OMC: Coaches like to turn negatives into positives. Is there any advantage you can gain from not preparing for a post-season tournament. Does it help in terms of recruiting or off-season work?

TC: I think the recruiting is very important, there is no doubt about that. We've been out a lot. The visibility was really important this year, not just in the state with our fans, but certainly in the recruiting circles in-state. When you have a program like this that has been so tradition-filled for so long, you can do a lot of different things nationally with it, but you need to take care of home base.

I think it was really important that we be out in Indiana and with the state tournaments around the country, I think that's really important.

We won't get much time off. Once the season is over, we'll be back at it with the strength training and basketball development and move forward with that.

I'm sure I'll watch some NCAA tournament games and NIT games and maybe go to a game or two.

OMC: How did you react when you heard about Dominic James' season-ending injury?

TC: It was the night we played at home against Northwestern. We lost, and I was going to meet the media and I heard from two different people. What was already a tough night, emotionally, got worse. I felt very bad for him. I left him a message on his 414 (phone) number.

I love those guys. That's what was so hard about leaving. In nine years there, there were some incredible relationships with people that we still have. At the same time, the relationships with your players are really what you're going to bank on and you count on and you don't want to lose those.

I know there was a lot of hurt across the board when we did make a change. But, at the same time, nothing has ever changed the way I feel about them. Hopefully, it hasn't changed too much the way they feel about me, because we went through a lot together.

OMC: You recruited the four seniors that Marquette honored (last weekend). James, Jerel McNeal, Wes Matthews and Dwight Burke. A lot of times in recruiting, you hope to get one or two guys that live up to or exceed expectations. It seems like all four of them did that to some extent.

TC: They went above and beyond it. Dominic was pretty highly recruited. Wes was fairly highly recruited by Wisconsin and Stanford. Jerel was really undervalued. I think it was Purdue, Dayton and Illinois State. He's going above and beyond. Those guys all came in what a great attitude and a togetherness. and it's really brought forth. The great thing they had when they were young, they had guys like Steve Novak, Joe Chapman and Chris Grimm and guys like that who had been in the program and been through it. (Those four guys) came in and made them better..

The great thing about that senior class is that they continued to improve. They added things to their games all the time.

I've been around very few work ethics like Jerel McNeal. When the light bulb went on for him as to how important it was to spend time shooting the basketball ... we didn't even schedule individual instruction for him any more. He was in the gym so much. Those are the kinds of things that separate players. That's why those guys deserve every accolade and every bit of respect they can get.

They've made their mark. There is no doubt about it. I miss those guys a lot. Buzz (Williams) has done an excellent job coaching them.