I called (Watkins) and told him that I thought it would be best if we didn't (have practice) because the production wouldn't be as good as it needed to be. You kind of just isolate yourself from the gym.

He told us sometimes things don't always go as planned or how you wanted them to. He said you could learn a lot from basketball. That it transfers off the court. It was about us as men. It was a good conversation.

I just decided I could handle school, and that it was important to be here for Coach. My relationship with Coach has been a lot stronger than some of the players, and that's the reason I showed up.

In a big game you always want to perform well, and I think I was just a little over-anxious in the first half. I think that was evident in my shots going long or short, kind of wanting to get that first shot so bad to go in.

I need to do everything in my power to show that I'm with this team. As a leader of the team you really can't justify what happened today (Saturday). I have a totally different perspective on my team. They showed a lot of heart. Hopefully, I can get back in there and play the same way they played in the second half.

It was one of the best defenses that I've faced all year. They made it tough for me to get open. I turned it over three or four times, I've got to get better.

I've had a chance to sit down and talk with everyone involved, my family, coaches and teammates, and everyone has been so supportive, including our fans.

The next day, we're doing pre-practice work and he comes in with jeans on. Coach has never worn jeans to practice. From there we kind of knew something was wrong.

It's always around you. It's on campus every day, it's in the papers and stuff, so it's easy to look at it.

This is the same predicament we were in last year. We can't lose this many games in a row in league and expect to finish in the top half.