St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
1/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2009
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
QUEENS, N.Y. -
Head Coach Norm Roberts
On tonight's game:
"I thought it was a terrific basketball game. I thought our guys played really hard; I thought they played really tough. Notre Dame is one of the best teams in the country. They have two great, great players in (Kyle) McAlarney and (Luke) Harangody and I thought our guys withstood their push at us and made big plays. All our guys stepped up. It was a great team win.
On Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody:
"We watched a lot of tape on Harangody. He's such a good passer and they're such good shooters that if you dive down on him or try to double team him, all it is, is (Zach) Hillesland making one extra pass and now they're shooting three's with their feet set. So we said, `hey, we're going to guard him, we'd rather him shooting two's than them shooting three's'. And it worked out for us today."
On the team's aggressiveness:
"I think they all stayed in the attack mode the whole time. They were talking about that and I just said attack off the ball screen, spread them out and attack the basket and be aggressive. Take the open shot when it's there. I told the guys it was a great team win. I said to Quincy (Roberts), `how many shots did you make today?' And he said, `I don't know Coach,' and I said, `Yeah, but you made a really big one.' And that was a big move for him, but it's a move he does every day. So they'll learn from it and get better."
On team's response to Providence loss:
"We talked as a team after we got back from Providence and we said, we didn't lay it all out on the line. You've got to lay it all out on the line in this league. And then I went through the team and I said, `Okay, I'm going to re-tell you your roles and what I want you to do. And then I said `Justin Burrell, we need you to be aggressive and I don't want you to ever shoot five shots again. I want you to be aggressive and shoot the ball. We've got to get the ball to you and you've got to be aggressive shooting it.' And he did a great job today. He's still learning though. He's a sophomore. He's a young guy, so he's learning every day."
On where this win ranks during his time at St. John's:
"I don't know. (It probably ranks high) because we're depleted a little bit and (without) some players and guys (had) to step up, young guys. It probably is one of the best. But in this league, we're getting ready to play the number three team and then the number two team, (then the) number 16 team. There are so many good teams in the league. I just want our guys to play hard, stay focused , don't give up, play with pride all the time. And they try. They're young people and when things don't go well, most young people put their head down a little bit. And we have to teach them not to do that, fight through it, fight through adversity."
Sophomore guard/forward D.J. Kennedy
On free-throw shooting:
"I was just trying to stay focused. I worked on it during practice and came out a little early to work on free throws. It was just a mental thing; to stay focused and knock them down."
On the defensive play of guard Paris Horne:
"Paris is one of our best wing defenders. Before the game I talked to Paris and told him, (McAlarney) was going to make some shots, but you just have to keep getting a hand in his face and make it hard for him. I think Paris did a great job of contesting all of his shots."
On team's mentality during the game:
"We never got down. I think that was really key for us today. They made a couple runs, but we never got down. We stayed with it and everybody was helping one another and making sure we got through it. We were able to get through it and that's how we pulled off this game today."
Sophomore forward Justin Burrell
On play of Luke Harangody:
"Some of the moves he was making, I don't think anyone in the country could have stayed in front of him. So it was a challenge every step of the way. You never know which way he is going to turn, he's big, but he's agile as well. "
On the team's play:
"I felt this is the first game in a long time that we played 40 minutes hard. Everybody came in and contributed. I thought that was big for us."
On the team's focus:
"Part of our everyday ritual is that our coaches tell us we have to focus. The majority of the time, we have spurts where we focus, but today, we really focused and played with energy throughout the whole game."
On the win:
"I've felt the same since I started at St. John's. Our coaches prepare well; our coaches put us in the right situations. And finally we came through. So to me, this is not an upset. We work hard every day. Sometimes we just don't show that on the court."
