St. John's University Athletics
Pregame Quotes: St. John's vs. No. 5/6 Duke
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On the status of D'Angelo Harrison:
"D'Angelo is a player who has shown the ability to bounce back quickly, absorb a hit and get to the other side of an injury to compete at a high level."
On the excitement about this game:
"When Duke is coming to town, we understand it is a significant game and with the added dimension of Coach Krzyzewski going for his 1,000th win at Madison Square Garden, the anticipation is palpable. It's important for us to stay with our routines. That doesn't mean we don't make adjustments like we always do, but the overall preparation heading into Sunday's game will be the same as it has been all along for this group. Our objective is to win."
On the significance of playing against Coach Krzyzewski:
"In the history of college basketball Coach K has sustained a level of success that is incomparable. No one has done it better for a longer period of time."
On Chris Obekpa matching up with Jahlil Okafor:
"Across the board we need Chris Obekpa to perform at a high level. When he is playing with confidence offensively and provides the resistance at the rim defensively, it enhances our chances of being successful. For this particular game, it won't be a scenario where we say `you got him.' We'll give a variety of looks to try and keep Duke off balance."
Senior Guard D'Angelo Harrison
On playing against Duke:
"If you can't get hyped up for this game, then you shouldn't be playing basketball. Everybody from the staff to the managers has been amped up for a few days now. Duke vs. St. John's is always going to be a big game and the fact that Coach Krzyzewski is going for 1,000 wins is in the back of your head. You just have to keep going and perform at a high level."
On Rysheed Jordan:
"He grows every day. He is becoming more of a leader and acting like an older guy on the team. That's good to have because you can rely on him. He has been playing well and we want him to keep it up since he can cause matchup problems for this next game [against Duke].
On Phil Greene IV's improvement:
"He is just shooting the ball more. He is way more aggressive. You saw that with two of his dunks. He is capable of doing that every single game. I love when he shots because it looks like it is going in. I don't think he shoots enough, he needs to keep shooting."
On playing against a team filled with freshmen starters:
"They have played against sold-out crowds, but none of them have played in a game like this. That will play a factor. Basketball is a game of runs. They will go on their run and we will go on ours. Whoever wins is going to be who can go on a run or who can throw a knockout punch late. We have done that in a lot of big games this year. We just want to win this game and go on to the next one."
Senior Forward Sir'Dominic Pointer
On playing against Duke:
"It's a great opportunity. We won two nights ago and this would be another great win. We don't want to let the 1,000 wins play a factor and let them spoil our season."
On Phil Greene IV's improvement:
"Over the last year he has really stepped up. He has helped us win a lot of games. He just needs to be more consistent. Since the Syracuse game, he has been on a tear and now he is one of the St. John's greats.
