St. John's University Athletics
MBWA Awards Quotes
4/15/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 15, 2013
Sophomore Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On his suspension:
"I was suspended for disciplinary reasons. Obviously it is hard to be suspended from the team but I have been repairing those relationships with the coaching staff and I understand why they did it."
On lessons learned while sitting out:
"Taking time away from the game was good because I could be a regular student and not have pressure on me all the time. Taking time away from the game was good for me, I learned a lot and I'm still learning."
On his plan for the rest of the spring and the summer to prepare for the season:
"Stay in shape, work with the coaches, do well academically and focus on taking the steps necessary to earn my way back on to the team."
On being selected to first team MBWA:
"It's great being in this city and having the support of the fans and media."
Freshman Forward JaKarr Sampson
On being selected MBWA Rookie of the Year:
"It feels good. One of the goals I set when I came to St. John's was to win the Rookie of the Year awards so it's great to accomplish that."
On next year's team:
"We'll have a deep team next year with Orlando Sanchez, Max Hooper and God'sgift Achiuwa being able to play so I think we're going to be good."
On the team's goals next season:
"Obviously we'll want to make the Big Dance. It was fun watching the NCAA Tournament and watching my best friend Mitch McGary from Michigan, it made me want to be there and hopefully we can do big things next year."
Senior Guard Nadirah McKenith
On being voted the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year:
"It means a lot to me and it is a great accomplishment, especially in my senior year, to win this award. I give all the credit to my teammates and my coaching staff for helping me to be the best player I can. It says a lot about our coaching staff to be the second player in two years from St. John's to earn this award, with last year Shenneika [Smith] winning and this year I won it. It says a lot about St. John's and what we have at this program."
"I want to thank the coaches who had the opportunity to watch me play and who voted for me. It means a lot to me that other coaches on other teams have an idea of what I do out there on the court. It is just a great feeling to be recognized."
On her exponential career growth through four years:
"This has been a great journey, since I have been at St. John's. I wasn't highly recruited so that pushed me to make a name for myself with St. John's and get recognized, at the same time helping St. John's become a winning program. So, it means a lot to me to cap my career off being named All-Met Player of the Year. It has been a great four years here and I am glad I got this recognition before I end my college career."
On why she will not be attending the Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association Awards Dinner tonight:
"I will not be at the awards dinner tonight because I will be preparing for the WNBA draft, which is tonight. I will be with my family at home, watching the draft. It is going to be nerve-wracking, but hopefully, it will be a celebration tonight. And I am excited."
Senior Guard Shenneika Smith
On earning All-Met first team honors for the second-straight year:
"It is a great honor, to be able to be recognized four-consecutive years by the MBWA, twice on the first team. Last year I was Player of the Year, so it is cool for me to see my teammate get that award this year. I am excited and thankful for all the coaches that got to see me play and recognize me over the years for what I have done."
On the legacy she is leaving behind at St. John's:
"I had a great run here. It has been four years of great opportunities. I got to play with and against some of the greatest players. This legacy that I leave is quite exciting. I have a few good players that will be coming up and will be able to carry it on. With Aliyyah [Handford] and Amber [Thompson] and the rest, they will be pretty good and they will carry it on. Between myself and Nadirah [McKenith], we have passed our success down to them and it is up to them to carry the program onward."
On why she will not be attending tonight's Metropolitan Awards Dinner:
"I will not be at the dinner, because hopefully, I will be celebrating with my close friends and family being picked by a WNBA team. I am really thankful and I appreciate the MBWA for still honoring me and I'm sorry I will not be in attendance. Thank you to all the coaches in the Metropolitan area. I am excited to hopefully start a new chapter in my life."
Freshman Guard Aliyyah Hanford
On being selected ALL-MET Rookie of the Year:
"It feels great, to be honored by the coaches around the area for my accomplishments this year, my first year."
On being the first St. John's player to be voted ALL-MET Rookie of the Year:
"At the beginning of the year, I wasn't playing very good. Then, I started to get extra workouts in and talked to Nadirah [McKenith] and she taught me different things. From there, I was able to continue to get better and I am really proud to be the first St. John's All-Met Rookie of the Year."
On playing with seniors Nadirah McKenith and Shenneika Smith:
"Nadirah earning play of the year was really great for her. She has had a great career and has been the face of the St. John's program. I am really proud of Nana and Shenneika and it was great playing with them during their senior year. They are both very tough. Growing up with Nadirah we have been through a lot. Playing with each other has been great. Now that it's her senior year I don't want her to go because I wanted to play with her and get the feeling of playing with great player. Moving forward to next year I want to continue what they have started."
