St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Minnesota
11/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On the NIT Season Tip-Off:
"This is an important two-game stretch that will have a similar feel to the NCAA Tournament, because it's a great venue and the competition will be strong. This is an opportunity for our team to take another step forward, playing two teams with contrasting styles within 48 hours. It will give us a better sense of our strengths and the areas that require improvement.
On St. John's through three games:
"Overall, we like the pace and the tempo that our team has played at through three games. We have a number of interchangeable parts; we have guys who can bring the ball up the floor, playmakers and shot makers. Defensively, we need to get better on the help-side. Rebounding is something that we will always need to work on, collectively. We'll also want to continue to develop our bench and improve our depth."
On the team's development:
"We can expect more of this team to make adjustments game-to-game, timeout-to-timeout, or first half to second half. With a veteran-laden roster we are comfortable modifying our approach, such as changing our defenses over the course of a game."
Senior guard D'Angelo Harrison
On playing two high profile games:
"We know how important these next two games are. To come out 2-0 in this tournament would be big for this program in making people take us seriously. Coach (Lavin) stresses to live in the present. Wednesday will be one of the biggest games of our careers."
On playing with a smaller lineup:
"Playing with these guys for four years now, we can adjust to anything. I look at the court and it's the same guys I've been with. We've been through a lot here. The lineups don't matter, we just have to focus on defense and rebounding and we'll be alright."
Senior guard Phil Greene IV
On the importance of non-conference games:
"We all talk about it in the locker room--how big these next couple of games are. We have to approach them as winner-take-all, like a tournament game. We have to come in and play hard from the get go."
On the seniors hunger to get into the NCAA Tournament:
"It just shows in each and every one of our guys, how we've grown up each year. No one really takes an off day, everyone's in the gym all the time trying to get better. We know this is our last shot, so we're giving it our all and putting our full effort into this season. It's big."
On what the team needs to improve on:
"We have a lot to improve on, especially on the defensive side of the ball--on the help side and just not getting lost. Once we come together on the defensive end, it will fuel our offense. It makes the game a lot easier. It starts with our defense, and once that comes together we'll be a whole different team."
