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Joel Branstrom - "Hi. I just really want to thank you guys for cheering us on and staying here until the end of the game when we get in. You guys are awesome." Steve Ransom - "(My parents) always taught me to do my best and reach for my dreams, and that's why I'm standing here right now. I want to thank the coaching staff for selecting me during the walk-on tryouts, and coach Williams for giving me an opportunity to be a part of this team. Even though I may be a walk-on and don't have the talent of some of these other guys, the coaches have never treated me any different, and I'm appreciative of that. If the Blue team (starters and primary subs) is the number one team in the nation, then the Red team (all others) is the number two team in the nation." BJ Williams - I haven't been the greatest guy with the best attitude over the last four years, and you guys (parents and wife) have really helped me make it through the hard times. I'd like to thank the coaching staff, especially coach Williams. Words can't describe how much you've meant to me over the last four years. I'm a better person because of you." Jerod Haase - It's been an incredible ride. I'd like to tell you what an incredible journey it's been during my four years at Kansas, but I can't put it into words, so I'm not going to try. I think all of you realize what an incredible program this is. "I want to thank my teammates. They are like brothers to me. If any one of them asks me for anything, I would do it without hesitation, and that offer doesn't stop in a couple of days or a couple of months. That's a lifetime bond. And that includes Lester and Travis (Williams). "Coach Williams has put together a staff that is probably more knowledgeable than any coaching staff in the nation. But that's not why they've meant so much to me. Even if they didn't know what a pick-and-roll was, I'm still a much, much better person from knowing them. Coach Willaims, my feelings for you are incredible. You have been like a father to me. My father isn't here, and nobody can replace him, but I'm glad you're here. "Finally I'd like to thank a lot of people who are knowledgeable, rather loud at times, very loyal, and you people here help make Kansas basketball what it is today. There's been good crowds all over the country, but they don't measure up to you. You are the best." Scot Pollard - (Egging on cheers) "Come on! It's my last time! "First of all I want to thank my family. They're not the prettiest group of people on the planet, but they're my favorite people on the planet, and there's nobody that even comes close. My fiance, my bride-to-be, I love you, Baby. "I'm pretty sure... I want to end on a happy note because it's not over now. We cut down these nets, but we're gonna cut down some more in March." (He cartwheeled off the floor.) Jacque Vaughn - Everybody knows I'm the complete opposite of my roommate (Pollard), so I won't be doing any cartwheels. "I want to thank my brother, who is here today. Thank you for letting me follow you to the playground and try to be like you on the court. All those no-look passes and diving on the floor stuff, he's the blame for it. I want to thank my teammates for putting up with me. There's been a lot of days I wasn't in the best of moods, but you guys did something to put a smile on my face, and I hope I've done the same for you guys. I also want to thank--this might be surprising--the members of the media for making me a better person. I hope I've treated you with the same respect you've treated me. I want to thank those four guys there with the suits on, including our trainer, Mark Cairns. When a lot of people didn't think I'd be able to continue to play, or maybe thought my career was over.... This old wrist is doing pretty good, and those four people right there believed in me the whole way through. "Everybody knows the decision-making process I went through last year (whether to go pro), and I have no regrets. No millions of dollars, no NBA team... I wouldlnt' trade the feelings I get from you guys when I run out of that tunnel. "And lastly, I want coach Williams to come up here with me. (Williams reluctantly comes forward. Someone throws a pack of tissues onto the floor in front of them. Williams picks it up and opens it. Williams confides to Jacque, "I think this is from Wanda. She brought some here today.") This man here is not just a coach, he's an excellent person. (Voice cracking.) He's made me a better player and a better person. And I hope the roads that we've crossed together don't end here...." (He couldn't finish, and he and Willaims embrace.) Roy Williams - "This is supposed to be Senior Day, not Coach's Day. (Voice quavering.) I've said this before, and nobody can say it with the conviction that I do, I'm the most blessed head coach in America because of the staff that I have, and a bunch of kids that nobody can come close to saying with as much meaning as I do when I say I've got the best kids in America. The thing that makes them special is the job that some of those folks did right over there (the parents). Ms. Vaughn, Ms. Pollard, Ms. Williams, Ms. Haase... you guys were sensational. I get a lot of the credit for what you've done. And for what you've allowed me to do with your youngsters, I can never say thank you enough. "Today in the locker room before the game, I was the worst coach that's ever been in that locker room because I could not look at Jerod, and I could not look at Jacque, and I couldn't talk. Four great years of my life in this building with these kids can never be replaced. This is the best place there is to play college basketball. And there's one way to believe that. If you look up in every corner, there's still 16,300 people here. Just understnd, I'm not intelligent enough to tell what you guys (crowd) mean to me. This is not only the best place to play college basketball, it's the best place there is to coach because of you. Thank you."