Every Sunday, The Emerald sports staff will collect their favorite quotes from the previous seven days. Athletes, coaches, media or anybody with a quote pertaining to Oregon sports can be included. Below are The Emerald’s favorites from the week of March 2-March 8.
Baseball
“His stuff is so good that if he gets control, he’s going to be unhittable down the road.”
– Second baseman Aaron Payne said of Oregon starting pitcher Matt Krook following Oregon’s 5-0 loss to Ohio State.
“’Pressure’s what you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing. We know what we’re doing, so there’s no pressure.’ I know how to pitch, I know how to throw strikes, so I’m really not worried about it.”
– Pitcher Jeff Gold said on Wednesday prior to facing Ohio State (He quoted former Oregon football head coach Chip Kelly in the first two sentences.)
“I’ve never seen a lefty submarine guy in my life before, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. He started me a first-pitch slider and I just swung through it. I saw him really well and then he came with the fastball and I was just able to stay short and poke it through the middle.”
– Right fielder Tyler Baumgartner said about facing Seattle’s Will Dennis, a left-handed submarine pitcher.
“I think it’s contagious and it’s confidence and it’s going to be dependent on who’s up there. Our guys are really, really good young men and they have the will to win … Any time you don’t let the game come to you and you force it, I think it’s more difficult to play a very difficult game to begin with.”
– Head coach George Horton said about his batters in their 4-3 win over Seattle.
Men’s basketball
“I just shot it man. I don’t need much space.”
– Guard Jason Calliste said about his final shots in Oregon’s 64-57 win over No. 3 ranked Arizona.
“I just didn’t want to lose. If we lose, it was (going) to be on me because I’m going to shoot it regardless. So I just put the team on my back.”
– Guard Jason Calliste said about sparking a late game run against Arizona.
“We for sure know we can go down there (Las Vegas) and do it (make a run) again. We can make some noise, we’ve got all the weapons, we’ve got a lot of depth, we’ve got to win four games in four days, but it’s definitely possible for us to do.”
– Guard Johnathan Loyd said about the possibility of Oregon making another run in this year’s Pac-12 tournament.
“Well, most of the time, we were doing offensive stuff, so they all didn’t want to guard me. But who did I not want to guard? E.J. (Singler) was dirty. Never wanted to guard E.J. He was always slapping you, holding you, doing something. So probably E.J.”
– Guard Nick Lucenti said about the best players he faced during practice as a member of the scout team.
Women’s basketball
“It’s really hard for me especially because I have so much love for my coaches and my teammates, especially the seniors. So I’m really just trying to stay positive. I’m kind of just letting everything come to me right now. It’s really a lot. Honestly, it’s tough, but I’ve got to remain positive.”
– Forward Jillian Alleyne said following their season concluding 107-100 loss to Washington State in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.
“Everything in life takes time to evolve and develop. I’m very proud of what we’ve done. I tried to explain to them (the team), in sports, but certainly in life, it doesn’t always come out the way (you want it to). You say, well we really tried and did the right things. Some people get bigger houses than you and it doesn’t mean they’re better. I think our players and coaches were true to what they do. C’est la vie.”
– Head coach Paul Westhead said following his recently announced retirement.
Other
“They told me you are going to have to prick your finger and take shots for the rest of your life. As a kid that was really nerve wracking.”
– Oregon club cycling member Michael Shelver said about living with type 1 diabetes.
“It makes my heart really, really happy when a beginner takes their own initiative and says, ‘Hey, Adam. I want a lesson with you.’ That just makes me over-the-moon happy. Especially if they do it a couple times a week — that means that they want to become a better fencer and that’s what the club is about.”
– Oregon club fencing team coordinator Holly Bishop said about working with new members.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim