LOYOLA-WESTERN MICHIGAN QUOTES

Loyola head coach Jim Whitesell

(On Western Michigan) "The thing that Western does is they have so many different things they run at you. They run that older group and then they run the younger group and then they start mixing them and the younger group is really athletic and Lawson gives you good size and the freshmen big kid is going to be a ton. It's like they run several different teams at you over the course of 40 minutes and that's really difficult."

Western Michigan head coach Steve Hawkins

(On the final play-Shawntes Gary three-pointer) "That was a set play where we tried to get the ball back to David and we just couldn't get it back to him. They had done a very good job of shadowing David. As we worked the ball around, the ball ended up in Shawntes' hand and he had a good look at it, but just missed the shot."

(On the team) "I thought our kids competed a little bit better in the second half, but we didn't do it in the first half. This is my fault, not their fault. We've got to understand what the Western Michigan brand brings to our opponent. We have to understand how hard teams are going to play against us, especially in here. We're just not there yet as a group. It's my responsibility to get them there and we'll begin tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock and get the point across what Western Michigan basketball means to a lot of people, including several other players that have played in these uniforms before them."

(On losing a home game) "I never expect to lose at home, we've defended this court extremely well for a number of years here and that has a lot to do with our fan support and our student group. That's the reason we introduce our first two starters directly from The Zoo. That's our recognition of what they mean to us and our fans means to us."

(On the expected early struggles) "I'm tired of that, we've got to get ourselves on track and we will. There's no excuses. We've just got to get the problems solved and corrected. That means playing Bronco Basketball. Tough, hard-nosed on the defensive end, rebounding and then on the offensive end being unselfish and sharing the ball."

(On turning things around) "There's nobody who has a better understanding of what Western Michigan basketball means than I do. It's our responsibility to get this thing turned around. We absolutely will. It may take a minute. Right now it is certainly no fun for anybody, but I've got an incredible amount of confidence in the individuals in that room. We'll get it turned around eventually. It may not happen in the next game or the game after that, but they'll get it.

"Slow starts are certainly not something we're unaccustomed to. We've had slow start after slow start after slow start in the time that I have been here and I don't get panicked over slow starts. I can remember taking a very solid basketball team into Hawaii and going 1-2 in a tournament and that group eventually put it together and played for a MAC West championship on the final day of the season."