St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Seton Hall
2/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2014
Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"The team has made progress and we're pleased to have picked up some wins along the way. We face a very difficult challenge tomorrow night against a Seton Hall team that has won at Xavier and at Georgetown. I don't think we've won there since the 1990s when Fran Fraschilla was the coach. It's a team that puts you in a bind because [Eugene] Teague is so dominant down low, [Brian] Oliver has the long range marksmanship from distance, [Sterling] Gibbs can beat you on the bounce and get to the free throw line with frequency and [Fuquan] Edwin is a very dynamic and athletic shotmaker. [Brandon] Mobley is as versatile a player as we'll face this season. Our team knows they have their hands full but we are pleased that we are making progress."
On the team's defense:
"It's something that we did well last year. We played better defense in terms of field goal percentage last year, but I think this group is still growing and developing in that area. They've always taken pride in their defense and that has allowed us to have success, but now a year later we're seeing a continued evolution as a basketball team."
On playing at Seton Hall:
"It's been a long time since we've won at Seton Hall. They've already won at Xavier and Georgetown, a feat that nobody in the league has accomplished. Then if you look at their talent, it's a daunting task we have ahead of us. Kevin Willard is one of the brightest young minds in the game."
On the team's turnaround:
"Like life itself we don't always see the rewards of our hard work right away and that's the difficult thing, but we are now a better team as a result of what we learned from the school of hard knocks."
Junior Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On what it has been like playing during the winning streak:
"There's always pressure, but it does feel like it's lighter on our backs. We're a hungry group. We want to win every game, we want to blitz every team - we just want to win that bad. There's a greater feeling in that locker room."
On trying to overcome 16 straight losses at Seton Hall:
"They have a great crowd and great arena, so we have to get a W. At the end of the day we have to get a W, period. There's nothing else to say."
On overcoming early season obstacles:
"We wish we were 24-0, obviously. We've went through a lot to start 0-5 in the BIG EAST with this group and now we've turned it around. I'm not going to say it's good that it happened, but it made us learn a lot in a few weeks and now we're a completely different team."
Junior Guard Phil Greene IV
On the danger of looking past Seton Hall after upsetting Creighton:
"We've talked about it as team and we have to take it one game at a time. We think every game is a championship game and that's how we've got to play - and that's how we've been winning. We're not going to resort back to our old ways."
On possibly reaching .500 after 0-5 start in conference:
"It would be a big achievement. We dug ourselves in a hole and we're trying to climb out of it right now, so we need to win tomorrow to keep it going."
On what got the team back on track:
"It's the fear of losing. Everyone is playing their hearts out together as a team. When we play together good things happen."
