St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes vs West Virginia
3/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2008
QUEENS, N.Y. -
Head Coach Norm Roberts
On tomorrow's match up against West Virginia :
"The main thing is that we are going to have the opportunity to play against a very good team and a team that we haven't had a whole lot of success with. West Virginia is young and similar to us. These are the guys we will compete against for the next three or four years. It would be a great opportunity to step up and win a game here like we did last year against Providence."
On senior guard Eugene Lawrence:
"Geno is an awesome kid. He has really been the foundation of our program. He has done some great things here. I think he proved a lot of people wrong. He has really excelled here. He has been the rock and the foundation guy for us. He has been the guy that brings it every single day. He will be sorely missed."
On Lawrence's impact at St John's:
"I will miss Eugene a ton. Our personalities are very similar. Geno always brought a smile and a good attitude to practice everyday. He is great with the guys. He was great for our overall athletic community here. He will come back five or six years from now and people will say, `Hey, remember what Eugene Lawrence did here and how tough he was.' I think he should take a lot of pride in what he has accomplished here and what he has done."
On the progress of this year's rookies:
"When I look back and see where Sean Evans was and where he is now. I see improvement. It's the same with Dele Coker. Burrell has had some ups and downs, but I think he is really going to learn from this year. I think that Malik Boothe is going to understand the speed of the league and the strength of the league. Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy have all learned from their experiences of being out there. I think they are all going to learn from it. Rob Thomas got a little taste of it but not all. I am really excited about the young group."
Senior Guard Eugene Lawrence
On the previous West Virginia game:
"They like to run their offense and spread the floor. They make a lot of cuts. They like to pressure on defense. They are real aggressive with screens and attacking the glass. And they have some good shooters."
Freshman Forward Sean Evans
On the legacy that Eugene Lawrence leaves behind:
"He has taught me that this league is tough and we are going to have our ups and downs. Anything can happen, so we just have to work and come to play every night. It would be nice to go out of with our last win at the Garden for our seniors."
On the importance of their final regular season game:
"Everything is in preparation of next year. We have to take every game in stride. We know how it feels this year to not get into the tournament and we aren't going to get this feeling again. We just have to work hard next year."
Junior Forward Anthony Mason Jr.
On finishing the season strong:
"We have one more game and we have to finish out the season. You don't quit. You never quit. We aren't making the tournament, but this is a game we can take and it will lead us off to next year on good terms."
On the improvements of the freshmen:
"I am proud of all the freshmen throughout the year and how they have grown. They finished strong. We showed in different games that we can't be that team and play as well as we want to. They can play with the best of them. The best we can do right now is just to look to next season. We are getting most of the team back. We are going to lose Eugene. That is a big loss. He is a senior captain and has been here for four years. We are just going to move forward and work hard in the off-season."
On the importance of Eugene Lawrence to the program:
"He meant a lot to this team. He has been here four years. He has been working hard everyday and never slacks off in practice. He never takes a day off and is never hurt. He was our captain for two years and I think he did a good job with that. I just wish him the best for everything in the future. It would be big for all our seniors, Geno, Otoja [Abit] and Liam [Biesty] included, to get the win at the Garden. Geno can go out a winner and that is the best thing we can do for him."
