St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's at Notre Dame
3/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2013
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On the upcoming matchup at Notre Dame:
They are an excellent shooting team. They attack the three-point line as well as any team in our league. They play a European-style of basketball, as they try to either get a layup in tight near the basket or shoot from distance. They are also very effective at on-ball screening. They share the ball and play as a cohesive unit. This is also a tough environment to play in, so we'll have our hands full, but I like our team and our development individually and collectively."
On how the team responded in the Providence game:
"We were very competitive, and the effort was there. The one area that hurt us was rebounding. It's tough to go on the road; against a team that's playing well as Providence, and win when you get rebounded by nine. The margin for error is so thin in this league, and if you get dominated at the paint and give up the rebound advantage that we did, you're not going to be able to get wins in this conference. There were a number of positives that our team can build on, such as the overall team speed, the willingness to share the ball and how they are finding their way as a new team. There was the team earlier in the year that didn't have Jamal Branch, we had a team with everyone and now with D'Angelo Harrison's suspension there is a new version of this St. John's team. As coaches we have to adapt and find a way to give our team a competitive advantage.
On the team's expectations heading into the home stretch:
"Naturally, we'd love to be able to steal a win at Notre Dame and hold serve at home against Marquette because that would put as 10-8 in the conference and give us momentum heading into the BIG EAST Tournament. That momentum would be huge as we are the one team who has the advantage of playing the tournament on its home court at Madison Square Garden. There are some nice things lined up for us, if we can take advantage. It's easier said than done, with the youngest team in school history and the country, yet I like my team and their willingness to learn. They believe we can do something special this year. We have two games this week, conference tournament next week and the following week a postseason. Obviously our hope is that it's the NCAA Tournament, but that can't happen if we don't do some damage between now and Selection Sunday and our players are aware of that. We've done some good things this year; our strength of schedule is a positive along with three big wins. At the end of the day we have to build an argument for the NCAA Committee to take us seriously for an at-large berth."
Freshman Center Chris Obekpa
On preparing for Notre Dame:
"We've been there before and we won the game, we just have to keep playing with the same energy and hopefully we will beat them again."
On learning from Providence game:
"We fell short on rebounding. We just have to step that up and do everything we did the last game or step up the rebounding."
On playing without D'Angelo Harrison:
"I mean everybody did a great job, we fell short, but we didn't let that pull us back. Everybody stepped up, did their role and I think we can [beat Notre Dame]."
On building on the January 15 win over Notre Dame:
"[Notre Dame] is a good shooting team, we just have to be aware of the shooters and do everything we did to beat them the first time."
On postseason aspirations:
"I mean we're trying to win the game at hand and worry about this game. We are going game-by-game and seeing where it goes from there."
Freshman Forward JaKarr Sampson
On what he learned from the game against Providence:
"We need to rebound. That's been a key for us all year; we win games when we rebound the ball. We also have to get back in transition and tighten up our fast break defense."
On preparing for Notre Dame:
"We know we have to stop Notre Dame's three-point shooters if we're going to get this win. The coaches have emphasized their ability to shoot the three-pointer. We were able to win the last game because we were able to keep them to a low percentage. They're a great three-point shooting team; that's what they do, so our goal remains the same for this game as well."
On his role for St. John's down the stretch:
"I definitely feel like a sophomore now. I don't feel like a freshman anymore. I feel like I'm one of the leaders on this team, and it's time for me to grow up."
On handling the pressure of March basketball:
"I like it. All of the great players deal with pressure, and pressure can help you grow as a player. I love when the pressure is on my shoulders."
