Those guys are awfully quick, but we're just pleased to be competitive and to be up front again. The key to this kind of racing is being able to adjust. It is a long race.

You either need to score or get out of bounds quick, and some guys up front sprung him and did a nice job.

This is a competitive group. What really matters is how we feel about ourselves inside. We think we're an awfully good basketball team that can compete on any given night against any given team.

pleased to see many of the pro-competitive features of the draft.

To the extent of being competitive with them, I'm pleased. I think we should have a very good game in Springfield and who knows, maybe down the road.

I'm very pleased with my season this year. I think this season is even better than 2004,