St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
2/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2009
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St. John's Head Coach Norm Roberts
Opening Statement:
"It was a defensive game, probably not very pretty. But both teams really guarded well. South Florida was a good team and they can make shots. When we weren't scoring I thought we did a good job of not allowing them to score, which was a big key. We rebounded the ball really well. I'm proud of our guys. We took care of the basketball and we made plays when we had to. That's how you win in the BIG EAST."
On getting Malik [Boothe] back:
"It means a lot to our team from a ball-handling standpoint. I think it puts everybody more into their roles of what they do best. Also, it allows D.J. and Paris to get more rest. On the whole, he just helps us get more organized. He did a great job on taking care of the basketball. It was so important for us to have our quarterback back for us today, because he can guide us through those tough situations."
On where the program is headed:
"We're getting better. We have a great nucleus of young guys, including Dele Coker, Rob Thomas, Quincy [Roberts] and TyShwan [Edmondson]. What we're doing is building the foundation like we have talked about for a while. We're not at the stage right now where we are going to go and pick up McDonalds All-Americans. Our players are developing. We've had some tough injuries happen to us over the course of this season. We haven't had the opportunity to have our veteran players get into a rhythm. We're not going to make any excuses. We're just going to go out and play as hard as we can. This team really represents St. John's in a great way."
Sophomore guard Malik Boothe
On returning to the court after his thumb injury:
"I was just having fun out there. I spent six weeks sitting out and wondering how I could come back and help my team. Today, I just brought the toughness and the leadership that the team needed. It feels fine. I just have a scar or two. But I feel no pain at all."
On his scream with 3:17 left to play:
"It was a happy to be back scream."
On shaking off the rust from his injury:
"In the first half I had two turnovers which I shouldn't have had. One was a travel because I got double teamed. On the second one I lost the handle. Besides the three turnovers overall I was happy with my performance."
On the future of this team:
"I see a bright future for us. We're all young, and we're getting better day by day. We are all working hard and we all like playing together. The next couple years for us are going to be big."
Sophomore guard Paris Horne
On having Malik Boothe back on the floor:
"It is a little different. Malik matches up better with the other guards, so it allows the rest of us to get better shots off."
On the future of this team:
"Everything is moving in the right direction and we have to keep playing tough. We have good recruits that are coming in and next year we'll have a really good showing."
Sophomore forward D.J. Kennedy
On the future of this team:
"We're just taking it one game at a time. Our team is mostly freshmen and sophomores and we're getting better. Last year, we had 11 wins total. This season, we already have 12. I feel like we're going in the right direction and little by little, we're getting better."
On head coach Norm Roberts:
"Besides coaching, he's like a father-figure to all of us. If we need anything or we need to talk to someone he is right there and helps with the situation. He tries to be there as best as he can for each one of us."
Head Coach Stan Heath
Thoughts on the game:
"I don't want to take anything away from St. John's because they really defended well and played hard. I didn't think this was one of our better games. We just couldn't find the basket today. It was partly their defense and partly our shot selection. St. John's did a good job keeping pressure on our guards and started chasing us pretty hard on the screens. Our offensive shooting is a struggle right now, just trying to put the ball in the basket and finishing lay-ups that we had early in the game. Our free-throw shooting is something that's been a nagging problem that we need to fix."
On USF's execution:
"What hurt us is that we didn't have the patience to work for a good shot and we settled for so many questionable shots. That's why I thought we didn't do our part in terms of executing."
On Malik Boothe:
"Malik Boothe's defense was a big help for them. I think more importantly, they've been struggling with turnovers the last few games without him. Today they only had 10 turnovers for the game. I think a lot of that was because the ball was in Boothe's hands. It didn't show up in his shooting numbers, he made a few key plays late in the game, but his ball handling and defense definitely helps St. John's be a better team in both areas."
On St. John's players:
"Paris Horne is really playing well for them. He made a couple big three-pointers in the second half. D.J. Kennedy stepped up a little bit for them too. I think the guy they're really getting a lot out of is Sean Evans. He's battling on the boards and he's attacking it. He got a double-double on the game and I thought he was a big key for them."
