Ramon Rodriguez Quotes

The prize money for first place was $2,800, but I didn't take it because I was still an amateur.

It's so much harder to make the NBA than people think it is.

In the '80 Olympics... people expected me to win. I was good enough to win, and I made a mistake and ended up second, which is pretty good, too.

Usually, it's the guys who want to get better so they can get more playing time who are always in the gym.

When you're in the slam dunk contest, you try to do the things the average person would have trouble doing on a Nerf basket.

I think everyone in the heptathlon is improving together, so it is a very hard event to compete in.

Until you're a rookie, you don't know what NBA game shape is.

As long as we keep winning, that's all it's about. But it's evident I do need the ball.

Tournament football is unlike anything else. The campaign can be great, but a finals is a different challenge.

If I lose early in the tournament, I can work out and try to improve. When the tournament is done, I'm just trying to get well and work on the recovery for the next day.

My job is to just focus on basketball and you know, I don't really get a chance to really pick and choose who I play with.

It's a league where guys are trying to play to the best of their ability, whether you're a superstar or trying to make the NBA.

If I can force my winger backwards, it just comes down to who's fitter, and I like to think I'm pretty fit.

Some of the stuff I do on the court is what most people think they can do.

I ask everybody, who's the best between Magic and LeBron? Everyone says Michael's greatest. But, OK, well, we'll give him his props. But LeBron is a better athlete, and he can do more than Michael on the basketball court.

Adam [Sandler] is a good basketball player, so he is a natural athlete, he worked with Sean Salisbury to make his footwork and delivery smooth, and he did a great job.

The kids competed for a full 32 minutes. We want the kids to compete on every possession.

The Grand Prix Final is an opportunity for me to go out and experience new jumping passes in competition. I put in a triple loop-half loop-triple Salchow in the second of the program. It's a very difficult jumping pass so this is a chance for me to try out the new elements and the adjusted jumping layout to get prepared for nationals.

It's hard to get up for a good high-school team like the Chicago Bulls.

Shooting is a lost art, but nobody wants to see nobody shoot all day. You want to see somebody break somebody off the dribble. That's today game, and that's what I try to do.

When I got to the first tee on the first day, to hear the cheers, it was like all the oxygen got sucked out. It was hard to pull the club back.

We overload in our workouts so that the game slows down in real life. It helps you become a smarter basketball player.

The only time I'd played organized basketball was my sophomore year in high school, when I barely made the junior varsity team.

Athletes try to get other athletes out and they should have no false starts.

People ask me if I'd permit fancy things, like dunks. Well, if they did dunk, it was with no fancy flair. No behind-the-back dribbles or passes unless necessary. If it was for show, you were on the bench.