St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 79, Columbia 66
11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2010
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| Postgame Notes
St. John's Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Lavin
On what it is emotionally like to get first win in seven years:
"It was a combination of being pleased with some of the things our team had done, and I thought that being down was a positive experience for this team. One of the things we have to do to get over the hump is learn that teams make runs on you and when they make a run on you that it is ok. It's like [Bjorn] Borg and [Jimmy] Connors in a great tennis match, you don't win every point. That's good tennis, it is good basketball, and teams make runs on you and now you've got to answer. They punch you in the mouth, you have to come back and punch them in the mouth and hope by the end of the game you've got more punches in their mouth than they've put in yours and you hold on for a win. It's going to come at some point where there are some breakthrough victories, and no pep talk, nothing that I can say or the coaches can say, they have to earn it and then it's their own. It's not about us, it's about them. This was a step in the right direction in terms of a team making a run, they were a little deflated, and then getting themselves back up again and earning a win."
On the purpose of Saint Mary's trip:
"We had a good experience, I would be less-likely to make that trip next year with the 10 newcomers, but because we had a veteran team the purpose of that trip was to get an early report card against a quality team in a tough environment. We wanted to play one of those types of games before we go to West Virginia, Providence or Notre Dame, in three of our five BIG EAST games. And then there were the educational opportunities. We went to Alcatraz, we went up the Golden Gate Bridge, and we went to Peoples' Park in Berkeley. We got a history of the park and we learned a lot from that experience, which is exactly what I had in mind. We wanted to win the game, we didn't, but I think we're a better team as a result. As I've said before, I think the worst thing you can do is pound a bunch of patsies or creampuffs and go 9-1 or 10-1 and get a false sense of security or fool's gold about yourself. Then you get exposed those first couple weeks in the BIG EAST and there is not enough time to recover, do the drill work, and build your team to be competitive for the postseason."
On receiving the game ball for his first win at St. John's:
"I actually have some in storage out in California. I think they're mostly the bigger wins of the career, but this will definitely go in the office here at St. John's. It's definitely a nice keepsake."
On preparation for Columbia compared to the preparation for Saint Mary's:
"There aren't many differences between the two programs. They play with a similar style. Head coach Kyle Smith was an assistant for years to Randy Bennett at Saint Mary's. Kyle is an excellent coach and a good technician. He learned well from his mentor, Bennett, so one of the advantages of playing Saint Mary's and Columbia back-to-back was knowing the style of play is similar. I thought we came out well and I over-substituted in the first half and we lost our rhythm. We were fortunate in the second half to get it back trough rebounding and tagging their shooters more effectively."
Senior Forward D.J. Kennedy
On what it meant to get this win and not fall to 0-2:
"It's always great to get that first win, especially with a new coach and a new staff. It's a new year and it's always great to get that first win and to put it in and look forward from there."
On trailing Columbia at the half:
"You've got to give a lot of credit to them. They shot the ball in the first half great. I mean no. 11, he's a great shooter and it kind of reminded us of Saint Mary's. He got some open shots and he made them."
On being more aggressive against Columbia:
"Coach just told me to be aggressive, play my game and to always have my eyes on the rim. Any open look, take advantage of it."
On what Coach Lavin has done for them:
"I just think the biggest thing with me is just how he always keeps his cool. Even in pressure moments, he's just always cool. He's never really, unless you make him, a little too loud. But basically that's the biggest thing with me. It's great playing for a coach that has confidence in you and your teammates. It's always great to have somebody behind you like that."
On battling through the long trip out to Saint Mary's and back:
"We definitely caught up on our sleep. That was a long plane ride, so we definitely caught up on our sleep. I feel like it was just a great experience with us early in the season. That's definitely going to help us throughout the season."
Senior Forward Justin Burrell
On his emphatic dunk that fired up the crowd:
"We were running a horn play. That's when our guards try to keep the ball flat to keep the sidelines extended. I set the screen and rolled and I guess he jumped too far to the ball and Malik recognized it and I recognized it. Malik threw it and I hooked up."
On how he felt about the dunk:
"I used to do those things a lot. I don't really get too excited for it anymore. I'll laugh about it later, but out there, I've been on the other end of a couple of those and it's not good. So I try not to boast about it."
On what it meant to get this win and not fall to 0-2:
"We really wanted to get this win for Coach Lav. We definitely should have got it the other day. He really helped us get our minds straight and get our focus together. We kind of didn't come through two nights ago. We really wanted to get the win for coach. We've been together. We know we've got each other's backs from here on out."
On winning the game for Coach Lavin:
"Actually we just gave coach the game ball after the game. We're going to get a pen and sign it. It means a lot to him and it means a lot to us. We're all very appreciative to play this game of basketball and especially at St. John's. Coach said it himself, he's appreciative too."
Senior Guard Paris Horne
On how he played differently against Columbia than he did against Saint Mary's:
"I wasn't aggressive against Saint Mary's. I knew my team needed me to be more aggressive in order for us to win. So I just came out and was aggressive and played with more energy."
On what it meant to get this win and not fall to 0-2:
"We knew we needed to get this win because nobody wants to start their season 0-2, especially in our home-opening game."
On adjusting to his role coming off the bench:
"It's not tough at all. The basketball coach, that's what he wants and it's easy when we go out and win. So whatever it takes for us to win, that's what I'm going to do. I'm down for it."
On what Coach Lavin has done for them:
"He tells us just to embrace the basketball. Coach Lavin makes it fun. Practice, he makes it fun. He installs winning on us and he believes that we can win and we can go far as a team and we believe that and we just work hard every day."
On how the team defended Dyami Starks differently in the second half:
"We got to him and we couldn't let him get open shots. We just made sure that somebody was with him at all times. If they penetrated, we just kept our guy on him and we didn't let him get open. We stayed with him."
Columbia Head Coach Kyle Smith
Opening Statement:
"I thought the game was competitive for about 30 minutes. I thought we played well in spurts. St. John's is a good team. They have good talent with senior experience. They played smart down the stretch and didn't let us get back in the game. Hats off to them, they did a good job, especially after having to fly across the country after just playing a game."
On the last 10 minutes of the game:
"We couldn't get a stop. It was tough defensively because we had to keep a lineup out there with shooters, which wasn't necessarily our best defensive lineup. St. John's played smart basketball and they took advantage of us. We made a conservative effort to see if they could beat us over the top, which they did."
On St. John's frontcourt:
"They're long and quick around the basket. They play undersized. They have some 6-7 athletes who can put it on the floor. They drove right around us and we just didn't have good matchups for them defensively."
