Sean Sutton Quotations

I was standing pretty close, but it's not going to change anything. I told them regardless of how you feel right now, there's nothing that I could say or anybody could say that is going to change the outcome. Just know that you made a lot of people proud tonight with your effort.

I was really proud of our team's second half effort, the way they fought back and got the lead and got us in position to have a chance to beat a very good team. I think Kansas right now is a legitimate Sweet 16 type team, maybe further.

Obviously I'm very proud of our players. We needed that. Oklahoma State needed that. I kept telling them all week long that if they would work hard and listen, then good things would happen and they would be rewarded.

My focus all week has been on our players. They didn't come to Oklahoma State expecting this to happen. It's been hard on them. But I have a responsibility to them and to this school. I try to keep that in my mind as much as possible and keep a positive outlook.

I have great admiration for my father. We are proud of the courage he has exhibited this evening, and our family stands behind him and will support him through these tough days.

We told Jamaal Brown that we wanted a foul. He said he tried to, but the official didn't see it.

I think when it first happened, I thought it's an opportunity to grow as a person. This is not fair for (the players), but life is not fair sometimes. It's unfortunate, but I thought they handled it as well as they possibly could.

I think they're well aware of how many wins they need for that to occur. I think they're motivated by that. But they also want to play good basketball. I know (the 800 wins) are important to them and it's a goal to get them to that.

I thought the first 25 minutes is maybe as well as we played all season long. We went through a period then where we relaxed a little bit. The defensive end lost a little bit of our aggressiveness and then offensively we weren't aggressive in getting the ball inside and let the shot clock run down several times.

We needed that. Oklahoma State needed it. So did our players and our fans. We had three great days of practice, and I'm glad it carried over to the game.

We needed this. Our university needed this, our fans needed this, our team needed this.

We got off to a great start. That seems to be important with this team. When we get off to a good start, most of the time, we play pretty well.

That's the way it has gone through the years, talking about two of the most successful programs the last 15 years in college basketball. There's been some great games through the years. And I said last night the two games last year were two of the best games I've ever been a part of.

Tough day because of what's transpired. But I told our players to keep a positive mindset. ... It's unfortunate, but I thought they handled it as well as they possibly could.

Tough way to lose a basketball game. There have been a lot of close games this year. At the end of games, you've got to rise up and make plays.

We've completed what we consider a very challenging and demanding schedule. With the games we have set up during the non-conference portion of our schedule, we feel it gives our players an opportunity to gain valuable experience before facing the rugged Big 12 Conference.

We're pleased with the way they've played down the stretch under tough circumstances. I like the attitude of our guys. They are confident and feel like they've made improvement.

We appreciate what Roderick has done for our program and we wish him much success in his future endeavors.

When you play Iowa State, you can't turn it over a lot. We had 18 turnovers but we had 22 assists. I thought that was a big factor, that we passed the ball pretty well all night long and got pretty good open looks and pretty easy shots.

To win four games you have to be able to have depth. You have to be able to rotate guys in and out, and it's something that we'll try to monitor, but at the same time, you've got to try to win.

We had some concerns what was going on with some phone calls that had been going on during the summer. I know my dad had a conversation with Kelvin to address those concerns. We were told Kelvin was not aware of those things taking place, that he would address it and it would not be an issue in the future.

We wanted to extend the lead to 15 or 18. We had a real chance to control the game. (Boston College) battled back. They got the ball inside and chipped away. They eventually caught us. Dudley and Smith came up big for them.

That team in '96 would not have been motivated to continue playing. This team will respond. We hope to play well and carry some momentum into next season.

This is a disappointing setback. We still have confidence in our players, but we can't do the things that got us in trouble tonight. We didn't dig in and defend and we didn't rebound.

In basketball, you still have hope. You still have a chance. We've won the last two Big 12 tournaments. The odds certainly would be against us but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

I'm very proud of our players under the circumstances they were faced with today. They kept a positive mind-set throughout the day and I thought they played with a lot of energy.

They did a good job mixing up the zone defense, and there was a lot of confusion on our part early on.

He said that looks like an Oklahoma State basketball team. That was probably the best compliment he could have given me.

I never thought offense would be a problem with this team.

In my opinion, they are the best defensive team that we have played all year long.

It might take some time, but this will evolve into a much better tournament than it's been in recent years. It doesn't change anybody's goal. Everybody's goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament. But you still want to be playing this time of year. It's sure better than the alternative.

It's a tough way to lose a basketball game. When you have a three point lead, and there's under two seconds to go, you foul.

It's a tough day because of the emotions of what's transpired.

I told him this week, 'You've got to be productive, a big part of this, if we're going to have a chance to win. I thought he responded.

It means a great deal for him that people have shown support for him in this tough situation. He feels a lot better, moves around better and looks better. Whether he coaches again, I don't know. He'll have to decide that.

There will be a lot of great programs in this tournament that have had success in the NCAA Tournament. This is still an opportunity to achieve something. I told our players there's still a possibility they can win a championship.

I believe in games like this, officials ought to come in and answer questions. Let them explain what they saw.

He played like a big-time player. I thought he played with a lot of toughness and spirit and kind of carried them when we had a chance to break the game.

The last two years, it's been a struggle. Hopefully he'll have some time here to heal up, get some rest and get better.