St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. Butler
2/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2014
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On looking forward to March:
"We control our own destiny. If we take care of business and stay grounded on enhancing our level of play we still have enough time to accumulate wins. Our current focus is on Butler. Down the line we have the conference tournament on our home court at Madison Square Garden."
On Tuesday's matchup with Butler:
"Our players are aware that Butler has been to two Final Fours and has been a consistent NCAA Tournament team in recent years. This year they been as competitive as anyone in our conference with six overtime games, losing four. But they've taken the top half of the league to the wire. Having started 0-5 ourselves, our team has an appreciation of how deceiving a record can be. Butler is as dangerous an opponent as any in our league. Our focus is on continuing to play good basketball and building on the positive momentum."
On the mindset of the Red Storm:
"The group realizes there is a lot of work to do. This isn't a situation where I sense anyone thinking we've arrived or accomplished anything of significance. They're still a hungry group. There are still a number of areas we need to improve upon if we expect to do something special in March."
Sophomore Guard/Forward Max Hooper
On the last meeting with Butler:
"It was very competitive for the first 75 percent of the game but it was in a time of our season that we were really hungry for a win and needed one badly. We were hungry that game but we are even hungrier now. We know what we did well in that game, we know what we need to improve on and we worked on those things in practice so we're just going to come out tomorrow night and apply those things the best we can."
On the win over Georgetown:
"We just wanted to make a statement in that game but we have to keep an even keel and stay consistent to keep moving forward. The next task is Butler and that's what we are going to focus on."
On looking forward to the NCAA Tournament:
"Right now it's all about the task at hand. If we don't take care of things in the moment and focus on the next game then those things in the future will be nonexistent."
On playing off the bench:
"My minutes have been fairly inconsistent so whether I play for one minute or for over 30 minutes, my mind is ready to come in the game and do what I have to do. My mindset is always the same whether my minutes are high, low or if I don't play."
