St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 77, Providence 64
3/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Madison Square Garden
St. John???s vs. Providence
March 4, 2007
St. John???s Head Coach Norm Roberts
On today???s game:
???I thought it was one of the most complete games we played all year. I thought our guys played with very good energy. Give Providence a lot of credit. Herbert Hill is a very, very good player. I thought all of our guys stepped up and made plays when we needed to make plays. We got great energy from Aaron (Spears) and great energy from Tomas Jasiulionis. He did a great job for us but I thought a lot of guys stepped up today.???
On Lamont Hamilton going down:
???The gut feeling is that it is going to hurt not having him out there. I thought he just bumped it and he was going to come back. I know Monty, he is tough. He has been through a lot of injuries. When he went down I thought this was going to hurt us with our (lack of) depth. Some guys needed to step up. Give credit to our guys, they all stepped up.???
On Lamont Hamilton???s status for the BIG EAST Tournament:
???I leave it to the medical guys to talk about that. He was moving pretty good. He was able to put pressure on it and get up and down the hallway just a little bit. He is going to have some MRI stuff done on it. We are going to make sure everything is okay and we will do that over the next few days. I know if Monty can be out there he will try to get out there.???
On this season:
???I think our guys were pretty motivated in this game. They really wanted to send the seniors out on a good note. I think we were excited about some of the things we can accomplish. We talked about those goals. We talked about winning seven games in the BIG EAST, which hasn???t been done at St. John???s in four years. So that is a huge accomplishment. Improving our seed would be a huge accomplishment. Guaranteeing a winning season is a huge accomplishment. A lot of people want us to leap and turn things around. Well sometimes you can???t leap but sometimes you can take steps and we are taking steps. We are getting better. We have gotten better every year. We have had some things happen to us this year with injuries and those things, but those things happen. That is life. Our guys just stuck with it and I am happy for them. Nobody can take away that they will have a winning season this year and what they have accomplished this year.???
On getting to a National Tournament:
???I think we will have to do some things to get there. I think we have to win two games in the BIG EAST to get there. We are not worried about that. We are worried about trying to get better. We got better today.???
On Marquette:
???I believe we have to play Marquette. They are a terrific team and a terrific program. We will have to step up our level even more playing against them. It is a great challenge for us, but I think our guys are excited about it.???
Senior Aaron Spears
On Lamont Hamilton:
???I think Lamont is going to be okay. He is walking. It is kind of like a little sprain.???
On the BIG EAST Tournament:
???I am very excited. This game gives us a little momentum going into the BIG EAST Tournament. I think we are going to do real good in the BIG EAST Tournament.???
Freshman Qa???rraan Calhoun
On Lamont Hamilton:
???When I saw Lamont (Hamilton) go out, I knew I had to step up.???
On the BIG EAST Tournament:
???This is my first time going to the tournament. It feels good winning this game. This gives us a boost going into the tournament.???
Providence Head Coach Tim Welsh
On today???s game:
???I had a lot of concern in the first three, four possessions of the game when I saw them chase down loose balls, (get) offensive rebounds, tips up on the glass. When we did get good possessions on defense, they were (still) beating us to certain spots. We were just basically slow. Give St. John???s a lot of credit. They played with a lot of heart, a lot of energy and for some reason our feet seemed to be stuck in quick sand today. Twenty offensive rebounds is bad. Usually that is a telling sign of your energy and quickness to the ball. It didn???t happen for us today. We have to regroup quickly and be ready for Wednesday. Anytime you play a game like that it is always tough. It is not fun.???
On St. John???s:
???When they were catching the ball in the low post, they were making spin moves by us. They were quicker. I don???t know. There might have been something in the Wheaties this morning. We were slow. It is tough to coach. I tried to get guys in and out on who was making good energy plays but there weren???t many guys doing it.???
On St. John???s breaking Providence???s win streak against them:
???I bet our guys don???t even know that. First of all, they beat them one in a row, this team. Kids don???t care about that. They know we played them two weeks ago and it came down to the last possession. Give them a lot of credit, they played a smart game. They were balanced and had a lot of energy. (Eugene) Lawrence controlled the pace. I have always liked (Anthony) Mason. I liked him last year a lot. I think I told you guys that last year in Providence. He is a tough match-up. They are a quality team. Give them credit.???
