Johnny Mason Quotations

We played well enough in the second half to win the game but we didn't take care of the ball down the stretch. Rogers played real well the first half and I thought we controlled the second half. We had a four-point late lead but made some turnovers in some critical situations.

I'll probably be in the hospital (if the remaining games are like Tuesday). My doctor recommended no stress, so I'm going to have to get my team to help and follow his directions.

He's a kid with unlimited potential, because this is really his first year at the high school level. He's done a tremendous job mixing it up with guys who are a lot more experienced.

They've really got a super athletic team. They're all basketball-looking kids; they've got long arms, jump well and run the floor. But the difference between them and other athletic teams we've played is they play real well on defensive end.

Sometimes, (athletic teams) don't like pressure. It can throw them off. That's our game, and we're not going to change it.

What pleased me was I knew we could play with that kind of intensity on defense. There was a lot of quality mental and physical basketball.

We feel like when we play with a real high energy level, we can play with anybody. For the most part, this team has had a tremendous year. Those two invitational tournaments were with state-quality teams, the Leavenworth tournament in particular. I think we match up well against athletic teams.

They see a kid that's rather inexperienced, but he's got a lot of raw talent. He's got those long arms, and that's the kind of kid they're looking for to play at the Division I (or) II level.

We just beat a great basketball team. Forrest City is as good as anybody in the state. They've got three of the finest athletes we've seen in Weaver, Bowman and Stewart, but we've good some pretty good kids, too.

We had a hard time getting good looks. They matched up well against us, and we were a little impatient. We took some off-balance shots. The only time we played our game was in the fourth quarter.