St. John's University Athletics
Pre-Game Quotes - Jan. 16, 2007
1/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. -
Head Coach Norm Roberts
On if this freshman class will be the signature recruiting class and rebuilding class of his career:
"I think they're going to be, they're very talented kids. They all bring a lot of things to the table. The key is that you've got to go through the wars. You have to take your lumps and battle until you become battle-tested and then you get over that hump. We need to do that with these guys."
On bringing up the freshman class in the BIG EAST:
"It is by far the toughest conference to rebuild in because there are so many talented teams from all over the country. There are absolutely no easy games in our league. You've got to come and battle every single night. They just keep coming at you in this league. You just have to be prepared and battle through and get better."
On talking with senior Eugene Lawrence:
"We sat down and talked about getting the ball to the right people at the right time, being patient. I want him to be aggressive at all times. We talked to the whole team about turnovers. We had four or five crucial turnovers at crucial times against DePaul. In this league, the games come down to four or five possessions that can change the tone of the game. We've got to be better at not turning it over at key times. I think he knows that we've got to play better. He'll turn it around, he's a tough kid. He's our leader and has been our leader. He's been in the gym working harder, shooting more. He wants to do the right things."
On the 1-3 BIG EAST start:
"Nobody wants to be under .500. In our league a lot of the teams are only separated by a game or so. So if you win two games in a row, it can totally change where you are in the league. You can go from the bottom to the middle of the pack like that, and vice-versa. Its hard to win on the road in this league. You've got to play every game like a different scenario and just focus in on that game. You cannot get too down and you cannot get too up when you win, because it's going to change throughout the year."
Senior guard Eugene Lawrence
On his play in the last couple of games:
"I looked at the tapes. I've got to slow down a little bit more and just take what the defense gives me instead of trying to force some issues sometimes."
On if the recruiting class can bring the program up a tier in the coming years:
"I think so, I think coach did a good job recruiting the right kind of players. I think that they're ready to take the program to the next level in the next few years. It just takes time. When we came in with Coach Roberts, the program was at a low and since then there's been major progress. Off the court, our academics have improved. This semester we had the best team grade point average that St. John's basketball has ever had and our record has improved every year since we came here."
Freshman forward Justin Burrell
On what the team can be doing more :
"Sometimes I feel as if one rebound could've been mine if I fought harder. If I would have just remembered to stay to my principles maybe that guy wouldn't have made a shot. I feel like if I would've made a stronger move I could've done something with my game that I know I can do. We just have to keep doing what we have to do, improving on the little things. That's what hurts us most, the little things. As freshmen we don't realize that one rebound or one blocked shot can change the game. As soon as we understand that, I feel that we'll be fine."
On hearing the boos from the crowd at the end of the DePaul game:
"It's New York, they love you when you're up and they kick you when you're down. I understood that coming here."
