St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. No. 11/10 Louisville
1/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2012
St. John's Assistant Coach Mike Dunlap
On what he's learned about Amir Garrett:
"He's a physical player. He hits pretty hard on his screens and then he doesn't shy away from any kind of contact, and that's a real positive. He picks things up the first time. I didn't know how long it would take him with the basics of what we're teaching and it's good to know that he's a quick study."
On D'Angelo Harrison seeing more time at point guard:
"It depends on Phil [Greene]. We like him [D'Angelo] at the No. 2 a whole lot, because that's a scoring mindset. At the point, he's more service related, but when needed, we'll continue to develop him at the 1. It's pretty much how each game goes, because if Phil gets into foul trouble, we're not afraid to put him there, but it will be a game-by-game decision."
On a small roster against a team like Louisville:
"The small ball should help us because we've got mobile 4s in there. With someone like Kentucky or UConn, their dilemma is to either go with their big lineup or their small lineup and it's harder for them to play 94 feet with three bigs. But with [Rick] Pitino, even if he's trying to take care of his team and make sure that people are happy, he's going to end up playing a lot of small ball because he likes to press, run and play Pitino basketball. For our team - Louisville being the toughest test to come - we've done well against teams that have pressed us and taken pretty good care of the ball."
On adjusting to his current coaching role:
"It's nice from the standpoint of it had been six years since I had been on the sideline as a head coach. It's nice to sharpen the knife again and to be that guy from a strategic standpoint. But, I will also be quick to say that we continue to miss Lav's [Steve Lavin] presence. At some point in time, you just are more comfortable because you've made a lot more decisions when you add the games up. It's an unusual chair - in that the buck stops with you - and you've got to counter what the opponent is doing, you've got to counter surges, you've got to try and play hot hands. There are a lot of decisions you have to make that are snap. Each game it gets more comfortable for me."
On using nine chairs as oppose to six during timeouts:
"I wanted all the assistants to be able to contribute. When you're up above a lot of times you're hesitant - and I've stood in those shoes a lot - but when you're sitting eyeball to eyeball communication is more collaborative. I was running on the treadmill and I said, 'We're in an unusual situation, and I want to bring the circle complete and make sure that the coaches feel they are comfortable in talking because it's a we deal'. Even though I'm a lightning rod in those huddles, I'm not defensive at all. Some guys like to control their huddles and I get why, but I just think they see us moving shoulder-to-shoulder, giving information free-flow, so it was just an idea I had and it has helped a lot."
Freshman Swingman Amir Garrett
On how far he has progressed in the last two weeks:
"I think I'm coming along well. Coach Dunlap and the team are helping me learn more as I go every day. As far as progression, I'm doing pretty well. The first day I didn't know anything, because it was my first time and I'd had no practices, but now practicing I'm learning a lot."
On what's been most difficult in learning the matchup zone:
"The struggle with the zone has been the rotations. For me it's kind of difficult being at the top, playing the top end of the zone there is a lot of pressure because you have to put pressure on the ball. You have to be quick up there and you have to be on your toes."
On passion for defense:
"Defense is alright, but you've got to do it. If you want to win, you have to play defense. I like playing defense, it gets tiring sometimes, but I like being on the best guy and shutting them down. Ever since I started playing basketball, everybody has emphasized defense so it's programmed in my mind that I've got to play defense all the time."
On thoughts after rolling an ankle:
"I roll my ankle so many times, it's part of my life now. I roll it at least twice a day, it hurts for a second but then the pain goes away. I'm glad I don't ever twist it to where it's really bad."
On the meaning of his two tattoos (hungry and humble):
"My father always tells me to stay hungry to get where you want in life, and then humble is something I live by every day. You've got to stay humble, because you can't just take things for granted. My father always tells me, be hungry, stay humble."
