St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Pittsburgh
1/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2009
St. John's Head Coach Norm Roberts
On playing Pittsburgh:
"We're excited. But we're excited about playing every BIG EAST game. Obviously, this is a great opportunity to be playing against a team like Pittsburgh, but all the teams in our league are great. It just happens to be that Pittsburgh is the No. 1 team, and we will be playing in a very hostile environment with a great home court advantage. We're going to have to be very focused and really compete."
On practice this week:
"We've emphasized being much more physical in practice. Rebounding and physical play is going to be a huge key. Pittsburgh by far is one of the most physical teams in the country, so if we don't compete on the glass and compete for loose balls you're not going to have much of a chance to win."
On the team's preparation for Pittsburgh:
"We're not doing any rocket science or new stuff. We're just going hard in practice. The thing about Pitt is, you have to pay attention to detail because that is where they beat you. They beat you when you don't get through the cross screen, they get it to [DeJuan] Blair. When you don't block out on the weak side, Sam Young gets a tip-in. That's how they beat you. There is nothing they do that's complicated. They set stagger-screens like everybody else, they down-screen like everybody else. It's just that they are extremely efficient and have very good players."
On sophomore D.J. Kennedy returning home to play:
"We talked about being too hyped to play. He's got to be able to handle that. I talked to him about being focused in on the game and he understands that. One thing about D.J. is he loves playing for St. John's and representing our team, but just like a New York City kid, he loves the city of Pittsburgh. He cheers for every single team, and he should. Just like I love New York. I know he is excited about playing, but most of all he wants us to win."
On sophomore guard Malik Boothe returning to play:
"He will do some non-contact things at practice today, but we're not going to rush him. We would love to get him back for this game, and hopefully we will. But we're not sure if he is going to be able to be out there. I don't want him to play until he feels comfortable."
Sophomore Forward Sean Evans
On practice this week:
"We've been really focused at practice, getting our game plan ready to go up against a No. 1 team. We've soaked in the win over Notre Dame and we're still learning from our mistakes. We can always get better. Overall, practice has been good."
On the win against Notre Dame and the outlook for Pittsburgh: "We learned a lot about playing 40 minutes. We have to bring this mindset to every game. We have to rebound more and play better defense because Pittsburgh is a really offense-oriented team. Our goal is to play a close game. Of course we are going to do as best as we can to get a win. I don't think anybody will be satisfied with a good loss or a close loss. I don't think there is such a thing as a good loss. We're just going to go in there and try to win."
On his matchups with the Pittsburgh forwards: "Sam [Young] is a great athlete, he can play inside and out. He does a lot for the team. [Tyrell] Biggs is a good athlete. He can really shoot the ball. Either match up will be a tough one, but I'm up for the challenge."
Sophomore Guard/Forward D.J. Kennedy
On returning to his hometown to play:
"Anytime I get the chance to go home it's great. I don't get too many opportunities to go home, especially to play a game. I expect to see a lot of people, from Schenley [High School], and who watched me and DeJuan Blair [Pittsburgh forward] throughout high school and the state championship. I will be looking forward to seeing everyone. Growing up I was a huge fan of all Pittsburgh sports, and any kid who goes back into their hometown wants to have a good game. I just want to win. I don't see it as a vacation; I see it as a business trip. I'm just going to try to stay focused. Walking away with a win will be big for me."
On playing the No. 1 team in the country:
"It's great. There aren't too many people who can say they got a chance to play against the No. 1 team in the country. I'm looking forward to it, but at the end of the day it's just another game. When you're on the court you don't see the numbers written next to the team name. We're just trying to walk away with a win. This is the BIG EAST. Day in and day out we play tough teams."
On the atmosphere in practice this week:
"We've been really focused. The win over Notre Dame came from a good week of practice. So we want to keep the same mindset. We have been concentrating, focusing and practicing hard. Keeping it close at Pitt is really big. I really want the win. If we do win it will be another upset and it will be really important for our team."
Sophomore Forward Justin Burrell
On the practices leading up to the Pitt game:
"Everybody's attention to detail is right where it should be. With a game like this coming up everybody's focus is right on task. There is a lot less bickering and side talk. Even the people on the sidelines, who are not in the drill, are paying attention a lot more. These last couple of practices have been some of the hardest I've had here. I've been exhausted going through these drills, and I don't usually get tired, meaning that these drills have been really excruciating."
On his matchups this weekend:
"We might do some different matchups with defense, but I'll probably match up with DeJuan Blair. I know DeJuan really well, we played together in Paris in tournaments representing the United States. He's more of a power player, a left-shoulder, jump-hook kind of guy, and is tenacious on the glass. You really have to focus on keeping him off the glass. It could be one of those games where my only focus is to limit his rebounds, by boxing out, hoping that someone else will get the rebounds because he could kill you on the boards."
On playing the No.1 team in the country:
"It's great. That's why I picked a BIG EAST school, specifically St. John's. We should always be able to play teams like this. Being able to play Pitt in their first week being a No. 1 team is a very fortunate opportunity for us."
On playing on the road:
"Away games are my favorite. I like hearing the crowd yelling things. That is what college basketball is about."
