St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes vs. Davidson
12/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2010
- St. John's Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Lavin
On returning as a head coach to Madison Square Garden for the first time in 10 years:
"All the way through from the days as a fan of basketball watching games on the television set, like Knicks vs. Celtics, or going back to individual performances from Bernard King, the Pearl (Earl Monroe) or Walt Frazier. Growing up in a basketball family I was aware of what a significant venue or arena that Madison Square Garden is. As an assistant coach coming into the Garden you naturally are inspired the first time you're under the bright lights. And then to bring a team in as a head coach like I did at UCLA, and to broadcast games courtside with my partner Brent Musburger; all those experiences make you aware of the great heritage of tradition and what makes the Garden special."
On if there is a common thread on why the team lost its last two games:
"I think offensively there is. There were different issues that we had to deal with in terms of breaking down a defense, but offensively there were stretches where the combination of running a good offense and missing a layup and then running a good offense and getting fouled but missing the free throws and then sprinkle in a couple quick shots where we didn't get enough ball reversals, our post entries or our piece of the paint off penetration and as a result shot quick. Quick shots lead to run-outs for opponents and even though we have taken care of the basketball, there were a couple turnovers which is inevitable over the course of a game, but when all of those happen in a seven or eight minute period we have the droughts and consequently teams are going to go on runs during those droughts. Just like our best stretches come from other team's droughts. What you hope is that you are on the positive or favorable side of those runs in basketball. We were the benefactor of some really good runs, but also the victim of some other great runs by our opponents. We go back and look at developing a second gear offensively. That just means being mindful of time and score and situations and not losing your aggressiveness. Through the flow of the game, the worst thing you can do as a coach is to put the game on ice too soon and lose your aggressiveness when there is still plenty of time for your opponent to still comeback. It's that fine line between maintaining an assertive, aggressive approach, but being prudent with your shot selection and converting when opportunities provide themselves both in open shots and free throw attempts."
On if there was anything that could have been done differently to stop the runs during the Fordham game:
"Absolutely. I think one is offensively I might have gone to a set where we're guaranteed to get five, six, seven or eight touches. Defensively, I would have gone to maintaining our pressure, but not trap as often or as aggressively and not as a far up the floor so we wouldn't open up the court and create offense for Fordham through our pressure. When you do have setbacks, it's what things you can glean, and what things can you learn that will make you a better basketball team moving forward. I think we'll be better, it doesn't guarantee wins, but I think we will be better as a team because of the setbacks, as painful as the losses are because we've let leads slip away. As a team, we're going to continue to staff and rectify those issues, but I could have helped with some sets offensively that would have guaranteed more ball movement, more reversals and internal screening before we got into our zone attack. And defensively, keeping the pressure, but not as aggressive in our traps at certain stages in the game."
On the players getting to know each other on the court:
"I think that's a big issue, it's hard to pinpoint which one would be the biggest, but I just think in general with the transition, a new staff and a group of players that have never played for us and then a staff that's learning about each other. You put that together, and the fact that it has only been eight weeks since we set sail as a group, it's still early. I say that in a very encouraging way because I see all the positives, the breakthroughs, and how quickly our kids have adjusted and adapted. Also knowing that they're only going to get better with each practice and each game experience, even at times when it comes from a setback."
On the team learning to win:
"I would say they know how to win, and now what we need is a string of games like we had in Alaska. Where you can feel good about yourself in terms of making strides, but I did emphasize this week that while we wish we were 7-1 and even 8-0 that we are still early in the season. Eight weeks is not a substantial amount of time when you consider it's all new. From that stand point, and it's not just a power of positive thinking, there are stretches of play that our team has put together that are really impressive. We talked about the shootout and the big run againstArizona State and then even in stretches against St. Bonaventure. In the St. Bonaventure games they made runs and took the lead, and then we came back and got the lead. Against Fordham as well, while we were disappointed with giving up such a big lead, we cut it to five, we might have put it back up 11 and they made a run to take the lead then we got the lead back so there is a counter punching that's encouraging that we will need over the course of the year. As I've stressed since the beginning with our players, it's a game of runs and you can't allow a team's run to discourage you to the point where you don't keep fighting, keep battling, keep trying to execute and keep competing and solving problems and that's just part of the competition. That's a healthy part of competition. A resilient spirit, resolve and problem solving are things that we are continuing to get better at."
Senior Guard Malik Boothe
On what practice has been like since the losses to St. Bonaventure and Fordham:
"It's been the same all year. They continue to teach us. We continue to learn from them and like Coach said after, they've been learning from us because they're not just new to us, we're new to them as well."
On comparing where the team is now compared to where the team was at this point last year:
"This year, I think we're in better shape, but last year we had a better record. We're doing more running, up and down. We're playing at a quicker pace, both offensively and defensively. But last year, we just had a better record at this point."
On being third in the BIG EAST and 32nd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio:
"I think I'm just taking less risks with passing. I understand that for us to win, you can't turn the ball over. For us to score, you can't turn the ball over. I think I'm taking less risks."
On what concerns him the most about the team after the two losses:
"Nothing concerns me because we're still focused. We understand that there's going to be some setbacks and we've just got to bounce back from those setbacks."
Senior Guard Paris Horne
On what bothers him the most about the last two games:
"The last two games, what bothers me the most was probably the fact that we did a lot of great things, a lot of good things in games when we had the lead. And then we just kind of slipped and lost the lead and lost the game. But we did a lot of great things in [the Fordham] game, both games actually."
On what good things the team did in those games:
"Just our communication, our ball movement, getting up and down the floor, our defensive pressure, our hot hands. It was about everything. We've just got to be able to sustain it for 40 minutes."
On what happened to the team against Fordham:
"I don't know. I mean Fordham, they never gave up. They kept fighting back. They hit a lot of big shots down the stretch. Maybe we missed some key assignments on defense and we rotated a little bit slow and they hit a few big shots, a couple of shots. And that helped them a lot. Mainly, we've just got to focus in and hit our free throws still and focus in on getting rebounds."
On comparing where the team is now compared to where the team was at this point last year:
"I'm still confident about the team. My confidence is never down with my team. We know what we've got to do to get better. We're still as a group hungry to win all the games that we can. The coaching staff, like they said, they're new and we're still getting adjusted to our system that Coach is putting in. So it's going to take time, but we're getting better every day."
Senior Guard/Forward D.J. Kennedy
On the best Christmas present he is giving someone is this year:
"My nephew, he's one year old. So I got him this big truck he can ride around in."
On what bothers him the most about St. John's last two losses:
"What bothers me the most is I feel like those were games we marked as must-have games that you need, especially if you're trying to make an NCAA tourney run. Those games you have to have in your bag with a win. I think that's what bothered all of us the most, especially when we know that's our no. 1 goal - to make the NCAA Tournament. A game like that, it just hurts so much. Both games, we know we were able to win those games, but we weren't able to pull them out."
On if the reasons for losing to Fordham were the same as the reasons for losing to St. Bonaventure:
"We encountered the same things. I felt like in both games, there were stretches we had when we just looked great, like the best team probably in the BIG EAST. We go up 15, 20 and 20 and it felt like we were still playing at the same pace. Sometimes we just need to be able to slow it down. You can't play at the same pace all game. A team will catch on. I feel like our last two games, that's what's been happening. We'd be so fired to get the win, the quick start, the big lead that we kind of lose at times our momentum."
"Sometimes we'd be pushing so much, just playing aggressive, it kind of comes back to bite us. Sometimes we need to just switch it up. Teams adjust and I feel like that's what Fordham did. We were pressuring them all game, attacking them all game and they were able to adjust to that and we probably just needed to take a few possessions and just throw it down - better shot selections and use the clock to our advantage."
On if pressuring and attacking Fordham was the plan:
"The plan is we're going to always attack. I feel like that's how we play -up and down, run, push it. That's just the way we play. Definitely the important thing is players on the court just knowing the time, scoring momentum. When they've got a run, we've got to execute. I feel like we just didn't do that late in the game."
On how he has played so far this season:
"I feel like I've got so much to show. The only good thing is usually, the last few years, I've always seemed to play my best basketball at the beginning of the year and withered down the stretch. I feel like the good thing about this year is I'm not even close to playing my best basketball. I feel like that's one of the positives for me. I have a lot more to show the rest of the year. It's only eight games in but I expect a lot from myself and my team to do well. So I definitely got a lot to show."
