St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. UCLA
2/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2012
St. John's Head Coach Steve Lavin
On the status of the team:
"The same narrative continues which is a very young basketball team playing a rugged schedule and as a result we've had our struggles, yet we can see our younger players making strides. While we're struggling now, the minutes and the experience that this young group is receiving will play dividends down the line. When we took over the program, we felt that in three years we would be in a position to be competitive for a sustained period of time. We are still very optimistic about this young group and now recruiting becomes critical. We have to land another strong recruiting class to create depth and move forward. Seton Hall was bombs away from long distance so we just have to regroup after that tough loss and get ready for UCLA."
On significance of Saturday's matchup against UCLA:
"I haven't really had much time to reflect on the significance of playing UCLA. Last year it was natural because it was my first time back coaching at Pauley Pavilion and I was facing an opponent where I had worked previously at for 12 years but coming up to this game the focus has been on elevating our teams play. I've been spending the majority of my energy out on the road recruiting because we have to sign a class of five or six kids in April so we're in that closing mode coming down the home stretch on what looks to be a promising recruiting class."
