It’s all about persevering. You know you’re going to be tested. If you keep your eyes fixed on Christ, He’s going to reward you. – Steve Alford
When I was a freshman and sophomore, I got booed every time I was put in the game. Then, in my junior and senior years, my dad got booed every time he took me out. – Steve Alford
I feel blessed that I had an opportunity to be in the Big Ten for four years as a player and be in the Big Ten as a coach for eight years. To get 12 years in a conference like the Big Ten – it’s a first-class league with great towns and great fans. – Steve Alford
The majority of the Big Ten towns are college towns. The colleges are kind of what run the towns. – Steve Alford
I’m a Christian first. I’m a family guy second. As much as I like coaching, as much as I like basketball, it’s third, fourth, or fifth down the line. – Steve Alford
Christian, non-Christian, we’re going to miss the mark. We’re going to make mistakes. How you handle those mistakes and get more fundamentally sound spiritually in dealing with those mistakes I think have a direct impact – not only on your spiritual life, but those around you. – Steve Alford
There are certain people in our business that you don’t replace – Bob Knight, Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzyewski, and you don’t replace John Wooden, either. – Steve Alford
Everything that UCLA stands for, it’s top of the food chain. So you either look at those things as burdens or you look at them as blessings. From day one, I’ve told my staff we’re going to look at it as a blessing and do everything we can to build champions. – Steve Alford
I got to work for some great administrators at great institutions, and I had an opportunity to coach great players. Iowa is no different. – Steve Alford
I never in my wildest dreams thought I would get even one play at Indiana, let alone 25 years later, walk Bruin Walk, walk UCLA where Coach Wooden built his legacy. – Steve Alford
Every person has a different view of another person’s image. That’s all perception. The character of a man, the integrity, that’s who you are. – Steve Alford
I just go back to my roots. I was literally born 26 miles from Martinsville High School where Coach Wooden grew up, and then my dad coached there for four years. – Steve Alford
I grew up in Indiana. My first four years of elementary were in the gym where Coach Wooden went to high school. – Steve Alford
The Olympics is nothing I ever dreamed about. I dreamed about playing for Coach Knight and Indiana. – Steve Alford
That first group of Manchester players allowed me to enjoy coaching at a very young age that motivated me to do it. If it wasn’t good, I might have made a career change. – Steve Alford
I never dreamed I would coach at UCLA. It was not one of those things in my coaching career I thought would happen. It’s a tremendous blessing, and I’m going to make the most of it. – Steve Alford
It’s been an unbelievable thing for me to walk Bruin Walk and walk past Coach Wooden’s statue, a guy that when I was in elementary school, it’s Coach Wooden winning his final championship, his 10th in 12 years. – Steve Alford
I’ve said all along it’s a humbling experience being at UCLA. Extremely proud, extremely blessed to be at an institution with all this tradition. – Steve Alford
A freshman has only about 25% of his degree completed. They go off to play professional basketball, and to assume they will come back and get the degree done five, six, seven years later, I don’t see that happening. – Steve Alford
