St. John's University Athletics
Pre-Game Quotes vs. Providence
12/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 26, 2011
Assistant Coach Mike Dunlap
On intense practice sessions:
"Long term this group needs to be developed, not only with the conceptual part of it, but with the attention to detail and fundamentals. We have the short term objective of playing Providence or whatever is in front of us, but the long-term objective is to continue to build a base that will be ready to play next year as well, so you have to service two things."
On concerns of overworking:
"That was never a thought in my mind. If we ever want to be accused of something, it's them being overworked, that objective is achieved. They're as young as they're ever going to be, they're powers of recuperation are remarkable and we're on point as far as what we want to do. We have a culture of work. We can't attempt to win the BIG EAST, we don't know when it's going to happen, but we can't get there with psycho-babble or talking our players into 90-minute workouts, I don't care who you are, especially when you're not blessed with certain things that other programs are blessed with, specifically talent in terms of volume."
On how the team has progressed over the last few months:
"They are rising to the standards that we're keeping, they always do, whether it's the classroom or the gym. Also, their ability to communicate with each other, this is the first time they've been with each other on this journey, so watching them play off of on anther in twos and threes has been pretty neat to watch. We're really enjoying their progress. For example, when we played Texas-Pan American who played very well against us, to be able to win that game in the last minute, for me mentally was a big step forward. They could have easily gotten discourage when they stuck those two threes inside of two minutes and given the game away, but they didn't, they stayed with it, and low and behold we won the game, and that was a lot of fun."
On whether this team has been the most challenging of his career:
"It's been challenging but it's been enjoyed. Have there been points of frustration? Every day, because my job is to create and orb of discomfort. Nothing great ever happened with everybody being comfortable and a lot of backslapping going on without discomfort. Whether it's a great mile, or a great this or a great that, you'll find that what's behind that is preparation, organization and frustration. I've been a part of championship teams, like last year's team who went from nothing to being ranked 15th in the country from expectations that weren't that, with the entire BIG EAST coaching group that voted us 12th, and we ended up third. We exceed expectations, and with this group, the faces change but the challenges remain the same. For me, and for our staff it's been an arduous process and we've had plenty of surprises, but our job is to be prepared, be professional and also to enjoy it, and I've loved every minute of it, and that includes the frustration. It's a great challenge."
Freshman Guard Phil Greene
On getting ready for BIG EAST:
"Things are coming along. We've been having long, tough practices so we can be ready and be prepared for the BIG EAST. We know it's going to be a challenge, but we're up to the challenge."
On longer practices:
"When the season started, they were 90 minute practices, now they're three-hour, four-hour practices, just grinding away so we can get everything perfect for when game time comes. It's challenging because you get tired, you just want to let go of the rope, just want to get done with practice. Coach has been on us about sticking with it, but we've been putting in the work, and our teammates give energy, so we can get through practice and get better at each practice."
On freshman swingman Amir Garrett's learning curve:
"He's learning fast. He pretty much got the whole system down in three practices. He fits right in."
Things worked on since the UTPA game:
"[We've worked on] defense for one, and crashing the boards, getting at least three guys on the boards and getting back in transition. [We worked] on offense attacking early, planting edges getting into our stuff quicker."
Freshman Swingman Amir Garrett:
On what Head Coach Steve Lavin has been telling him:
"[Lavin] told me to just go with the flow, to not try and do too much right now and just go with the flow of the game."
On the difficulty of the system:
"The offense is pretty easy if you just pay attention. Coach Dunlap is so smart, if you just listen he's not going to tell you anything wrong. If you listen, you'll pick it up fast because the whole offense I'm pretty much getting it down every day. If you pay attention to [Dunlap], you'll be fine. The defense is kind of complicated, because you're constantly moving with a push and pull. It's challenging, but it's able to be taught."
On learning curve:
"I'm coming along pretty quickly. I think two or three weeks and I'll be where I need to be."
On the past few weeks:
"It's crazy, at first I was just thinking I was just up in Maine, and then all of the sudden I'm down here and I'm playing already. I was just amazed. The first game was difficult, because I didn't think I was going to play as much to be honest. I was thinking maybe seven, six minutes, and then I got thrown in. It's gotten better with practices. I was working out over the break, so it's getting better day-by day."
