St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 76, DePaul 51
2/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2011
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St. John's Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"I thought our team answered the bell in terms of the challenge of sustaining the level of play that we've had in this stretch of eight games. Our staff is pleased with the level of effort and the execution over the course of this game. And as a result, we were able to build a comfortable lead and then salt the game away down the stretch."
On the tough 2-3 zone his team played throughout the game:
"The combination of the full-court press with our changing half-court defenses is disruptive when we bring good energy, we're active and tied together working in concert. We've had teams that have attacked it well, but I thought tonight was one of the games where we were able to sustain the energy and the effort. We were alert in our coverages… they attacked well from the 3-point line early, but I thought we solved that problem. The nice thing is our players are getting to the point where they can use their ingenuity and resourcefulness and solve problems on their own. That's a trait that you hope your team develops over the course of the year. Where they're less reliant on the coaches and instead show initiative and problem-solving abilities on the court by themselves."
On if this game was the sign of a great team:
"Tonight's victory is an example of a team developing a hard edge and maturity that will bode well for us coming down the home stretch and into the postseason. The challenges tonight were would we sustain a level of focus, effort and execution for the entire game. I also thought this was the biggest game of the year because there's a natural tendency to exhale or be complacent or distracted when we've hit some benchmarks recently like being in the top 25. I thought they passed the test or answered the bell and naturally Saturday presents the biggest challenge of the year. That will be the next opponent that we need to reload and get ready to perform against."
On if this team has reached its peak yet:
"No, it definitely hasn't. One of the positives tonight was Paris (Horne) performed very well… 6-of-7 from the field and the one miss was a dunk. (Dwayne) Polee I thought was a real plus tonight because we need Dwayne to play like a sophomore coming down the stretch and give us a real lift. As you can see, out in the open court he's as gifted a player as we have. So it's really important that he runs the floor and his teammates look from him, because when you throw it ahead he has a knack and unique gift of getting to the rim to finish and stretch out with that length and jumping ability that he has."
On Dwight Hardy's name being mentioned in the BIG EAST Player of the Year talk:
"It's a great thing because Dwight (Hardy) is having a great run this year at St. John's, because he's a part of a very cohesive group that allows his talents to shine. So when someone like Dwight is having a breakout season or when Justin Brownlee gets the MVP at the Alaskan Shootout or the Holiday Festival it's a compliment to the surrounding cast of players who helped him have that special moment."
On the team's confidence heading into Saturday's game at Villanova:
"In this league you never get complacent or feel comfortable, because you look at teams that have overwhelming talent and our well-coached and they drop six of seven or three out of four. But you would rather have your team confident and playing with the bounce and the swagger at this time of the year than not have that."
Senior Guard/Forward D.J. Kennedy
On whether St. John's defensive intensity and rebounding energized the team:
"Yes, definitely. That's what we look for - our defense to support our offense for us. We came out with a good defensive mindset and it led to easy buckets on the offensive end."
On if anyone on the team said before the DePaul game that it was a must-win game:
"We know how important this game is. In past years, we had letdowns in games like this. So we just look forward to that and we just lock in every game."
On what it would mean to get a double-bye in the BIG EAST Tournament:
"That would be big for the rest. Let the other teams beat up on each other and we'll have the winners. We'll come out with more energy and more rest. In the BIG EAST, that's key to get your rest. Because when you play those early games, it's hard to win. It's four or five games straight. That's really tough do in the BIG EAST. So I definitely would be big for us."
On if he thinks St. John's is a contender for the BIG EAST title:
"Definitely. We go into every game feeling like we're going to win. So that's what we feel like. We'll contend for a BIG EAST title and a national title."
On whether the team has a better understanding of its offensive and defensive sets at this point of the season as compared to the beginning of the season:
"Most definitely. I feel like, early on we just kind of expected to be good right away. I think later as the season went on, we got better with each game. Like I said, at the end of the year, those losses really helped us out. In this stretch, we were able to make a run late. So I definitely feel like we just got better as the season went on."
Senior Guard Dwight Hardy
On what it would mean to him if he won BIG EAST Player of the Year:
"It would mean a lot. It would mean that I put a lot of hard work into developing a good skill game. It's a great individual achievement, but I'm not really focused on that at the moment. I'm just worried about getting wins and trying to make a push for the NCAA Tournament."
On if St. John's can win the rest of its regular season games:
"Yes, we feel like we can win every game. If we just come out and play how we played tonight, then I don't think there's going to be a reason why we can't."
On if the team is playing at a higher level defensively at this point of the season:
"I think we are for the most part. In the beginning of the year, our zone wasn't as strong. Teams had tendencies to get corner 3's against us and I just think that we worked hard on it in practice and fixed our areas of our zone that we needed help in. Anytime like that, get our hands and move our feet fast, it's very hard for the opposing opponents to score against you."
On how a big win at Carnesecca Arena will help the team moving forward:
"We talked about that. When we play here, we don't really play as well as when we play in The Garden. Tonight, we just didn't want that to happen. We just wanted to come out and get a huge win by a large amount of points. I think moving forward, it gives us a great advantage because we know anytime we come out like that, our chances of us winning are greater. On the road, we've got to play even harder because the crowd is against us and the environment is tough, especially at Villanova. So we've just got to come out, stay as a team, don't give up, allow no letdowns and we should be fine."
On what the difference was for the team tonight to elevate its play in Carnesecca Arena:
"Our energy. It seems like our energy level hasn't been as high as it was in The Garden. The past couple of games here, we won close games and we lost close games. In each one of those games in Carnesecca, we started off good, but we hadn't finished good. But tonight we just wanted to make sure that we started good and didn't have any letups. I think we did a great of that."
On Kevin Clark's no-look pass:
"That's a 10. I didn't even see that coming."
On how confident the team is going into Saturday's game against Villanova.
"Very confident. We feel like we're right now and we've got two days to get ready for Villanova. Like I said, it's the BIG EAST. Any team can be beaten, you just have to come with your 'A' game. As long as we do that and stop them, we should be fine."
On whether the team has a better understanding of its offensive and defensive sets at this point of the season as compared to the beginning of the season:
"I just feel like in the beginning, in those losses, those wake-up calls for us, it showed glimpses of how good we can be. We knew if we could just play like that for 40 good minutes, we could be a very good team. Now we're showing that and we just want to keep it up."
Head Coach Oliver Purnell
Opening Statement:
"First of all, we got to give St. John's all the credit in the world. I think they're playing really good basketball. They showed no signs of letting up tonight. Obviously, I would like to have seen that. I really can't see a single player that we had to play well tonight. St. John's defense and zone defense had a lot to do with it. That's probably the best zone that we've seen all year long and they are playing with a lot of confidence. I thought they played really well and I didn't think we played well at all, certainly not as well as we played in the last four or five games. Again, I give them all the credit; they made us play that way."
St. John's compared to other BIG EAST teams:
"They are a legitimate BIG EAST team. This is the best league in the country and they can beat anybody in the BIG EAST. I wouldn't necessarily put them above Pittsburgh but they're right there with the likes of them, Georgetown and Syracuse. This is a legitimate BIG EAST team and if you're a legitimate BIG EAST team in the top echelon in the league, you can beat any team in the country"
On if Dwight Hardy should be in the Player of the Year discussion:
"Sure why not. You're coming down the stretch and you're playing extremely well. St. John's has a chance to finish very high in the best league in the country. Sure he should be in the discussion."
