St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's vs. Rutgers
3/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2011
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NEW YORK -
Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"For starters, I just have to give Rutgers credit for demonstrating great fight and competitive spirit. They're opportunistic and were very close to beating us. I think it really begins with just giving our opponent the tip of the cap for a really valiant effort. I just talked to Coach Rice in the hallway and told him as much as I told the team: when you step into the postseason it's a different animal. It's thinner air and teams are galvanized and playing with a purpose because they have an opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament. Also, teams that are well coached like Rutgers are getting better with each practice and game experience so they're a better team than they were the first time we faced them. They are obviously better than they were earlier this year because none of their players let go of the rope. On the flip side, I'm proud of our players to have the composure and the poise to find a way to win a game. That's what you have to do at this stage of the season is try and advance."
On the final play of the game:
"You know, I'll have to go back and watch. It was kind of a chaotic flurry of sequences, so, to be honest, I was trying to patch it together from the players and coaches in the locker room. Until I actually review the game and the closing moments, I won't be informed enough to speak about it. When I was interviewed after the game, it was mentioned to me but I hadn't seen it. The players in the locker room were discussing it a little bit and some of the staff, and I thought maybe he threw it in the air. I don't know if he threw it in the air before he stepped out of bounds, or if he stepped out of bounds and then threw it in the air. I'm not sure what the sequence was. It was chaotic. I heard the horn and I felt that I had seen a ghost in the Garden. I was fortunate that we were going to be able to go to the locker room and get to the next round."
On the importance of D.J. Kennedy to the team:
"The strength of D.J. is his versatility. He can help us at both ends of the floor, and influence a game both offensively and defensively. It gives our coaching staff some flexibility or versatility to take advantage of, to try and put our team in a competitive advantage. For instance, when he rebounds the ball for us, he has the skills to push it in transition so he's a point-forward who can see over the top of defenses and finish at the rim. He can take it coast to coast with three dribbles and long strides, so that puts pressure on opposing defenses. The strength of this team is the players are complimentary to one another. D.J. would be an example of that with his skill and versatility and size. That gives our team a chance to continue to win games."
On fouling Rutgers while up three with 17 seconds left:
"We played Rutgers earlier on our home floor this year and we didn't foul with 30 seconds to go. We tried to get one stop and they buried a three on us with eight seconds to go in the game. We weren't going to allow them to do that because they'd done it to us once this year and we've actually had other teams that have done that so us as well and it probably has cost us. I had confidence that we would be able to execute offensively and be able to solve the game away. One of the strengths of this team is making free throws in late situations, obviously it didn't work out as we planned. That's the beauty of sport."
On using his postseason experience at UCLA to help prepare his team for the NCAA Tournament:
I think it's more in simple terms, just trying to draw on the experiences in terms of how to navigate the postseason. I just think that familiarity with tournament conditions helps. I was fortunate to be part of 13 consecutive NCAA tournaments as an assistant and a head coach and the conditions that come with getting through a first weekend and getting to the second weekend. At this time of the year I like to see the hay is in the barn, an old phrase Pete Newel used. Less is more and having a team that is mentally fresh is more important than making dramatic changes or adjustments at this stage of the game. It's doing what you do well and being focused on your execution and having fresh minds and fresh bodies on the floor for game time. I think the biggest mistake at this time of the year is that sometimes people over-coach or wear their team out and they don't have a fresh team mentally and physically. If there is one thing I learned from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, it's that he is good about that, making sure they do more mental preparation and walk throughs and goal sessions and film. We use the conference room in our hotel and you have to get them off their legs when you have to play back to back games in tournament conditions like that."
On the matchup with Syracuse:
"They give us our only loss here. We are excited to play them, but at the same time we don't want to get overexcited and not come ready to play. We'll just come and play St. John's basketball."
Senior guard Dwight Hardy
On playing against the physical defense of Rutgers:
"I want to give them credit. They switched players on me every time I came off a screen or I was moving around the court, so I think they did a good job of contesting my shots and making me take tough shots. They get all of the credit for that, but it's a learning experience for me and next game I have to switch it up and find another way to score. As far as the last play, the ball went through my hands. It hit my shoulder and went out of bounds. I take total blame for that. It was an accurate pass, but I just didn't catch it."
On playing Syracuse tomorrow:
"They have a terrific zone. They're long and they're big. We have to find ways to get the ball in the middle and space them out for driving lanes and short corner passes to our bigs. We feel that we've been playing better against zones down the stretch, so we feel like we can come into the game with a great mindset and be ready to play them."
