St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Quotes On Making 2013 NIT Championship
3/17/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 17, 2013
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On what the postseason bid means for the program:
"When you play in the postseason, it gives your players an opportunity to deal with all of the challenges that present themselves when you're playing at a high level and in a single elimination game format whether it's the NCAA or the NIT. We're grateful that we live to fight another day and extend our season because that'll pay dividends in the future in terms of our basketball program."
On what the NIT means to the history of St. John's basketball:
"I feel like our players probably need to be educated on the significance and the honor to play in the NIT. At one point the NIT championship was the bigger postseason tournament and also, when you talk about St. John's and their unique history when it comes to the NIT Championship, it's really special to have our players play in it."
On how playing in the NIT will develop his young squad:
"We all wanted to be in the NCAA Tournament, but we have to deal with the reality of where we are in the evolution of our basketball program. The NIT represents an opportunity to extend our season so we can set the foundation to sustain our program for years to come."
Sophomore Guard Phil Greene IV
On the importance of making it to the postseason:
"It's very important, because it gives us the chance to keep playing, keep the season alive, get better overall as a team and just get ready for next year."
On St. John's making two postseason appearances in three year:
"Our program is definitely trending upward with two postseasons in three years. We're just getting better each and every year, so hopefully next year we'll get a bid to the NCAA tournament."
On the team's focus heading into the NIT:
"We're focused on getting a championship. The opportunity for championships doesn't come often. We want to bring the hardware back to New York City."
On the matchup with St. Joe's:
"There's a lot of tradition between the two schools. It's a great school in Philly as part of the Big Five. We're just going to come out and play hard, try to get the W and keep advancing in the postseason."
