Hated to see my SLU Billikens go down at UMass yesterday, after just beating X on the road.
Thought Rick Majerus had some great quotes after the loss:
But he wasn't ready to make travel an excuse for his team's poor play in the first half.
"I don't give a (expletive) how much travel you have. All you have to do is get your nose in the chest and defend," he said. "I don't care if we didn't shoot well. You can always defend. They(UMass) played terrific with energy and effort. They played like they wanted to win. We played in the afterglow of a nice victory (over X Wednesday) and that was it. We beat ourselves. Forget about the missed free throws or turnovers. All that stuff is bull (expletive). We didn't come out and play. They exceeded us in intensity level and they won."
Despite entering the game 16-4, he didn't hold back his criticism of his players. He didn't think they appreciated the opportunity they had.
"You're 18, 19, 20 years old. A buddy of mine's cousin just died over in Afghanistan. Who knows how many kids will die there today and they're the same age. This is a game. They should want to play a game," he said. "It begins with me. I have to look at myself and say what didn't I do to provide the energy and effort that they need. Then they have to look at themselves."
He was frustrated with senior captain Brian Conklin for his early defense on Putney and didn't think playing with a leg injury was an excuse.
"I don't care what his leg is. He's got some kind of leg injury. If you've got a leg injury, don't play. I'd rather have a handicapped guy covering him. I used to coach wheelchair basketball. Those sons of (expletives) came to play every night. The most rewarding experience of my life was coaching my wheelchair team and the Special Olympics that I ran in Utah. I can get a Special Olympian to get excited to play. No derogatory remark to them. I'm just upset that (his current players) would not value the moment."
Majerus wasn't sure that some of his players even liked basketball.
"I may have a guy or two that don't play for the right reasons. College basketball is rife with it. They like being basketball players. They like being on the team, but they don't like basketball," he said. "But even if that's your deal in life, you have an obligation to your teammates and yourself. And someone gave you a scholarship. I've got three walk-ons that pay $46,000 a year. If I had any balls I would have played them."
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Majerus is a basketball savante but wow what a weird guy he is.
