St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's v. No. 20/21 Wisconsin
11/6/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2013
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On the potential and chemistry of his team:
"With time you want to see a maturation and development, there's a teaching and learning process that happens every year. Sometimes when you have an entire team back it's more about obtaining a level of play. We're at a stage where we're still building. You're going to see individuals gain a comfort level for our style of play and as a group, it'll be important to see how they play off of one another in a more effective manner. I compare it to musicians; the longer you play together the better the music becomes. Some of that is gaining a feel and sense for one another and it begins with individual players elevating their game, understanding their position on the court and how to use your particular skill set in the system of play."
On freshman guard Rysheed Jordan:
"The nice thing about Rysheed is that he has so many veterans around him. His game by nature is not to force; he brings poise and patience which is something that some young players don't all exhibit at this stage of their careers. That's one of the many attributes Rysheed has. We ultimately won't know until we get through an entire game so we can asses better how much progress he has been making. But at this point we're pleased with his judgments on the court, they've been exceptional. Not much seems to rattle him when he's on the court and he has a surgeon-like precision that he brings to the game."
On Wisconsin's style of play:
"They are opportunistic when they run and when they shoot the 3-point shot. They'll make you guard for the entirety of the shot clock until they get a good look or get themselves fouled. It's why they're ranked in the top 20 and why they've gone to the NCAA Tournament for the last 15 years. We have a major task ahead of us and it's an opportunity that our kids are looking forward to. We're going to find out a lot about ourselves, by the end of the game we'll have a better sense of who we are, our strengths, what areas need to be worked on. That's what these early games out of the gate against quality mid-majors and teams like Syracuse are for. By December we're going to have a really good idea of where we are before conference play."
Sophomore Forward JaKarr Sampson
On how the team has prepared for Wisconsin:
"It's a big week. We need to get ready play well against the big competition like Wisconsin. We've been drilling their defense and running some of their offensive plays. I feel like we're ready."
On attempting more 3-pointers this year:
"It's just something I've worked on. I know I can't fall in love with the 3-point shot but it's just something I'm trying to add to my game."
On whether there's pressure being the reigning BIG EAST Rookie of the Year:
"I don't think there's outside pressure. I know I put a lot of pressure on myself to get better every year and get better every game. I hold myself to higher expectations then other people would because I want to get better. I want to show people that I have been working hard on my game during practice and the offseason."
Junior Guard Jamal Branch
On meshing with the back court:
"We're definitely familiar with each other. We've together for the most part for two and a half years, and Rysheed is coming along really well. He doesn't act like a freshman. He's used to all this. We spent the summer together, we've played outside of practice together, so we know each other's games. We're going to mesh well."
On how prepared freshman guard Rysheed Jordan is for Wisconsin:
"I think he's well prepared. He has us to support him as big brothers and we've been getting him ready since he got on board and stepped on campus. We've given him a feel for how teams are going to play him and the kind of competition he's going to play against."
