March 4, 2007

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Head Coach Stan Joplin

(on winning the MAC regular-season title)

"We're very happy to win the MAC regular-season title and that was our second goal this season. At the beginning of the year, the dedicated our season to Haris and the team really hung in there and did a really nice job. It all starts with your seniors and it starts for us with Justin Ingram. The quality person that he is and how hard he works and never complains makes coaching easy for me. Justin brought Keonta along because when I remember when Keonta hated me as a freshman because I demanded so many things from him. But Justin brought Keonta along beautifully and that's one reason why we had the season we had. Our seniors did a great job of buying ownership into the team. I gave them a lot of flexibility than I have with any other team because they do what's best for the team."

(on coming out and playing with energy)

"We knew we had to give the crowd energy and we couldn't get our energy from the crowd. We had to play fast, quick and athletic. We couldn't let Central come down and run their offense and get open shots it was going to be a long afternoon. We just wanted to play Toledo Basketball and let our defense dictate what we do."

(on cutting down the nets and winning the MAC regular-season title)

"It's really tough to win a championship and we finally were able to get it right after being so close before. I just feel really happy for the players and the fans because it's been a long time coming. I talk to the players about leaving a legacy and that's what they've done. We have two of our goals and now we have the MAC Tournament coming. I'm just really happy. This senior class has put Toledo Basketball about where it should be."

Justin Ingram

(on wearing CMU down with pressure defense)

"Coach always wants us to put a lot of pressure on the ball, because it's going to wear them down. We like to keep up with a lot of intensity. We knew they would start turning the ball over and we would get momentum from our defense to get our offense going."

"We had a lot of potential when we came here together. We both decided to come to Toledo together because we knew we could have a special thing. I played against Tino in eighth grade so I knew he could play. Then when we all got here together in open gym, and I knew we could do something special together before we left."

(on the Senior Day ceremonies)

"When they shut the lights off the crowd went wild. They seemed to be more pumped up than we were. The fans did a great job of cheering for us."

Keonta Howell

"When we didn't win the championship in the tournament last year, it was a letdown for us. From then to now it has just been so much work. A lot of hard work has been put in and to come out on top right now is just great. It feels really good right now."

"I think that it was a learning experience. Me, Justin and Tino, were just soaking up the whole experience of being in college basketball. It took me longer than them to get a feel of how much work it was going to take to become a great player and a great team. We kind of finally got a grasp of what it takes to be a championship team."

(on thinking about Haris after the game)

"I think Haris is one of the things that kept us going this season. You could always use that for motivation. He was one of our former teammates and he was always working hard for this team."

Florentino Valencia

"It's really hard to win a league title because the Mid-American Conference is really hard. Anybody on any given night can come out and win. So you always have to play your `A' game."

"This season is dedicated to Haris. Everything we do this season is for him."