St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals
3/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2014
Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening Statement:
"We've continued to make progress as a team so we're pleased with our performance of late. We're in a good place and getting ready for a tough Providence team that features one of the best guards in Bryce Cotton. We're looking forward to what should be a very competitive BIG EAST Tournament."
On NCAA Tournament selection:
"It is sheer speculation at this point. Providence may be in the tournament already, we may be in the tournament already, there may be five teams already in, but we really don't know what's going on in that room as the selection committee works over the next week so we can only control what is in our hands."
On the importance of the BIG EAST Tournament on the new conference:
"It's important, but I don't see any reason why it won't deliver as an outstanding tournament as the conference has for years. I think at this time of the year, New Yorkers want to celebrate college basketball through the BIG EAST Tournament. All eyes turn towards Madison Square Garden and BIG EAST basketball."
On the St. John's team:
"I felt that against Marquette we had returned fully as the group that won 9-of-10. Our family was back together again. We are playing full strength in terms of our roster and the practices going into the Marquette game were exceptional. We had that week of unusual, unprecedented circumstances and I've never experienced anything like that as a coach, so I wasn't surprised we had the losses against Nova and Xavier given the injury, childbirth and deaths. We had a bump in the road because those things that were outside of our control, but if you can absorb those lightning bolts it can bring you closer together as a team."
On Rysheed Jordan:
"Like all of our players, Rysheed will have a healthy amount of adrenaline on game day. He's played under the bright lights for 29 games which almost puts him as a sophomore now in terms of game experience. The fact that the BIG EAST Tournament is in a familiar environment is a plus, and in our biggest games at The Garden this year, Rysheed has performed well.
Junior Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On being on the NCAA Tournament bubble:
"Obviously I want to be on the other side of the bubble, but it's making our team fight harder than ever. We're playing good basketball right now. It's good to play your best basketball late, so I actually like where our team is at. I like that we're on the bubble, it gives us a sense of hunger. You've got to fight for something."
On the comfort of playing at Madison Square Garden:
"It's The Garden. As soon as you step on the floor you have the energy that I can't even describe. It's The Mecca of Basketball. We take pride in it being our home court so we just try to protect the home court. It's The Garden, so we have a sense of urgency when we play there."
On the turnaround after the first loss to Providence:
"The next day we had one of the hardest practices we've ever had, but everyone was still locked in. Coach stressed to stay with it and that it's not over and we're going to be fine. We didn't see it like that, but Coach kept stressing that our time was going to come and he was right."
Sophomore Forward JaKarr Sampson
On the team's thoughts heading into the postseason:
"We feel like we're one of the best teams in this conference. We're not just thinking in terms of marking the NCAA Tournament. We feel like we can win the BIG EAST Tournament."
On playing in must-win games:
"Our backs have been against the wall the whole season. I feel like that's our advantage. We've been in this position and we've been down before."
Junior Guard/Forward Sir'Dominic Pointer
On confidence heading into the BIG EAST Tournament:
"We definitely feel that we can be the last team standing. We've been putting a lot of work in and we've had our ups and downs, but we found a way to win this past week. We had a little two-game lapse, but we've found our roles and everybody is playing the right way."
On bouncing back from the slow conference start:
"I wasn't worried about bouncing back, I was just worried about getting that first win. When we had our five-game losing streak, our roles weren't defined. We had to get over the hump, but once we did that, we got on a roll. We are rolling right now and I think we are going to keep rolling."
