St. John's University Athletics
Pre-game Quotes: vs. Cincinnati - Jan. 5, 2008
1/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. - Head Coach Norm Roberts
On Cincinnati's victory over Louisville:
"I'm not surprised by anything that happens in our league because our league is so talented. There are a lot of young teams, and Cincinnati is probably one of the more veteran teams in the league since they have all five starters back from last year and these guys played major minutes for them. Cincinnati was a team that played everybody hard last year and played well. They came close to winning a bunch of games but didn't get it done at the end. They're reaping some of those benefits now, though, beating Louisville to start off the year"
On Cincinnati:
"They press. They cause havoc. They throw a lot of different things at you to make you think. You're going to have to be strong with the basketball. You're going to have to fake a pass to make a pass and you can't jump in the air to make passes. After you do that you have to be able to execute offense. They're a very, very aggressive defensive team."
On Cincinnati's ball pressure:
"It won't be like anybody that we've played against so far this year. They'll extend it full-court, they'll trap with their 4-man, they'll trap with their 3-man, they'll scramble on the half-court and run and jump you. They do a lot of different, non-conventional things, but that's when you've got to be strong, step to the ball, and the look to attack smartly. Sometimes they'll pressure you to shoot it quick so that they don't have to guard, so you just have to be smart in what you do."
On making progress in paying attention to detail:
"We've made some progress in that, but they're young guys. They've just got to try and continue to get better and better as we play better teams."
On Sean Evans:
"He's learning and understanding a little bit more of what we want him to do and how he can carve out his niche. He's so athletic and quick and he can do so many things on the offensive glass. He's got to continue to grow and get better, but I think his potential is very, very good."
Senior Center Tomas Jasiulionis
On the development of the young guys:
"The young guys are doing pretty well. Sean (Evans) has stepped in, Justin (Burrell) is doing great, and D.J. (Kennedy) stepped up big in the beginning when (Anthony) Mason Jr. was injured. Malik has been getting better and better every game, and Paris has as well."
On Sean Evans:
"I think Sean Evans has become more confident in himself and has played better. He's working hard all the time in practice and prepares himself for all the games. He's improved in rebounding, he's getting more aggressive around the basket and he's shooting the ball better."
On the team staying close in games down the stretch:
"The team is very competitive, even with a lot of young guys. Everybody wants to win. We keep fighting no matter what the score is. We still play hard and our goal is to win."
On Cincinnati:
"Cincinnati is a good, talented, competitive team that plays hard all the time. They have a lot of players back, plus they have a couple of new players. They are competitive and have some size inside so it should be a hard fought game."
On what the team needs to do against Cincinnati:
"It will be important to pay attention to detail, like our coaches try to emphasize everyday. We've lost a couple of games by not paying attention to detail. We've fouled people, not gotten the ball, not grabbed a rebound, not made a play at the end. We play hard, but we need to play a little smarter."
On when to step it up:
"The BIG EAST has already started, so it's time to step up. We're working everyday, trying to learn from our mistakes."
Freshman Guard Paris Horne
On his first BIG EAST game vs. Syracuse:
"It was a great atmosphere to play in and was fun for me. It was competitive the whole way and it was everything I'd expected. It was a physical game, but we prepare for that at practice everyday, because this is the BIG EAST. We knew it was going to be physical. I don't mind it at all."
On the BIG EAST home opener:
"I'm real excited for the first home BIG EAST game. Cincinnati is a good transition team, and they run a lot in motion. They look pretty physical and they play defense. It's going to be another great BIG EAST game"
On still losing despite being close in the games:
"It's a learning process we have to go through. Each game we haven't gotten blown out, we're right in it every time. It's just silly things we do because of inexperience. We just practice situations everyday to get better. I believe we're getting better as a team."
Freshman Forward Sean Evans
On his progress thus far this season:
"I feel it all starts with the coaching staff. When I got in here, I hadn't come into myself yet, and I thought I had to do everything at once. The coaches sat me down and had a really deep talk with me, and they told me that in order for the team to be good, I would have to be better and do more things to help my team out. "
On getting help from his teammates:
"(Anthony) Mason Jr. has taken me to the side a lot in practice and we've worked on one-on-one stuff. He's just given me a lot of confidence in order to succeed in this league. Rob has also helped me, He's come up to me to tell me what I need to improve on. He would tell me to slow down, make better moves, and other little things to help me improve."
On what Coach Roberts has had them working on in practice:
"Coach is having us work on a lot of ball handling because Cincinnati presses and traps a lot. We have to get prepared for another tough, physical BIG EAST game, and get crisp with the plays so we can execute them."
