St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Marquette
3/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On the new conference:
"Many aspects and many dimensions will be the same as the previous BIG EAST conference. You're still going to have great rivalries and programs with tradition and heritage. There are universities and athletic programs that are committed to excellence when it comes to providing the resources necessary to maintaining strong basketball programs. When you add in the type of programs we're going to add to round out the league, it's going to be one of the preeminent conferences in the country. While it's going to be different, it's going to have a number of attributes that have always made the BIG EAST a great league."
On how his tenure so far has compared with expectations upon entering:
"We're about where I expected, maybe a little ahead, especially when you consider the year of cancer. That's something, when you take over a program, you're not anticipating being diagnosed with cancer and to battle with cancer as I have. Then, this year was unique because I didn't expect to lose my father in the middle of the basketball season as I did. While it's less than ideal, the way I was taught and raised is that you learn to navigate those experiences in life and do the best you can moving forward."
"Two postseasons in my first three years at St. John's, going to the NCAA tournament my first year and then we can still do some damage at the end here. Whether it's the NCAA tournament or the NIT this year, there are some pretty strong odds that it'll be two postseason appearances in three years. We're moving in the right direction, but we've got a long way to go. None of us are satisfied; no one on this staff will ever be complacent, we're always going to strive to get better every day and on an annual basis."
On working with a shortened bench:
"You don't script it this way, but everything we're doing this season is really a gateway or a bridge to next season. When you've got such a young team, you're trying to win as many games as you can this year and gain postseason experience, but really it's about continuing the maturation process and getting these kids experience in highly competitive situations so we can keep growing the program. In the ideal world, we'd like to have D'Angelo and Dom tomorrow against Marquette, but we don't. That's going to provide opportunities for guys like Marco [Bourgault], Christian [Jones] and Felix [Balamou] as they got at other points this year. Now, they're going to get even more experience in a very important game. That's only going to help us as we move forward in the postseason as well as next year. That's been the challenge when you have so many young kids, you're trying to bring them all up to speed and still win."
On the incident at Notre Dame:
"Dom apologized for his actions and specifically for losing his composure in our recent game at Notre Dame. He will serve his penalty by missing the final game against Marquette. As we develop our young team the objective is to play each game with purposeful intensity and a cohesiveness that will allow us to play a winning brand of basketball that best represents St. John's."
Freshman forward JaKarr Sampson
On pressure to step up:
"It's even tougher now [than earlier in the year], because Dom and D'Angelo are our two captains along with Phil [Greene IV]. The pressure is definitely on, but people are just going to have to step up. Long-term, this is going to help us grow. It takes pressure to make a diamond grow like Coach Lavin says."
On focusing despite outside issues:
"When it's game time, I'm always locked in and focused. I don't think about anything outside of basketball, the game or the gameplan, so for me my focus is still there."
On characterizing the season:
"I definitely wouldn't call it a disappointment, because a lot of people didn't think we'd be close to making the tournament, or in the position we're in now. People picked us to be last in the BIG EAST and things like that. We learned a lot, grew up a lot and we've still got a lot of growing up to do. We've still got big games coming up to grow and learn."
On playing the role of spoiler on Saturday:
"We go into this game with the same mindset we do every game, to win it. Every game you play, you play to win. You never play to lose, you just play to win."
Freshman forward/center Chris Obekpa
On focusing despite outside issues:
"It is what it is; what happened, happened. We've just got to stay focused, don't let anything push us down."
On keeping morale up:
"Just win games and keep play hard. Everybody's pushing, we've just got to try and win every game."
On building momentum heading into the postseason:
"That's why we're trying to win the Marquette game, because it's a stepping block for the [NCAA] tournament."
On the team's attitude now compared to two weeks ago:
"With everything going on, we're sticking together and getting stronger as a team. It's building for us, we're learning as a team."
Sophomore swingman Sir'Dominic Pointer
On his actions at the Notre Dame game:
"I apologize for losing my composure at Notre Dame and for my part in the fight late in the game. I pride myself in my on-court intensity and toughness, but I know I cannot allow it to get to that level and I accept my suspension for the Marquette game. As a leader I know that it's important to set a good example and I apologize to my team, my school, my family, Notre Dame and our St. John's fans everywhere."
