I knew once I pushed it up the court and saw [Friars' point guard Donnie] McGrath only looking at me that Ellis would be looking for a lob. He's the ultimate dunker -- he always gives you the heads-up -- so I just put it up by the rim and knew he would go get it.

I wasn't a point guard. I was a killer.

They're very capable. They're kind of unconscious at times. They're scary because we knew we couldn't guard them man-to-man. We've got OK quickness, but they've got great quickness with the speed they can put on the floor.

He's a legitimate (NCAA) Division I point guard. Even from what I saw in the junior colleges, there's no better point guard out there that we could have got.

I was very cognizant of the fact, don't touch him. I saw him hold it out there. He was looking at the ref. A lot of times they'll hold the ball close to their chest and he didn't do that today.

We had had the 20-3 season, and saw we can compete at a higher level. At that point, we knew we needed to get some tougher teams on schedule. You have to walk before you run, and we don't want to keep fighting an uphill battle. You have to be ready before you put the big dogs on the schedule.