21 Quotes by Rick Hartzell

I say what I'm about to say with all due respect. We are not going to be anybody's second fiddle. We're not going to be anybody's poor little brother. . . . I hope tomorrow we can hire the next one that everyone wants in five years.

I think he's the best young basketball coach in the country, and I am overwhelmed with the fact that we can keep him here at UNI.

I think he is the best young basketball coach in the country, and I am overwhelmed with the fact that we can keep him here at UNI.

When you sit in this chair at this place, you know if you've got great coaches that somebody is going to come in and steal them. It wasn't a shock when I got a call asking permission (to talk to McDermott). It wasn't really a shock when he'd been offered the job. And it wasn't a shock when he took it.

To the general public and to our fans, it is obvious what a great job that Greg and his staff have done to put UNI basketball on the national map. I think he is the best young basketball coach in the country and I am overwhelmed with the fact that we can keep him here at UNI.

We will not, in this program, take a back seat to anybody. We've had the best basketball program in the state of Iowa over the last three or four years. We have nothing but plans to keep that going.

To be honest, Iowa State got a great coach - and they got a great friend of mine.

It was a little bit of a funeral atmosphere for a day or so. But today is the turning of the page. We wish him well. I love him dearly, he's a great friend and I know (Jacobson) feels the same way. But he's a Cyclone now.

It might be better. Who knows? We didn't want to lose (McDermott), but everybody acts like we can't move forward, and that's absolutely wrong. I'm energized and excited about this because I think (Jacobson) brings a lot of the same qualities that Mac brought. We just weren't going to blink . . It just felt to me like it was the perfect kind of match for this place.