St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Holy Cross
11/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2012
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On Conference Realignment:
"Our focus has been on the team and because there's been so much speculation over the last year over the various potential outcomes of conference realignment, it's something we don't have any control over. I preach to the kids to stay focused on things we can have control over, which is getting better as a basketball team, our staff being focused on recruiting at a high level and developing our kids. Regardless of what particular outcomes happen with conference realignment, St. John's is uniquely positioned because of our heritage and tradition in New York City and the recruiting base, to be a successful program for the long haul."
"That's why I jumped back into coaching when I had this opportunity. The BIG EAST is as good as it gets and it's great to be in this league. As all these different scenarios are being discussed, I have really no say in the matter, so we just have to stay the course and keep getting better with this young group that we have, that way regardless of what unfolds, we're in a place to be competitive."
On pitching the program to recruits despite the conference shifts:
"I've never sold [other programs that we play against] in the way that we've recruited. I've focused on the fact that you're in one of the centers of the world. With us having a campus in Paris, a campus in Rome and a presence in Spain, along with the brand that we have throughout this country, it allows us to position ourselves as a university and a basketball program in a very positive light. We talk about the tradition, the legends, the Hall of Famers, the fact that we're top-seven in all the important categories such as winning percentage and total number of wins, All-Americans, NCAA Tournament appearances and NIT Championships. We've really focused on St. John's as an institution, on New York City, on our brand of basketball, our coaching staff and our heritage and tradition. The other schools in the league wouldn't have been something that we amplify in the recruiting process."
On falling to Murray State and Baylor:
"You'd always rather win than lose, so we'd rather be 4-0 or 3-1, but clearly playing a rugged schedule is how you grow up. You look at our schedule, there're no creampuffs or patsies. We'll learn and grow from every preseason and non-conference game we have, whether it's style of play, because they're ranked, their experience or travel. To play four games in six days or five games in nine days, I'm not sure I've ever had a team play five games in nine days, it's more like an NBA schedule."
"It's an opportunity for us to grow as team against tough competition, and we get a gauge of where we are as a team both individually with our personnel and collectively as a group and where the vulnerabilities are, while building on the strengths. There wer some things offensively that I was pleased with against Baylor. We wore down a little bit at the end, and we need to get more minutes for Marco Bourgault and Felix Balamou, and Jamal Branch when he comes back in December will get added to the flow to help build depth. There were some really positive things in the Baylor game offensively, but some glaring thing defensively. The next six weeks as we get ready for BIG EAST play, how much we improve on the defensive end of the floor will be critical if we're going to have some degree of success."
On the emergence of Phil Greene IV:
"I think Phil Greene is the quiet, stoic, consistent leader of this team. He leads by example where his actions speak volumes in terms of his focus, work ethic and the way he's continued to develop and improve his game."
"When you play at a school like St. John's and we receive national media coverage and all of our games get national exposure, if a player improves on his game, people are watching. Phil's going to have opportunities to play at the next level. It's tough to speculate when that will be, but if you look at his trajectory, it's impressive. He's continuing to grow his game, to polish, enhance and refine all the skills necessary to be a complete guard. He's making great judgments, seeing the floor with clarity and playing at a pace that's allowed him to be effective. Phil is kind of a poster child for the old saying 'be quick but don't hurry' this year. Last year we knew he had great speed, but there wasn't the purpose. Now he's combined the purposeful approach to the game with speed, so there's been a nice marriage with his athleticism and his quickness to his approach, and he's been more effective as a result."
