St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Villanova 66 St. John's 53
3/13/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2013
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Head coach Steve Lavin
On the Red Storm's 66-53 loss to Villanova:
"Villanova is an excellent basketball team and I think they're capable of making a run in the NCAA Tournament, they're a top team. I think we didn't finish. Some of it was Villanova's defense and physicality, the thing that makes them so effective. I also think we also didn't convert open looks, we just didn't put it in the hole."
On the talent that he has coming back next season:
"We played a team tonight that's in the same situation that we are going to be in next year, a hungry group of players that the last two years didn't get to the winner's circle, didn't get to experience the NCAA Tournament. So you have a physical basketball team that's determined to have a run in the NCAA Tournament. The future is bright. We just have to move forward and learn from it and get better."
On his five-year plan and the team's future:
"We've had back-to-back top ten recruiting classes, and being around this team, they're just an enjoyable group of players to work with. What I shared with them is the areas we have to improve upon. We have to get physically stronger. We're naturally going to get emotionally stronger. When you get beat down, beat up, go to the school of hard knocks like we do in the BIG EAST, younger players grow up. Now we want to take punches, punch back, get over the hump, and finish with a record that will put us in the NCAA Tournament on an annual basis. I'm bold on the future and the fact the whole team is coming back shows that we're moving in the right direction. I definitely like our core that we're building or moving forward with."
Sophomore guard Phil Greene IV
On the loss to Villanova:
"Nobody on our team likes to lose. We hate losing. We wanted to advance and play the next day. It's just hard."
Freshman forward JaKarr Sampson
On his performance against Villanova:
"I felt like I had a lot of heat on me the whole game. My shots that I normally make weren't falling. I went 5 for 18, and I normally don't do that. I normally shoot the ball pretty well but tonight I didn't."
