St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's 65 Holy Cross 53
11/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2012
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
QUEENS, N.Y. -
Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"There were stretches in the second half that we played our best basketball of the season. It's still very early; anything that I say that's positive is always in the context of guarded optimism because we're still learning who we are as a basketball team. Our staff is still getting a feel for our personnel and how to best utilize both the newcomers and the returners. There were some real positives in the second half on both ends of the floor. We were tied together defensively with good communication which allowed us to pressure Holy Cross more effectively and take away their air space. In the first half we didn't apply the necessary pressure on the ball, and as a result, they were able to pick us apart with their high-low game. They were getting easy basket after easy basket in the paint, but in the second half we were able to solve both our interior and perimeter defense."
On Felix Balamou:
"Felix was once again a spark. His readiness is what impresses me most; he's ready when called upon and delivers both offensively and defensively. He turned the momentum of this game and really, like smelling salts, he awakened his teammates with his inspired play."
On JaKarr Sampson's progression:
"Poise is the thing that comes to mind the most when thinking about JaKarr. In the first game against Detroit he was in a hurry and rushing his play, but it came from a positive place because he had so much energy, enthusiasm and adrenaline. As we've gone along in the past couple weeks, he's settled down and is letting the game come to him. He's not forcing in single coverage, he's going to work when he has pressure on him. His maturity is developing right before his eyes."
On what the team's biggest weakness is so far:
"Our lack of size is definitely my biggest concern. We have to win in a different way. We don't have that dominant inside guy, but we do have a number of players that have nice length. We have to use our depth, quickness, skill and pace to try and offset our lack of traditional strength inside. I wouldn't trade my guys for anybody, but we are still so young."
On what the team can do to overcome the lack of size:
"We need to look for quick strikes in transition and use our speed to get down the floor. In the half court, we need to get the ball in the paint through various ways. We need to get some second shot opportunity, get to the foul line more and get some points off our turnovers. We can generate offense in a number of ways to offset that lack of a traditional center. The message of the second half was the same as the second half of Detroit: get the ball into the paint and play the game around the rim."
On the balance scoring against Holy Cross:
"When you have balanced scoring you become tougher to prepare for and tougher to defend because the opposing team can't load up on one particular player. For instance, tonight we tried to give different looks to their point guard and try to wear him down. The balance of scoring indicates that we'll be tougher to prepare for as the year goes on. If we're too dependent on D'Angelo [Harrison] and he has a tough game, then it will be tough to win. If we are able to win when he's not the leading scorer, it shows we are able to win in different ways."
Freshman forward JaKarr Sampson
On his progression over the past two weeks:
"I've been more relaxed and just taking my time out there. I've been letting the game come to me, and haven't been rushing things. Also, I'm just getting used to playing with my teammates."
On the improvement of his jump shot:
"Everyone says I have weird form, but I just kept working on it. The form doesn't matter that much, as long as you work on making that shot the same way every time. I've been working on my shot, so that I could gain the respect of other players who try to play off of me. I like to just go in the gym and shoot until I get tired."
On Felix's athleticism:
"He can jump out of the gym and can run the floor. He's way more athletic than me, which I didn't even know when we recruited him. He's athletic and has the ability to block shots."
On playing three games in four days:
"I love basketball, so I love playing this many games. Maybe I'm just saying that because it's the beginning of the season, but as of right now I like it."
Freshman guard Felix Balamou
On what he's trying to show the fans:
"Basketball, as well as all other sports, is about winning. Anything that I can do to help my team win, I will do it no matter what."
On working his way in to the rotation:
"As a player, I know one thing, you play hard and you put everything together to make your team win. That is 80 or 90% of the coaches' decision, if you are on the court just prove that you can win. Don't just complain because the coach is not playing you just be quiet and anything to help the team win."
On three games in four days:
"We are supposed to win these games so no matter what, no matter how many games we play. This is our home court and we are supposed to protect it and we did that tonight."
Head Coach Milan Brown
Overall thoughts on the game:
"I thought it was a competitive game. I thought both squads played really hard. We gave up a couple buckets on offensive rebounds that I think hurt us, which got them going offensively. Once they saw the ball go through the basket in the second half a little bit more than they did the first, they just got a little too comfortable. On our offensive end, I thought we got some pretty good looks that we didn't make. Some other times, their athleticism bothered us. They probably took around 12 points off the board when we got to the rim and they erased it with blocked shots."
