St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 100, Westmont 42
11/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2010
St. John's Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"I haven't had the time to look at all the numbers in terms of our statistics, but clearly it was a step in the right direction. Kind of building from our scrimmage against Manhattan in two areas, and that was sharing the basketball (30 assists are a good indication of that). I think they really looked for each other. There were some great sequences where that second, third or fourth extra pass led to somebody getting a good look. I thought it started with Malik Boothe, his leadership kind of spearheaded the offensive attack early in the game and then I liked the fact Dwight Hardy and D.J. Kennedy, two players who are clearly going to be very productive and go-to weapons for us, had a quiet night in the first half, but they didn't force anything. They kept their poise, did other things to help us, and they contributed with their passing, their screening and most importantly didn't let that bother them. That's something that can be a potential strength of this team. There's some nice balance and nice pieces, so when one or two players aren't having a real productive stretch, someone else can step up, like Dwayne Polee II or Justin Brownlee. So contributions from a number of people and I thought that was a real positive. So sharing the basketball and I thought we had good effort, the second half it wasn't at the level we would have liked to have seen, but sometimes that's part of having a big lead and just having to mature as a basketball team in terms of how to sustain the level we had in the first half."
On what it was like returning to the sideline:
"It really has been from the start, just a comfortable transition back in so many regards and tonight was another example of that. I would say that before the Manhattan scrimmage I had more of that healthy adrenaline than I did tonight. The Manhattan game, even though it was a scrimmage, was the first time I popped the cork on something after that seven years. That really helped me as much as it did the players in terms of getting the cobwebs off and getting back on the bicycle as they say."
On taking a step in the right direction:
"I think it's an indication that there is some balance there offensively, so we don't have to be overly reliant on one or two players. Yet clearly, DJ Kennedy, as I've said all along will be the hub of the wheel on what we do offensively, because of his experience, his versatility, his confidence, and his size and then Dwight Hardy is as impressive of a shooter as I've ever coached. He's going to get looks at the basket and have an Emerald City green light as I like to say when he's open."
Senior Guard/Forward D.J. Kennedy
On what he found out about the team against Westmont:
"We've got a lot of talent on the team. As you can see, we like playing with each other. We probably had a career high in assists, so I definitely feel that sharing the ball is done throughout the team. No selfish play on the team."
On if he went into the game wanting to be more of a playmaker:
"I just go into the game and see how we're built, see what the defense gives me and see the pace of the game. Today, that's what the defense gave me: a lot of playmaking from me and Dwight (Hardy) both. As you can see firsthand, we don't even have to score as much. We just need to know our teammates can ball."
On if it felt different out on the floor despite having much of the same player personnel from last year:
"It actually felt great to finally get a chance to show our fans what we've been feeling and how great we're going to be this year coming in. So it just felt great being out there. It's always different. We've got a whole new staff and we're just now getting used to it. But I feel like there it was more excitement."
On his assessment of Dwayne Polee II's debut:
"He's athletic. That's something you can't teach. He can rebound, run the court and you can basically just lob it up to him and you know he's going to dunk it. So it's always great to play with someone athletic like that."
On if he felt that the team had a good game:
"I think there's always room for improvement. This is early in the year, so you can't say it's a great game. We give a lot of respect for that team, but we definitely feel like there's a lot of things we can clean up on. I feel like in the second half, early on we had too many turnovers and we just didn't have the same intensity as in the first half. So there are definitely a lot of things we can learn from this game, but at the same time, not taking anything away from us, we had a good game."
Senior Guard Dwight Hardy
On whether he feels his role on the team will be enhanced this season:
"Yeah. Coach Lavin wants me to be very aggressive on both ends of the floor and also to be a leader out there when I go to the point guard position."
On how Coach Lavin said he wanted to see Hardy to be more of a leader and run more plays:
"Basically, from seeing film from last year, he felt I could've done more. Also he just wanted me to play my game. He knows I'm a good scorer and he just wants me to improve on my defense and be a leader out there on the court."
On how it felt playing more zone defense as opposed to man-to-man defense:
"I think it's good. From my standpoint, it's like a matchup zone because the guards have to close out to the players on the wing to give the post a chance to get back down low and cover the big guys. I think the zone is to our advantage because we're very quick. We've got long arms and as long as we communicate out there we'll be able to get steals and deflections."
On how his mindset changes when he's running the point:
"Last year, when I went to the point, I took my mind off scoring, which is what I do well. This year Coach Lavin wants me to run the team, but at the same time, if I've got daylight or an opening to the rim, he wants me to be aggressive at all times."
Freshman Forward Dwayne Polee II
On it is difficult being in the starting lineup as a freshman:
"No. I mean coach just wants me to go out and play my game, play hard, get rebounds and play defense. So that's what I'm here to do. There's nothing really too hard about that."
On if he was comfortable being asked to be the starter:
"Oh yeah. He just wants me to go out there and play basketball and that's what I know how to do. So I didn't have a problem."
On how this game helped prepare him for playing against St. Mary's:
"Just the atmosphere of being in a college arena with the fans yelling, having people yelling your name, all types of stuff. So just playing in big arena with lots of fans, that's the main thing. Other than that, I'm just going out there playing basketball, playing hard and doing what coach asks me to do."
Westmont Head Coach John Moore
Opening Statement:
"I thought St. John's played a near perfect game. They played exceptionally well as team. New York City has a lot to look forward to with this St. John's squad. They played with great intensity, shot the ball well and rebounded well against us. They played a lot better than UCLA a few nights ago. If I had to compare the two games, I think this St. John's team played a lot better than they did."
