St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Villanova
1/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2010
St. John's Head Coach Norm Roberts
On what the plan is for defending Villanova's Scottie Reynolds:
"Guard him. Nothing else we do - we've got to guard him. Can't give him open looks. He's going to create shots no matter what. He dribbles the ball around until he gets an angle. We've got to stay down and be patient. It just can't be one guy. The whole team's got to be cognizant of where he is. We've just got to limit his touches as much as we can."
On who will guard Reynolds:
"It will be different people guarding him. Probably Paris Horne to start off, but it will be different people at different times."
On the keys to beating Villanova:
"Rebounding. Obviously on one-on-one defense they spread you out. Transition defense. They can shoot the 3 but they actually do a better job of attacking the basket. They're really attacking the basket now and they play small, so we're going to probably have to counter that by playing small as well."
On countering Villanova's team depth:
"We're deep too. We're going to play all of our guys too. I think we play 10 guys double-figure minutes and I think we'll probably play that many, at least. Just try to keep your guys as fresh as possible, but you've got to get out and play. It's going to be a war of a game. It's going to be two really athletic teams, so we have to defend."
On Anthony Mason Jr.'s increased playing time:
"He's doing fine. If he's going to play as good as he plays, he's going to play more minutes. If he doesn't play as good, then he won't play as many minutes. But he's getting his rhythm back, playing well and doing some good things for us."
On the team's key points of emphasis after looking at tape from the UConn game:
"We played fairly well in the first half and then we let them get a spurt off in the last few minutes against our zone and get some shots. They made some shots and they made shots that they had not been making. Dyson was shooting 22 percent before the game and Kemba Walker was shooting 11. Then in the second half, we just didn't come out the way we needed to. We let them get a cushion and a couple of times we had chances to play back and we weren't able to get over the hump. They beat us in transition, we didn't think they would push the ball. They're a team that's very opportunistic rebounding-wise because they're so big. Villanova's different. Villanova plays fast but they really don't play really as fast as UConn. They're more of a half-court, spread you out, and then attack you team. They score a lot off of their defense. So we're going to have to be good with the basketball, step through traps and then attack their pressure to score."
On preparing for the varying styles of play in the BIG EAST, one game after another:
"Every game's different and you have to really lock in and focus. And you don't have a whole lot of time to prepare. We came back from the UConn game at 1:30 in the morning. The guys had to go to class the next day and they're tired, so we couldn't get much of a practice in yesterday. Today we'll practice and we'll go pretty hard and prepare for the game. But you've got to rest their legs too because this is going to be an up-and-down game. So what you've got to do is be really focused in on what's going on. You've got to understand that the UConn game is over with. This game is something different. It has some different things that they're going to do. Now, Villanova's not very complicated. They play a simple brand of basketball, but they're very very effective in it."
On the biggest difference between the first half and the second half of the UConn game:
"Obviously, make shots. We didn't make shots. We didn't execute the way we needed to. They made a couple of shots early and we got down and then we started rushing. You can't do that. You can't rush. You get into a long game and those things. UConn's one of the toughest places in the country to play. It's not like it's an easy place to play. But we've got to play better. We've got to come out of the locker room and play better. We have done that at times, but we can do that better."
Junior Guard Malik Boothe
On focusing on the task at hand with tough BIG EAST games still ahead:
"I don't think it's going to be very difficult. I think it's going to help us lock in more because we are playing teams that are ranked in the Top 25. In order for us to come out and get these wins, we have to have the right mindset and focus and play with a lot of energy."
On how nice it would be to hand Villanova its first conference loss:
"It would be good for us to help them get their first BIG EAST loss. But I think it would be better for us to knock off the No. 4 team in the country."
On what St. John's needs to do well to defeat Villanova:
"I think we have to lock in, guard, rebound and match their toughness."
On Villanova's Scottie Reynolds:
"He's a big-shot taker and a big-shot maker. In a lot of their games, when it's come down to guys having to step up, he has been that guy to take that shot. I think that's good on his part, but if I'm given that assignment, I'm just going to have to lock in and try to limit his touches and make life difficult for him."
On motivation after the UConn game:
"There's motivation every game, whether we win or lose. In this league, we really don't get a chance to sulk because games come right after each other. And I think we've just got to come out and have the right focus to win this game tomorrow."
On how much a win over No. 4 Villanova would help the Red Storm's confidence:
"I think our confidence, it hasn't gone anywhere. As for us turning the corner, I think a win would get us going in the right direction."
Junior Forward Sean Evans
On having extra motivation playing against a team from his hometown area:
"Yeah, definitely. I've got a lot of friends that play for that team. Growing up, you watch that team and stuff like that. So, I mean it's going to be a big game, but none more important than all the rest of the games we play all year."
On what's important for the team to do against Villanova:
"Just execute, play good defense and we should be okay."
On what St. John's has to do better in to get a win against Villanova:
"They play a different style. So when we box out, we can really run the floor."
On playing against the Wildcats' big guys in the paint:
"We've just got to box it out because that's where it starts. We've got to find a body and put a body on a body. If we box out, we'll okay."
On his own production over the last few games:
"I don't think I've been looking to score that much. I've got to get back to that in order for us to win more games and play better. I've just got to take more pride in things like that. I haven't been looking to score that much. I've got to try to get back to doing that."
On whether he has been focusing more on defense than offense:
"I think so. I've been doing a pretty good job on defense, I think. I think I've been focused a little bit too much on that and not as much as a scorer. I've got to balance it out and get production on both ends."
Freshman Guard Malik Stith
On Villanova's guards:
"People say that they've got the best guard corps in the BIG EAST. Scottie Reynolds could've been in the NBA last year. So, of course they've got leadership at that position. They're very successful."
On what he has seen from watching Villanova over the past year:
"I watched them last year. I mean they say that guards take you far. So I think that's the reason why they went so far last year and they've got everybody coming back. That's why they're very good this year."
