St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. NJIT
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening statement:
"I've been pleased with the progress that our team has made on both ends of the court in practices. We have a group that last year was at the top in almost every defensive category except rebounding, so we want to build on the results from last season but improve on our rebounding."
On Chris Obekpa's ankle:
"He has practiced and we are going to monitor it closely. At this point, he is favoring [his ankle] some and it is clear that he had an injury, but we are hopeful that he will play tomorrow."
On the team's mindset:
"When you have multiple players that return from the end of one season with an enhanced level of play and a matured mindset, that elevates the group as a whole. We have a group that has been on a trajectory that is very encouraging and if we continue to do that for the next five months, that will help determine what type of team we will be come March."
Senior Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On the team's mindset:
"We're hungry. You can see it in practice every day. We went three hours in practice the other day and didn't even notice it. All of us continued shooting after practice so you can tell that everyone wants to continue to keep getting better."
On the importance of non-conference opponents:
"Those games are really important, but our team has done a good job to not look past NJIT. We know that Duke is on the schedule, but we have to pay attention to our next game. Each game has to be taken like a championship."
Junior Center/Forward Chris Obekpa
On the team's attitude:
"Everyone has stepped up, matured and found a way to improve themselves and their game this year."
On his ankle:
"I've been getting treatment since it happened, three times a day. It's feeling a little better, so we are going to continue treatment and see how it feels tomorrow."
