St. John's University Athletics
Pre-game Quotes: Niagara 12/15/07
12/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y. - Head Coach Norm Roberts...
On Saturday's opponent, Niagara:
"We've got to be focused on Niagara. They're very good. They're a tough team. Every time St. John's plays Niagara it's a war. Coach Mihalich is a very good coach. His team is playing extremely tough. Their senior Charron Fisher is playing extremely well for them. They're getting great numbers from everybody."
On what the team's been working on since the loss to Miami:
"What we've done over the long break that we had was try to break down all different aspects of the game, both offensively and defensively. We've tried to work on our zone offense and tried to get more fluid doing that. We've really tried to work on our defense and being more solid. We've also been trying to work on guys individually too, we've done a lot of individual work."
On the progress of Anthony Mason Jr.:
"Hopefully today we'll have him doing some scrimmage with contact on the half-court. He's been doing non-contact things the last two days. He will not play tomorrow, the doctors said he can start some light contact now, but they don't think it'll be good for him to play tomorrow."
On the excitement of practicing with a full squad:
"The thing that's been exciting about these guys is that Wednesday was the first time since we started this year that we had everybody on the floor at the same time. Everybody, Rob (Thomas), Mason Jr., we had a full 16 guys and our guys were genuinely really excited. We've practiced very well the last two days."
On Rob Thomas' presence on the team and in practice:
"It could be a big deal in that he gives us a lot more versatility. It's amazing, just in practice the last two days, having five big guys makes you feel good because now you got the chance for guys to get rest. It makes things more flexible. It has upped the competition in practice."
Freshman forward Justin Burrell On the team having rust since there hasn't been a game in a long time:
"No, we've practiced everyday. The way that the coaches set up practice, the practices are a lot harder than the game is."
On what the team has been practicing:
"The thing we worked on the most was getting as deep into our offense as possible. From the earlier games we thought we could rely on the first couple of phases of our offense instead of getting all the way through and making teams play defense throughout the whole shot clock."
On Rob Thomas...
"The thing I like about Rob, from what I've seen, is that he shoots the ball well and he has great court awareness. He can see a play before it happens. He passes the ball well, he's ferocious in the paint and he plays defense well."
On what to expect when St. John's hits the court tomorrow:
"I feel every game we have grown in certain ways. I do feel we will look better than last game. But every game is different so you never know what will be shown out on the court."
Redshirt freshman forward Rob Thomas
On practicing for the first time this week:
"It feels good. I haven't been on the ball circuit for about two years. I feel good being out there on the court with my team and coaches."
On returning ahead of schedule:
"The doctor told me when I was in the recovery room that certain people's bodies heal faster from the surgery and by the grace of God, God helped my body quicker than normal."
On how rusty he is going to be:
"I'm working out the kinks right now. I've been playing well in practice for the two days I've been here. I just have to get back in game shape. I'll probably need a good week to get used to the intensity that they do in the practice."
Freshman guard D.J. Kennedy
On the long break between games:
"I think it can work both ways. It can be bad because we can be rusty when we come back out, but it can also be good for us because we can rest and get healthy. For our situation, we have a lot of players hurting and injured, so it's pretty good for us. We'll get to reload and come out together."
