St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's Vs. Duke
12/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2005
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's takes on No. 1 Duke on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised on ESPN2. On Tuesday head coach Norm Roberts and members of the men's basketball team met with the media to discus their matchup with the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Head Coach Norm Roberts
On what the team has been focusing on:
"We've been focusing on our defensive intensity. We need to pay better attention to detail defensively, and not giving up easy baskets. We need to get to shooters quickly, rebound the basketball and execute better."
On the team's outlook about the game:
"I think our guys are really excited about the game. Obviously the opportunity to play a great program like Duke on national television is really exciting."
Daryll Hill
On the excitement of playing at Duke:
"I've been to Duke, during my freshman year. I'm looking forward to the excitement in the arena because there is a lot of people there and a great, loud crowd. It's going to be very competitive and that's what we like, we like to go against competitive teams. We're going to try our best."
On what the team has been focusing on:
"We've been focusing on coming out with a lot of intensity and a lot of fire. Also, trying to stay strong on our defensive side, and really trying to stick together."
On the experience of playing at Duke for the younger players:
"It's going to be hard [for the younger players] in the beginning, but when they start getting used to it they should be fine when they get in there. They just have to keep their heads and make sure they don't let their fans get to them."
On playing the No. 1 ranked team in the nation:
"I think we tend to play better when we play against higher ranked teams. We're going to try and go out there and play as hard as we can and try our best."
Phil Missere
On what the team is looking forward to in this situation:
"We need to come out and play hard. We need to learn from the mistakes we made in previous games where we came up short, and just take it from there. We have to compete in every play and see how it turns out."
On what the team has been focusing on:
"The team has been focusing on just playing hard and coming out with the same enthusiasm against every team. We came out a little flat against Marist and played flat the entire game. So we're just going to try and come out and bring our `A game' against the Blue Devils."
On what he tells the younger guys about playing at Duke:
"I tell them just to keep their composure, and not listen to the fans that much. They're great fans, but they're crazy. Just go out there and play basketball, the game is on the court. With all the extra stuff going on off the court, they just have to try and block out and they should be alright."