March 11, 2006

Championship: (1) Memphis 57, (2) UAB 46

Memphis Head Coach John Calipari

"We held them to 26 percent, and I know they missed some open shots, but that was a heck of a defensive effort by us. They battled us. It was a bump and grind game, and they did a heck of a job. I'm going to say this again, and I said it yesterday, Rodney (Carney) made plays--the tip, the defense, the rebounding--to help us win. He is playing for his teammates. Isn't that amazing? He's playing for us. I can't begin to tell you how it feels like as a coach. It's almost like you've gotten through to this team on how we have to play."

"Our stars our being stars. I'll tell you what; we just moved a fourth star up. Joey Dorsey; my goodness. Shawne (Williams) for being a freshman. The sad thing for these guys is I don't treat them like freshmen. I'm coaching him like I've coached him for three years. I am on him if he doesn't go get balls. He's supposed to get every rebound. He got eight, and I'm on him because of the seven he didn't get. I'm just proud of them. It was a great effort; a great environment."

"He (Joey Dorsey) knew he was going to be ready to play. You know in the warm-up line if Joey is ready to play, especially in that second half when he comes out. He either lays on the floor and gets two fouls in the first 30 seconds, or he gets in the warm-up line and really gets in and bumps and grinds, gets some heat on his legs and gets in there and plays. Joey's come so far. My wife smacks me and says, `Will you stop. Look at him a year ago and see how far he's come. Joey's great.' We all see Shaquille O'Neal because we've seen signs of it and we expect that every play. The kids a sophomore, he's just learning."

"I thought Darius did a better job at running the team today. He didn't make every shot, but he took steps. I got to be a little more patient with him. Right now there's a lot of players in the country struggling. Darius is struggling a little bit right now, but the guy has got a heart of a lion. If it's the last shot of the game, I want him to take it. If it's the last free throw of the game and we need it to win the game, I want Darius Washington shooting the ball and so does our team."

Memphis Player Rodney Carney

"This team doesn't play like they're young. Shawne (Williams) and the other freshmen play like they're upperclassmen. Throughout the season they have proved that. We came together as a team. This has been the best senior year anybody could have. All thanks to my teammates; all praise to them. If I'm not playing good, Shawne steps up and covers me or Antonio (Anderson) steps up. Other people stepped up and that's how we are. That's how we'll continue to be as a team."

Memphis Player Shawne Williams

"I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I thought Joey (Dorsey) deserved the MVP. I know for two games in a row for five minutes--don't get mad at me coach--but I just sat and watched Joey rebound. He was just a rebounding bully. I just sat on the side watching him, and he came up with every ball for the last five minutes."

UAB Quotes

Head Coach Mike Anderson

"I want to congratulate Memphis on winning the C-USA Tournament and also on winning the regular season Conference championship as well. The two teams expended a lot of energy in the previous games, especially us, and it was a quick turn around and that was the result of the game. We did not just hand it Memphis though. Memphis played a tremendous game and I thought Joey Dorsey was a huge difference. His improvement from year to year is could be the difference in their team and of course Shawne Williams had an outstanding game. "

"Our guys haven nothing to hold our heads about. No one thought they would be here but these guys, with all the adversity, have been panned together. Everyone thought they were just going to hand the trophy to Memphis but that did not happen. I think we could be a dangerous team and I still like our basketball team.

"I thought coming out, we missed a lot of chippy lay-ups. Our guys were trying and you play three games in three days, but when you get to the championship it takes on a different mindset.

"You have to shoot the basketball and we did not shoot the ball well. I think Memphis wanted the game a little more. This was the rubber match. The energy we expended against UTEP last night had a big difference in the game

On whether or not Memphis should be a No. 1 seed.
"I think Memphis is a very good basketball team and they are deserving. If you look at their record they went through the conference with great success and played a tough non-conference schedule, so there is no question about it, they are deserving."

UAB Player Squeaky Johnson

On preparing for the NCAA Tournament
"Well, what better way to prepare for the tournament than playing a team like Memphis. Playing a team of their caliber will do nothing but help us later on down the stretch."