St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 79, Nicholls State 54
11/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2010
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St. John's Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico
Opening Statement:
"Well I was happy with the way we obviously finished the game. The way we started the game was a little sluggish. We've kind of had a little bit of a rough travel schedule and it's no excuse, but we've kind of been going for a long period of time without a break and we're a little rusty. So we're just trying to get through Monday before we have a real legitimate day off and have a chance to rest our bodies. I thought Shenneika Smith and Eugeneia McPherson in her first start did a tremendous job for us and really carried the load and were an offensive spark as well as a defensive spark for us. Hopefully we can continue to improve."
On Shenneika Smith's big game:
"Shenneika's really been tough for us lately. She had a great game at Arkansas State too. I said for her, the biggest thing now is being consistent at that. She's not a freshman anymore and we're trying to stay away from those inconsistencies of having great games and bad games. She's been a lot more consistent this year and she's doing a tremendous job on the boards as well. Last game she had a double-double and this game she was right there with nine rebounds. So that's really another emphasis we put on her - it's to try to get some boards."
On if there are more expectations for Shenneika Smith this year:
"There's no question, if anybody came to see Shenneika play for the first time and anybody that does see her play, the go, 'Oh my God.' And that's all they talk about. But the biggest thing for her is she has the body, she has the athleticism, she has all the tools, but now you've got to work. You've got to work like you want to be an All-American. You've got to work like that every single day. She's a very gifted, very special player. If she continues to work on her game, she will be an All-American."
On the team's slow starts:
"It's a combination of things. One, I really think we're run out. My staff, we said it to each other, we couldn't make it past nine o'clock. We were passed out at nine o'clock last night. I couldn't imagine what the kids feel like. Every day we've been either on the road travelling or practicing. The other day we did St. John's Bread & Life in the soup kitchen, so we played Monday night at Arkansas State, we travelled all day - nine o'clock in the morning and we probably got back here nine o'clock at night on Tuesday night. We got up at 7:00 a.m. to practice here Wednesday morning, went straight from practice to the soup kitchen, did community service there all day, went home, came here yesterday and practiced again yesterday morning at 7:00 a.m. and again this morning for an 8:00 a.m. shoot around. They're exhausted, but it is our schedule. I mean we just have got to get through Monday before we get a real day off. Our day off has been our travel day, which really isn't a day of rest. So that's part of it. The other thing is that they're kids and they're trying to find their identity right now. When they look at the schedule and see teams like Arkansas State and Nicholls State, who are quality, quality programs, but programs that they have never heard of and they don't know how hard they work. Both of those teams work incredibly hard and you got to see those kids play tonight, they play hard. They're not the biggest team or the most athletic team, but they play incredibly hard and our kids may overlook that at times for a bigger name program and then they come out a little bit flat. So, it's a combination of things, but it's obviously something we need to improve on."
Sophomore Guard Eugeneia McPherson
On her first start of the season:
"It was a little nerve-wrecking, but I couldn't let my nerves get in the way of me performing. I had to pick up from Nadirah [McKenith] and I had to pick up from where she started."
On having a different mentality starting as opposed to coming off the bench:
"I guess coming off the bench, it gives me less room for error because I'm coming of the bench trying to be that defensive spark or offensive spark. Starting a game, it really wasn't much of a difference. It really gave me a new view from the game. But it was fine."
Sophomore Guard Shenneika Smith
On the team's slow starts in games this season:
"I'm not really sure. We're still trying to figure that out right now. Coach talks about us being the team we were last year. We really hadn't changed that much other than losing two very good players. But we haven't really found the reason we've been like that. We're still trying to work. We need to work a little harder on defense. We don't communicate a lot during the first four minutes and that tends to hurt us. But we're really trying to see what the reason is for that."
On how the top-25 ranking serves as a target on the team's back:
"Last year, we were the ones who were targeting everyone. This year, being No. 22/24 in the country, everyone wants to beat somebody. They come in and see that we're ranked. Beating a ranked team is big for any program."
On why the team has had slow starts:
"We tend to come out flat sometimes and I'm not sure why. But at a certain point, we have to say to ourselves, 'What are we doing? Why are we letting this team beat us?' When we come together, we play St. John's basketball. When we first start, we sometimes just let down and we don't talk, we don't do the little things and intangibles that Coach always talks about. But we've got to go to the gym and figure it out, because when the BIG EAST comes, we can't really do that. These teams, they're good teams but our league is very competitive and we can't do that. In the BIG EAST, if we do that in the first half, there's no coming back. We've got to go in the gym and figure out why it is happening."
Nicholls State Head Coach DoBee Plaisance
Opening statement:
"This has been a great experience for our team. This is the first time since I've been at Nicholls that we've been able to play a team like St. John's. We came up here, not just to compete, but to play. I felt like we did that for the first three quarters of the game, but then we hit a wall. It's a great testament to the quality of St. John's program. I have been telling everyone since I've been here that I'm going to go back to New Orleans and tell everyone, 'those Northerners really are nice people.' We have encountered nothing but gracious hospitality. We are grateful for this opportunity.
"I've been trying to instill in my players that I don't care who you play, you have to go in there and try to win. Obviously, we are disappointed with the loss, but it's going to be something that we can grow on. St. John's is arguably going to be there with LSU as the two toughest competitors on our schedule. I've always said that there are three seasons within a season: the preseason, conference season and postseason. Everything prepares you for the latter. I was disappointed with the loss, but I felt like our kids battled as much as they could. I was disappointed at the 10-minute mark, where it wasn't a lack of effort, but maybe the overwhelming factor sunk in."
On freshman guard KK Babin's offensive performance:
"KK is going to be one of the great players ever to come out of Nicholls State and certainly in the conference. We are going to do everything we can to get some more size, but obviously we have been battling to gather around KK. She is the type of kid who is focused on getting it right and doing the right thing. This kid does not see lose at all. We could be playing the number one team in the country and she is going to sulk over this. There isn't any part of her that will say, 'well St. John's is all that,' which they are, but she will think that we let one get away. That's why she is able to play like that, night in and night out. Because of her, our future is going to be very bright."
