Name That Player Quote

Last Friday the Trail Blazers participated in their last media availability before heading off into the off-season sunset. At this point, the media are pretty much out of questions and the players are equally out of answers, so it's more about saying goodbyes than anything else. It's the media equivalent of the last day of school: you're required to go, but no one is really getting any work done.

After a season of asking questions and, more often than not, receiving answers, I've become quite good at recognizing who a quote came from without needing a name attached. Certain guys answer questions in certain ways, often using reoccurring themes, sentence structures and phrases to respond to what must sometimes feel like a never ending series of queries.

As readers of this blog, you're almost certainly familiar with some of these tactics as well, but to what extent? Well, let's find out. Below are quotes from last Friday's media availability at the Blazers practice facility. See if you can figure out which player said what, putting your informed guesses in the comments. I'll only pull one quote per player, but not all the players will be quoted (in short, no duplicates). Some will be easy for reasons I won't divulge, but some won't. I'll post the answers on Monday, and if you get every quote right I'll send you something Blazer-themed, assuming the thrill of knowing you possess a vast intellect isn't reward enough.

Here goes ...

Quote No. 1

Regarding what will be used as motivation to get better throughout the summer:

"Just the bad feeling we had when we lost. I think the playoffs were fun. I think you put yourself in a great position and I think it being over so fast that it’s tough to deal with. So I think that will be something that will motivate me all summer."

Quote No. 2

Regarding what this player learned this season:

"I learned a lot, everything from how to run a team and how to become a better overall player. It’s definitely been a healthy year and next year I’m going to use that and come back a different player."

Quote No. 3

Regarding expectations for next season:

"We can’t be satisfied. We had a good year, but we’ve still got a bitter taste in our mouth. I guarantee all guys are going to use it as motivation to work hard this summer and to get better and to come in next year to have a phenomenal year. We want a year like we did this year because we had fun with it. We enjoyed it. To do that you’ve got to work. Like Coach McMillan said in our team meeting today, every night we play hard and play our tails off. You’ve got to give us credit for that. "

Quote No. 4

Regarding what this player learned this season:

"I think I learned the NBA league, you know? The NBA play, in Europe is absolutely different than NBA. But I learn a lot and I think the team, the coach, every coach, he helped me a lot."

Quote No. 5

Regarding what this players will appreciate about the season:

"My teammates. I feel like I had the best teammates. Everybody was close knit. That’s basically it. It’s a great team, great chemistry. Nobody was jealous of each other. Everybody wanted each other to do well."

Quote No. 6

On what this player needs to improve on in the off-season:

"A lot of things. Everything. I’m not going to specify, but I’ve got a lot of things to work on. "

Quote No. 7

On this players long term prospects with the Trail Blazers:

"I want to be a part of this. I love this team. I love my teammates. I love the coaches. Love living here. This is the ideal spot for me. I’m not trying to go anywhere. As long as they want me here, I’ll pretty much be here."

Quote No. 8

On what the difficulties of the Houston series:

"I think the key of the series was they hit first. When they hit first, when we tried to recover, it was too late. "

Quote No. 9

On what this player learned about the NBA this season:

"The game is tougher. Very physical. It’s tougher. I think I got a lot of experience. Now I just want to win more. More wins."