I thought the shot was going to go in. He had a great angle, great shot at the end to go in and I truly believed it was going to go in. But it didn't. We got the shot we wanted.

Khalid El-Amin put up with a great deal of grief on the road. And it was the best coaching that anybody could have done for me, because Khalid loved every single second of it. He loved to show you.

Kentucky gave us a great shot, but we're going to D.C..

He's going to go through a very, very interesting time. He's grown a great deal. I think it's been a very negative experience for him. Which it should be. He put himself in this position.

He's a terrific kid who made a dumb, dumb selfish mistake. He's not the first and he won't be the last, unfortunately. Hopefully, it's not going to be on my watch. I'm a great believer that people should be allowed and are allowed a second chance.

He's becoming a tough guy not to play. You know he's going to guard folks. You know he's going to fill the lanes; he's a great fast break player. And you know he's tenacious.

I can't remember the last time we were up three with 11 seconds to go and lost. We got beat by that shot by Gerry. Anything can happen in overtime. We made the decision of who would have the assignment. Gerry made a better play and hit a great 3.

I am so proud of my kids and the way we took every shot that Kentucky gave us. But I don't find it unusual for Kentucky, with its incredible history and a great coach like Tubby, to turn it into that kind of game.

Many of those kids were passed over by Big East schools and others. I tip my hat to their courage. I feel a great deal of inner joy for what they are going through right now, something they probably couldn't have imagined.

When I did my voting, it was very difficult. Normally I can get a better feel. But there were so many kids that had so many great seasons.

Very few players maintain the pace, obviously, he's on. Brian Fair, Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, the great shooters we've had here, if anybody could ... I don't think anybody we've ever had could get as hot as he could get. I think Ben Gordon and Ray might be better shooters, but I'm not sure anybody can get as hot as he could get.

It's always good to be No. 1 in anything but it's not great at this time of year. I want it at the beginning of April, but I'll take it now. Being No. 1 isn't a goal of ours like the Big East championship or the national championship, but we feel we're one of the better programs in the country for the last 15 years and being No. 1 is another notch for us as a total program.

It feels good so many guys contributed. We, the coaching staff, to some degree, have become so reliant on Rudy and he didn't have a particularly good evening and that happens to great players and will continue to happen.

I think in his second year with us, Caron started to realize in January just how good he could be with a lot of pushing and prodding. Ben was the same way. I think Rudy (Gay) is starting to understand some of the great gifts that he has and he's starting to showcase them a lot more and just becoming a better player.

When you watch Roy play, you're watching, really, from a coaching standpoint, everything you want a player to be. He can pull up and make mid-range shots. He can pass the ball. He can rebound. He plays with great composure. He seems to want the ball in tough situations.

This league is a bear. I have great respect for Pittsburgh. For us to go anyplace, we have to beat Pittsburgh. For Pittsburgh to go anyplace, they have to go by us.

We worked on the 1-3-1 for three straight days this week and it paid off. It means a little something extra to go home with a win against such a great team. The enthusiasm of each shot is big when playing in such a hostile environment as we were today.

It was really fitting that Denham had such a great game. He was a horse out there, as far as handling the ball, especially when Marcus played such a poor first half. We sat Marcus down, talked about the Dow Jones and some other things. He came back and got us going.

It was tough, Albany just played great basketball. My hat, my gloves, my shoes, I'm going to tip all of them to them, because they were absolutely terrific.

I don't find it unusual for Kentucky, with its incredible history and a great coach like Tubby (Smith), for it to turn into that type of game. I thought Kentucky played awfully good.

What this is for 64 teams is a great opportunity. It's a great opportunity for Connecticut. It's a great opportunity for us and it's a great opportunity for Albany. Both teams have something at stake. Both teams want to move on. There is no feeling like it. I've been a 16, a 15, a 1, and I've been all places in between. Each one is exciting.

I think this is really a great opportunity for Ed. He clearly has the talent to play basketball at the professional level, but if anyone can make this transition, it is him. He knows he has our support and we will do anything we can to help him make this move successfully.

He learned at the feet of the master, ... To have someone full-time for basketball issues is a great, great situation.

He's going to be something very, very special. Right now, he is a terrific college basketball player, not the great, great dominating college basketball player that he would be if he stayed in college. I don't think the circumstances are going to allow it to come, unfortunately. I just think that's the way it is.