St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes vs. Duke
12/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - Head Coach Norm Roberts
On Malik Stith
"Malik is another true point guard who can get in the lane and make plays and pass the ball. He handles the ball well and in the past we have only had one true point guard."
On Playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium
"It's going to be a war of a game against great players and against a terrific coach. It will be a great atmosphere for our guys to play in, learn from and mature from."
On D. J. Kennedy matching up against Kyle Singler
"We will have one of our best perimeter players on their best perimeter players. D. J. has size and a great reach. We will have to give him help because it can't be just one guy."
On the keys to playing well against Duke
"We need to defend and take care of the ball, while contesting all of their opportunities. We can't worry about the crowd. We have to play through it."
Freshman point guard Malik Stith
On playing on the road at Duke
"Duke is one of the toughest places to play and it will be a good experience. The crowd is intense and it is loud in there.
On preparing for Duke
"We have to buckle-in in our next two days of practice and be disciplined against a disciplined team."
Junior point guard Malik Boothe
On the team's level of excitement headed into the weekend
"I am excited about every game. I don't think we are supposed to be more excited against Duke. We have to focus and play hard and it's just another basketball game."
On the atmosphere at Cameron Indoor Stadium
"I know their crowd will be intense, but we can't focus on that. We don't play against the crowd, we play against Duke."
On the team's mindset against Duke
"We have to have the same mindset going into every game. We can't treat one opponent as better than another. We have to do the same things every night- rebound and play defense."
Junior guard D. J. Kennedy
On facing Duke after its loss to Wisconsin
"They will come out hard because they are coming off a loss. But we definitely feel like we have a chance to win and we are going to play hard. It would be great to beat Duke at Duke, but we have to continue to take it one game at a time."
Junior guard Paris Horne
On what it would mean to beat Duke
"It would be a great accomplishment and it one of our goals. We hope to get it done. It will be a big test for us and we want to see where our team is at."
On Malik Stith
"He brings depth at the point guard spot for us and he brings defense every night. He is a great asset."
On playing against Duke on their home court
"It will be a tough atmosphere and we have to be smart with the ball. Every possession is key for us."
