St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Villanova
1/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2012
St. John's Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"We're in the midst of a tough stretch with a combination of road games and ranked teams. Last night was another example of just not being able to sustain the level of intensity and execution. Some of that is due to our youth and the fact that we have a short bench, and foul trouble has hurt us of late. We need to redouble the efforts. We're mindful that we have a young team and we've got to keep raising the bar and keep a high standard in terms of our preparation, work ethic and then playing a cohesive brand of basketball. This is an unforgiving, unrelenting conference and it's tough when you struggle because it's hard to find a win. Our focus right now is on playing a higher level of basketball and elevating our play at both ends of the floor. The way we've got to do that as a staff is setting out some attainable goals in terms of both sides of the ball and trying to achieve those objectives. That's really where we are at this point with our young team trying to be patient, but at the same time have a standard that will allow us to be competitive in this conference."
On the difficulty of not being on the bench:
"It's the most difficult experience that I've had in my coaching career. Yet, what helps in dealing with that frustration is knowing that we have a first-rate staff that's uniquely positioned to help a team through a difficult situation like this. That's helped, and being in communication with them, working in concert with them and getting enough time with our players both individually and then as a group - whether it's film sessions or at practice - is the only way that we can lead our team forward at this point. I'd say it's clearly the most challenging experience of my coaching career."
On the team's phrase "don't let go of the rope":
"I'm not sure of the origins, but definitely somebody before me used that one probably in sports and other areas in life. Because we have a young team, the objectives have to be realistic, and yet also hold them to a high standard. There is a balance that we're trying to strike here between understanding and being patient with a young group that's playing a very difficult schedule in a tough conference. When you beat a Cincinnati on their home floor and have an impressive, dominant victory over Providence, that's something that gives us a reference point for hope. Now we've got to try and crawl out of this current stretch where we've struggled."
Freshman Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On having a good crowd:
"The game's at The Garden, so I think [the crowd is] going to be alright. They support us and we give thanks for each and every day they support us."
On similarities between Red Storm and Villanova:
"They have quick guards like we have. They'll be a good matchup, their wings and point guards are tough, but we have some tough guards too so we'll be ready to play."
On playing a smaller team:
"We don't give any excuses, but if it's a better matchup, we feel like we can pull out the better matchup. There's a difference between playing them and Syracuse. We can play fast, we've got some of the fastest big men in the country so we're just going to run and run hard."
On what coaches have emphasized on defense:
"Always having a man on defense. At South Florida we let a guy get hot because he was wide open. I give credit to South Florida because they did a good job of finding him. If we just find our matchup, then we'll be alright because we play good defense when we're matched up and ready to play. It's just a matter of getting down and getting in the stance."
Freshman Swingman Sir'Dominic Pointer
On what coaches have emphasized last few practices:
"Just getting out and running the ball, because we haven't been running the ball lately, so we haven't been getting a lot of easy baskets, so they really emphasized running and sitting down and playing defense."
On coaches emphasis on rebounding the last few games:
"Actually getting down the court and actually fighting and getting more than one person on the rebound, just putting more people down there so we have a chance. Also boxing out well, hitting them before we go get the ball, either pushing them away from the basket or getting them up under the basket and tracking down the ball."
On playing at Madison Square Garden:
"It's crazy every game. No matter how many times you walk in there, it always feels new. Just walking in, you get hyped."
