Southland Sharks' Richard Dickel: "You are not the deepest but you are the most complete."
Harbour Heats' Alex Stojkovic: "I do respect tremendously the Hawks who have been a model team for the last five to six years."
Wellington Saints coach Pero Cameron on Anzac Day in April: "Hawke's Bay are excellent."
Hold on, now. Why are we wasting time with the playoffs this weekend in Wellington?
Just hand over the medals and trophy now, buster, and save everyone the time and money.
Alas, Hawks coach Paul Henare knows better then to be swept away in the tide of pre-match hype although, in fairness to the coaches, most of their perceptions are logical assumptions.
Just as one would hesitate before saying yes to myriad offerings during a yum cha sitting in a restaurant, Henare understands the value of making sound judgements in case his taste buds rebel violently to any ill-found servings.
"It's nice to hear things like that about your team," the newly appointed Tall Blacks assistant coach reckons, mindful no counterpart would go into a game bad mouthing an opposition or pointing out their flaws no matter how painfully obvious.
"I suppose it's a bit of reverse psychology as well."
That is not to say Henare is going to deny the Paora Winitana-captained outfit are consistent because they have earned the right to hog the top rung of the NBL ladder, amid somewhat muted celebrations of becoming the minor premiership champions for the first time in the history of the competition.
In the recesses of their minds, the Hawks know anything shy of snipping the net at the Saints' home turf on Sunday after the 6pm tip off will tantamount to another season of unaccomplished missions.
"It's not that we've overachieved but I guess we're not the most talented," Henare says of the Hawks who play the Saints in the second semifinal on Saturday from 8.30pm after the Pirates versus the Manawatu Jets encounter from 6pm.
Pound for pound, he'll be the first to accept the marquee players from the other three playoff qualifiers will eclipse the calibre his men at the coalface.
"I suppose we're more of a blue-collar type of team."
It seems the ideology behind the Hawks' stellar season of 14-2 - another milestone - is the way they play.
The mantra of hanging their hats on the cornerstone of defensive systems aptly sums up a commune that openly shuns grandeur of individualism.
That goes a fair way to explaining why even the pedigree and prowess of US import Josh Pace was sacrificed this winter. The left-handed small forward now fastens his seatbelt with the Jets.
Having had victories as a fairly staple diet in his playing career, 2010-11 ANBL title-winning New Zealand Breakers captain Henare has no qualms about embracing a philosophy that champions a reputation whose foundation stems from sheer hard work.
The last round-robin game against the Jets in Palmerston North on Sunday gives fans a glimpse of what is on the minds of Henare and co-coaches Kirstin Daly and Willie Burton.
With Winitana reduced to a spectator on the bench because of his religious beliefs, the Hawks' think tank injected bench point guard Aidan Daly.
"Damion Davies has been starting for us [with Everard Bartlett arriving late from the ANBL campaign for the Adelaide 36ers] before Aidan.
"On Sunday we looked at Aidan who is smaller but quicker," he says, emphasising that makes the Hawks adopt a slightly more "bunker" mentality at their own end.
Young Morgan Natanahira came in as a small forward while rookie Alonzo Burton and Davies showed their potential to claim more minutes on court.
"We gave them all some time in the spotlight so they won't be surprised if they take the court on Sunday."
The burning question on everyone's mind has been whether the Hawks would have won last year's grand final had Winitana taken the court?
"We'll never know. No one can ever answer that question," Henare says.
The Mormon bishop and former Tall Black top scored in the nail-biting victory over the Pirates in Napier on May 12 and the Flavell-coached Aucklanders are tipped to lock horns with the Hawks if everything follows the script.
Needless to say, the Hawks do not lack inspirational leaders with ex-Tall Black point guard Jarrod Kenny, Daly and US import power forward Galen Young not shy to engage in impromptu huddles or bark in the ear of anyone suspected of sleepwalking.