Missing that time and not practicing since right around Christmas, he's very, very rusty. The ability to play him those 16 minutes is going to help us in those next four games. Getting back into the flow of the defense and rebounding will be Monty's most difficult task.

He definitely has proved why all the accolades have been thrown his way. He took over that game single-handedly. Unfortunately, we didn't have an answer. You can't do anything in terms of trapping or double-teaming him. Three-quarters of his points were off missed shots where he just wanted it more. For a coach that appreciates effort on the glass as much as I do, that was as an impressive performance as I've seen.

I was with an NBA scout before the game, a buddy of mine. He said this is the second-most athletic team in the country, right behind [third-ranked] Memphis. I have seen some very good teams. They are as good as anybody around. They have a good chemistry. You have to have senior leadership. You have to have seniors to win. ... They have all the ingredients.

That's a heck of a team we played tonight. Unselfish, 21 assists in 29 baskets. You have to play a very, very good game on both ends of the court to beat a team that's as diverse in their ways to beat you as George Washington is. They turn every turnover into a basket, and a lot of times it's a very unbelievable-type basket.

I'd take 10 of him. He's a warrior. He's just a guy who's going to win you a lot of games. You look at the teams who go to the Elite Eight or the Final Four or the ones who win conference championships, and those teams have two or three guys like him.

He's feeling better. He's had a week off and he's been in a (walking) boot for a week. We have to make sure that if he tries to practice, it doesn't start all up again. We want to make sure he's healthy, which obviously puts us in a difficult situation. But we have to do what's best for the kid.