The biggest key was to defend Quinn and Falls at the three-point line. |
The biggest thing was, to us, he was a priority to us from the first time we saw him play. We knew he fit us as a player and person. We tried to get that across to him and to his mother. We treated him as a priority from the summer of his junior year on. And I think he became very comfortable with the university and the program. |
The foul wasn't the issue. The foul was just a foul. It was what happened after the foul that I had an issue with. I'm just going to leave that alone and watch the film and go from there. |
The key thing is these guys are getting to play early. They've gotten to go through a lot of different situations. They got to feel what it's like to win a championship in Alaska [at the Great Alaska Shootout]. They've gotten to go on the road and feel what it's like not to play well. Those things are important for young players. |
The main thing about tonight was putting guys in different spots, where we had to adjust. The communication on the floor needs to continue to improve. |
The most special calls are when the former players call and they respect the way the current players are playing. |
The one area where they really beat us was on the boards. When you lose the battle by 15, it's very hard to win the game. |
There are going to be times when your shots aren't falling. |
There can't be many teams that are tougher physically than St. John's. We knew we had to play aggressively. We knew we had to be physical. I was proud of the way our guys never backed down. St. John's certainly wasn't going to back down. |
There was a triangle of teams in this area when I was growing up: Marquette, Notre Dame and DePaul. They were basketball, |
There's a lot of room for improvement with us. Winning the game is a great feeling, but you want to play the full 40 minutes. That's always the goal. |
There's been no diagnosis on (James). The X-ray will happen here and we'll see what happened. The foul wasn't the issue. What happened after the foul was the issue. |
There's no taking the foot off the gas when we're in the fast break situation. That's a tribute to (DePaul) and the way they got back in the second half. |
They had a good game plan of grabbing and holding and keeping Steve from getting open looks. The credit goes to them. They played a great game. |
They're such good shooters, so confident, that it's just a matter of time before they make plays. But for the most part, they had to earn what they got, as did we. |