Gary Williams Time Quotations

We made some mistakes, but we were tough enough to hang in there. We got a big win to bring us back to 6-6 in the ACC. Winning is what you have to do this time of year. It doesn't matter how you do it or how it looks, but you have to win.

I thought he needed another year because he was limited offensively. Just another year of basketball at the college level wouldn't have hurt him. (But) once we found out he was going to be a lottery pick, then for a player, you almost have to go. There really wasn't much of a decision there. For Chris, maybe that was his best time to go.

Our focus and our only focus is on Boston College. We have to do battle one game at a time before we can do any celebrating.

You can blow smoke this time of year, ... Come March, you are what you are.

You don't expect a game like that going into it, and our guys did a good job of being ready to play but also being ready to play at the start of the second half. It was good to see, especially at this time of year.

Winning is what you have to do this time of year. Nobody says how you have to do it or how it looks, so that's what I was about today. I was going to try to win that game somehow, and the players felt the same way.

We're battling, and that's all you can do. This time of year, you can't make any trades, you can't pick up anybody. You have your team. This is what you do. You go play.

The season is so long, and you spend so much time with them, that the most important relationship you have is with your assistant coaches.

You go through periods where you start to rush and all the sudden it shows up. You have to work on it, get that under control and wait for the next thing to pop up. You think you can score taking shortcuts. You don't just take your time and run your offense and be patient. Patience usually leads to really good shots.

Our defensive intensity was really good to start the game. I had to sell the idea that if you play really good defense most of the time and you're struggling a bit offensively, the defense will break some things loose.

There's more good teams out there now, so you have to do everything right to make sure you're one of those good teams. If you slip a little bit, you're not going to be one of those good teams. We have to do a better job of making sure we do everything right so when it comes time to play you earn the right to be a good team.

This is a big time of year. You've got to win.

This is the first time in 28 years as a head coach I've lost a player halfway through the season. It's something that I personally take responsibility for. I feel bad about it. My job now is to make sure that Chris does a good job in school this semester and is successful with whatever he wants to do after school is out.

This is the first time in 28 years I've been in this situation. It's something I take personal responsibility for. He'll be missed because he's a four-year senior who has played on some really good teams.

I'm looking forward to it. This time of the year, if you're a player or a coach, you like these next two months.

I really respect the way they play. They share the ball, and when your best two guys do it, it becomes contagious. If you're a good passing team, you have an advantage on a lot of teams. B.C. gets you every time you make a mistake on defense.

It's a great time of the year for all of the teams. To see how we finish, how many games we can win in the last couple of weeks, it really tests your team.

It's kind of a thank-you type of thing for our fans. It's all about practice tomorrow. Tonight, it's just a good time for everybody.