24 Quotes by Eric Long

Down the stretch we could have folded. I like where we are at mentally right now. We are starting to get very, very tough. We have gone through a lot of ups and downs this season and it seems like every game is a regional championship atmosphere. That is going to make us a strong team down the stretch.

Sometimes you just have to change things up and do some different things to wake everyone up. Today we woke up and played a great game.

The way we came out and continued the intensity we had in the second quarter was a key factor in the game.

It was nothing but hard work. People don't understand the amount of hours these guys spent this summer shooting the basketball. All 15 of these kids were in the gym all day working hard. They gave up a lot of their personal opportunities to build their skills and help the team. That is why we went from six wins last year to 16 now.

I'm not happy with the way we are responding on the road right now. It happened at Streator and it cost us the game. It happened again tonight. Our slow start cost us this game.

I liked the fact that we came out with intensity, pressure and a lot of focus after a disappointing loss the night before. It just shows these kids have great character.

If you look at their field goal percentages from last year, and compare them to this year, you'll see a huge improvement. That is due to dedication and deciding that they are going to become better offensive players. Their ability to play better offensively combined with the other weapons we have, made us a tough team to stop.

Instead of taking a six-point lead in our run, it could of, and should have, been a 10- or 15-point lead. That's if we come out and play them even from the start. You just can't do that against good teams.

In the two games that we played them prior to tonight, our man-to-man defense was better than our trap. But it was just the opposite tonight. Our trap and our energy we had with it was just awesome and it changed the momentum of the game.