Jose Fernandez Quotations

Losing the way we had can wear you down emotionally and mentally. I'm really proud how we came back and did what we needed to do. In this conference, you have to take care of things at home.

She was questionable going in and played with a great deal of pain. For a jump shooter, that's tough coming off the floor with that bounce, and I think that's why she struggled a little bit.

She's been in and out of the doghouse all year. She's been far deep in there because she struggled defensively. I thought this was a game that could really show some of her offensive skills.

She had a great game tonight. She had a good bounce to her, running up and down the court, defending as well. She was assertive and looked good until the fall.

She's a good player. That's why she's preseason first-team all-league.

If other schools question why they didn't make it and we did, they should schedule differently. We've proven we belong.

Getting to the NCAA Tournament is so special. It's like our football team getting to their first bowl game. It opens a lot of doors. And there's nothing like the first time.

We've got to win at home. If you can take care of your home court and get some splits on the road, you'll be in good shape. But you have to protect your home floor.

To come in here and beat us on our home floor, it's very disappointing, very disheartening. It's a bad loss.

Jackson has been in and out of the doghouse all year, she's been deep in there. And we're not a deep team.

Last home (stand) I wasn't very happy with how we played. We were headed into a direction where we deserved what we got against Connecticut, because if we continued to play the way we had been, we weren't even going to make the (NIT or NCAA) tournament.

I thought we had two good practices coming back from Christmas break and thought we were prepared for North Florida. Now we have the No. 3 ranked team in the country (LSU) to prepare for. We're 10-2 now and I like the way we played in the first half. I think we ran our lanes well and shot the ball well.

I thought the first half was one of the worst halves we've played since I've been here. It was just absolutely terrible. We didn't make shots, we had no value for the basketball and we didn't get second shots. I don't understand it. We've already played 19 games, and to come out and play how we played, there's no excuse for it.

I thought they did a very good job, running two people at her. They really made other people make shots.

I think we did a pretty good job (on Duffy) for about three-quarters of the way though. Down the stretch she made her free throws, put the ball in the basket and we couldn't get the ball away from her.

Parsons was injured in the West Virginia game (Feb. 25) and wasn't feeling good. But we will go back with Parsons against Notre Dame. She's our best interior defender. We have to do a good job against (Lindsay) Schrader, a good job against Duffy and not get into early foul trouble.

I was very happy by the way we responded without her being on the floor. They are doing a good job going after her on the defensive end. She's just got to play with her feet and not her hands.

It definitely hurts in the locker room. We're an NCAA (Tournament) team. We've just got to win these games. These are the type of games that you need to win to put you over the top.

I'm happy for her. She's had a great year. Her hard work in the summer has really paid off. It's great she's getting the attention she deserves.

We're not a very good basketball team right now. But hand it to them, I thought they brought a ton of energy and they brought a ton of enthusiasm and they made plays. And they did whatever they wanted to do. I'm embarrassed that we didn't give a better showing.

Well, maybe now everyone will lighten up. Maybe they'll get back on the bandwagon. We lost three games; the season's not over. We could very easily be 5-0 in the league, because we played well tonight, took 70 shots. That's a lot of possessions.

We would definitely look forward to getting another shot at them, if we get the opportunity. The only thing that concerns me is our depth in this kind of four-game stretch. But there's a lot of excitement and adrenaline takes over.

We didn't make shots, but at the same time, at the end of the game you have to get some stops on the other end.

Is it his best job? You'd have to ask him. I have great respect for him. I think he's the best coach in the country.

The big thing about her is that she has a tremendous work ethic. If you look at her stats her freshman year, you can see how much her game has evolved and improved. She's worked on her range. It really shows how committed she has been to improve on her game. She's not even close to her potential. She's a really good shooter. She uses screens well, but she needs to improve her perimeter passing.

That was a big difference in the game.

This is probably the strongest schedule we ever played. We had that stretch with Carolina, DePaul and Michigan State, then played LSU and opened on the road at Pitt. So we've played some quality teams.

They did whatever they wanted to do tonight. I'm disappointed. I'm embarrassed that we didn't have a better showing.

It's a tough way to lose. I told our players that games aren't won or lost in the last 30-40 seconds. We shot 50 percent from the free-throw line in the second half, and that's not going to get it done against the type of teams we're playing in this league.

It's like the build-up to Christmas, waiting to open the big present under the tree. You don't know what you're going to get. Hopefully the NCAA selection committee is like a whole big Santa Claus.

That really motivated her. In a way, it was disappointing.

They just got to be careful in anything they do, because we, as Hispanics, consider them to be our heroes and our baseball stars. You just can't promote a product that will benefit a company without analyzing or having any criteria of the product. Because whatever you are promoting, people are going to take because of who you are. Again, not necessarily for the product, but because of you. That is why all these companies spend millions of dollars -- because they know how effective it is using stars to promote products.

I want to join the U.S. Army or Air Force, but because of the language, I can't.

The kids turned on the TV over the weekend and they're watching Connecticut against Tennessee and they're watching Michigan State and Rutgers. That's where we want to be.

I?m just not really happy about how our team is playing right now.

I just didn't think we could match up with their depth and athleticism. We're missing two starters from our lineup. We only played six kids, really, for most of the game. They played 11.

Before the game, we told them our backs are against the wall. Tonight was a must win. If we wanted to go to the NCAA Tournament, we needed to win tonight, and I think they responded.

Before the game, we told our kids our backs were against the wall. This was the most important game of the year. If we wanted to go to the NCAA Tournament, we needed to win. And the kids responded. They have an excellent opportunity ahead of them.

By no means are we guaranteed. But I like where we're at now.

The difference between tonight and Pittsburgh was the last five minutes. We made plays, and we got some stops.