I’m always impressed by how well media-trained most college athletes are. Behind every Jerome Tang or Mick Cronin is a roster of young men who usually tell you exactly what you think you should hear: “It was a tough loss but we gave effort. We’ll get them next time.” Not so in March. With tempers flaring, seniors graduating, upsets, breakdowns and miracles in play, the NCAA Tournament offers the rawest look at the people behind college basketball.
In the midst of the Madness, let’s review the greatest quotes from the Round of 64. Special thanks to every reporter with a press pass, a camcorder and a question their editor told them not to ask.
It’s not often you see a team despondent after a win. In locker room interviews, the Blue Devils appeared inconsolable after nearly blundering their season to No. 16 seed Siena. In a candid moment, freshman guard Cameron Boozer admitted he underestimated the Saints:
“We came out here with the mentality that it was going to be handed to us. Obviously that’s not what happened — we got punched in the mouth.”
This one’s a twofer, because senior forward Maliq Brown, paraphrasing coach Jon Scheyer, said almost the exact same thing at halftime. When Brown spoke to CBS’s Tracy Wolfson, Duke still trailed Siena 43-32. Talk about a welcome to March.
“We thought it was just going to be a cakewalk going into this game, so now we know what it is, so we just have to respond back.”
Clearly, the NCAA needs to downgrade its nametag design. Just about every press conference this week ended with an athlete reaching towards their tag, hoping for a keepsake, before an offstage rep hollered “Nope!” It seems that budget cuts at NCAA HQ have landed us a one placard per player policy: Lose and it’s yours, win and it stays. Apologies in advance to the eventual champions.
Here are Cruz Davis, Preston Edmead and German Plotnikov of Hofstra going for their nametags. Sorry, fellas!
Even better, here’s Houston coach Kelvin Sampson mocking Kingston Flemings for trying.
“Freshman. Such a freshman move. Jesus.”
On a sweeter note, here is Howard senior Bryce Harris waxing poetic about head coach Kenny Blakeney. The Bison beat UMBC in the First Four for their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory but fell to No. 1 seed Michigan in a three-point shootout. A first-half firestorm, which included eight consecutive drained threes from the Bison, kept the game competitive.
Harris and teammate Ose Okojie — both senior lifers with the Bison — spoke about Blakeney for nearly 10 minutes.
“I’ve never met somebody that’s looked like me that’s grabbed life by the horns, grabbed the bull by the horns, and said nah. I deserve this.”
In no particular order, here are a handful of this week’s great one-liners. These quotes, and the types of men who deliver them, are the engines behind sports social media. Next time you read an NBACentral tweet or a Barstool Sports article, thank a Speedy Claxton.
Here’s Speedy on Bama’s high-octane offense. You can always tell an NBA vet by his love of comparisons.
“I told our guys: think of William & Mary on steroids.”
Did anyone else’s mind jump to a roid-raged Thomas Jefferson? Or a hulking, 280-pound Glenn Close? The comp wasn’t enough and Alabama pulled away for the win. Their attack was led by sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr., who dropped 29 points and a game-high seven assists. His teammate, senior guard Houston Mallette, interrupted his sideline interview for a comparison of his own.
“Y’all can’t lie. This dude play like Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander).”
Shai’s teammate, two-way Thunder forward Payton Sandfort, was at the tournament last night, watching little brother Pryce drop seven treys over Troy. Before that game, Trojans coach Scott Cross compared Sandfort to Stephen Curry.
“I believe he got his shot off in like 0.3 seconds (…) That’s like Steph Curry type shooting.”
Ahead of the game, Cross told Hoops HQ senior correspondent Andy Katz that Troy “can’t let Pryce Sandfort get going.” They sure made a valiant effort on the way to a 76-47 mauling. Here’s Huskers guard Jamarques Lawrence on Nebraska’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win. Lawrence was apparently in the depths of a social media cleanse before the Huskers felled Troy.
“I’m not gonna lie, I redownloaded Twitter.”
Arkansas coach John Calipari had a great line in his assessment of High Point. The Panthers upset No. 5 seed Wisconsin, then talked tough in every postgame presser. Don’t worry, those quotes are coming.
“They’re good. Wisconsin found out.”
One of the best qualities of a Cinderella run is the euphoria that follows every win. When Michigan beat Howard, they shook hands, steeled up and got to work. When Duke kicked Siena, Scheyer shuddered as he admitted he was “out-coached.” But when High Point quashed Wisconsin, coach Flynn Clayman delivered one of the great monologues of our time. Seriously, this is like a scene out of Hoosiers.
“Looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors early in the season because they said we didn’t play nobody. We played somebody now.”
How about a wellness check with this weekend’s lovable losers? This is a quote roundup, but coach Hubert Davis couldn’t string together a sentence after VCU mounted the sixth-largest comeback in NCAA Tournament history to beat his UNC Tar Heels. Here are the highlights.
It’s been another rough March for first-year Villanova coach Kevin Willard. After a messy exit from Maryland at the close of the 2024-25 season, Willard told Hoops HQ, “I like the (Terps) fanbase. I know they hate me.” This timeout interview during the first half of Nova’s game against Utah State won’t do much to rehabilitate his public image.
“I’m gonna fire my staff. Yeah, I am. Because we’ve given up 8 points on underneath out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m going to do is fire them and get a new staff.”
And that was before the loss. In Buffalo, Georgia was disconsolate. The No. 8 seed Bulldogs were projected as an even match for No. 9 Saint Louis, but shot just 35 percent from the field and lost by 25. It was a muted end to the winningest season in program history. Sophomore guard Jeremiah Wilkinson came off the bench for 30 points on 9-of-21 shooting.
“Coach can say we could’ve been prepared different, that’s not the truth (…) We didn’t act like we wanted to be here. You’re not gonna win a game in the NCAA Tournament when the other team wants to be here and you don’t want to be here. We had a great season but at the end of the day, when it mattered we didn’t come through.”
Here’s Troy coach Cross’ third entry on this list. I like Nebrasketball as much as the next guy but man, it would have been a joy to keep this guy around for another weekend or two.
“I would like to thank the good Lord for the opportunity to just have your guts absolutely ripped out. It stinks.”
While Cross and Willard were sulking, St. John’s coach Rick Pitino was catching a tan in sunny San Diego. In his pregame presser, Pitino laughed as he set the record straight about his alleged underseeding.
“You guys are so off-base with that comment of we’re gonna play harder because we were sent out to San Diego, at 85 and sunny, and we’re not a 4 seed, instead of a 5 seed. And Zuby (Ejiofor), who gets more love than any player I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime with 10 million people kissing his ass.”
Texas managed to upset BYU, but Longhorns coach Sean Miller sounded terrified of AJ Dybantsa. His gameplan? Throw a defender at him and pray. Here’s what Miller had to say about slowing down Dybantsa.
“I don’t think we can (…) We’re trying hard, we’re not giving in, but there’s not much you can do with that right there.”
Finally, here’s Zags forward Graham Ike flipping the script on reporters after worming past No. 14 Kennesaw State. Ike joined The Hoops HQ Show last week and did a phenomenal job on-air. Let’s hope Gonzaga keeps winning or he could come for my job next.
“What makes you ask the certain questions you ask? Graham Ike. Gonzaga.”
Meet your guide
