaments. I don't know if I've ever seen a team persevere better. I know I've never coached one, but I don't know if I've ever seen one.

I've never coached, and I've never seen at the high school level an inside player play as hard as he does, and that's been the key for us all year.

Defensively, he got himself in trouble by not being fundamental.

(Deane) plays with the greatest intensity of any big kid I've ever been around.

As long as I've coached I cannot remember a group of guys who've had a more consistent intensity level from game to game. Where's that come from? It comes from (Deane). His intensity level carries over to the people, and they just jump on the bandwagon and go. I think that's the best thing he does for us.

They played so well defensively. I was so proud of them because that's always been the heart of our program.

They're playing real well right now, as good as anybody.

It was getting to the point that I hated to see him come to practice.

Daniel was a big factor in the game, but I thought (those) two seniors stood out.

Daniel's intensity and how hard he plays is the heart of our team. Because of his intensity, everyone else jumps on his back, and they go.

Eight out of the 10 times we've gone, we've finished in the top five. It's become the No. 1 accomplishment of our program.

It's been crazy around here. The principal bought 800 championship T-shirts and they're giving them out to everybody.

It was a heck of a game. We have all the respect in the world (for the Grizzlies). Logan is one of the more talented teams in the state. We knew that we had a very, very tough game.

They've got three or four guys who can shoot 3s with anybody. They played a heck of a game.

If you nominate a guy, he'll be on that list. They're not really considered for the team. That selection process began a year and a half in advance . . . The players think they're being considered but they're not.

I had been frustrated for my first 11 or 12 years that I hadn't been doing enough in the area of teaching values through sports. In 1978, the word 'We' popped into my head. . . . I really feel like 'We' is an answer to almost anything. It is the essence of humanity. Where are our greatest joys? Family and friends. The greatest hurts in life are the absence of 'We.' It's the best way to play the game, but also the best way to live.

He's really pushed the ball. Last year he had a tendency to go more east and west. This year he's going vertical.

If he can get himself back close to 100 percent we're a lot better team.

He picks us up with intensity, and everybody kind of jumps on his back, and I think that's why we had the season we had.