Unforgettable character doesn't pay proper tribute. He's the most fascinating, complex, unique, street-sage genius, I've ever met. And he touched us all. Each of us now becoming an extension of this magical man. Each with a story of how Coach made us feel important, made us feel good.

So what better way to celebrate his life than to be reminded of his wisdom?

Let him speak for himself...

"My personal style is not negotiable. That's how I fly. If you don't like my onion sandwiches, too bad. I can't change."

"The only time winning is really important is in surgery and war."

"Only the press and the student body can get you fired. If the students and newspapers are for you, it's Dunkirk for the alumni."

"Leaders have to be hypocrites. There's no victory in sitting on the bus and catching your star player 10 minutes late."

"When it's dry, think wet."

"Know your stars. Treat them like stars. They win games. And know your other players. And give them a hug too."

"There's always going to be problems and I feel the greater the problems, the greater the generation is going to be."

In 1977, after Marquette had won the NCAA Championship in Al's final game as coach, he sought the refuge of the locker room:
"I want to be alone. I'm not afraid to cry. All I can think about is, why me? After all the jocks and socks. All the odors in the locker room. All the fights in the gyms. Just the wildness of it all. And to have it end like this ..."

"That's it. Curtains. Off to the races. Treetops. Seashells and balloons." ~Al McGuire