"Some of you guys are too pumped up," Ferry said.

"This team plays as a group," said Ferry, who was named the conference's coach of the year for the third straight season.

"A lot of the guys are saying this is the first chapter," Ferry said.

Ferry said that he was simply happy to be playing.

Ferry said later that he had been hit in the throat by Jordan.

"I told him he was moving too soon," Ferry had said.

"I just seemed to get hot against them," Ferry said recently.

"The guys on the team got mad at me," Ferry said.

"It's something we really identify with as a team," Ferry said.

"I will not take that tone from you," Ferry said.