http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020513aac.html
QUEENS, N.Y. -
Head Coach Steve Lavin
On Jamal Branch’s injury:
“We just received the information about a sprained MCL in the last hour, so we aren’t sure yet about the severity of the injury. There is some discussion to get Jamal off the crutches and see how he performs. We will monitor the situation and see how quickly he can return from his injury.”
On being without Branch for Wednesday’s game against UConn:
“When you’re down a starter, it’s something we have to offset. I like our team’s depth. We had 10 different starting line-ups this season, so our players shouldn’t be scared or have stage fright. It was my thinking, before the season started, to get this young team as experienced as possible when testing different combinations on the court.”
On who will take the fifth spot in the starting lineup:
“Marco Bourgalt played really well the other day so we will explore that scenario. Chris Opekba will receive starter’s minutes regardless if he starts or not. UConn likes to play zone defense so Marco will have an advantage. He will help stretch the defense, which will make the big men operate in the post, and also open the driving game so we can attack the zone. At the end of it, Chris is the center piece of our team defensively, so he will receive major minutes.”
On the Red Storm’s approach against UConn:
“We need to keep our defense tight while pressuring the ball. These three games made us emphasize our transition defense and finishing a defensive sequence with a rebound. When our offense is playing well it makes it difficult for teams to get out in transition. Also, when our offense isn’t playing well, we shoot too quickly, which helps teams like UConn get out in transition easily. We have to do a good job with dribble containment, help defense, and rebounding.”
Sophomore guard Phil Greene
On home-court advantage:
“It’s a big advantage being on your home court, the crowd gives you energy and you feed off the crowd. You’ve got to keep a level head; you can’t get too high or too low, especially when you play a good team like UConn.”
On the matchup against UConn:
“It’s going to be a very big game. The energy is going to be high, they’re going to come out ready to play. It’s Madison Square Garden and everyone loves to play there, so we’ve just got to be ready and know that it’s going to be a tough game.”
On UConn’s three-guard attack:
“They’re very talented; they run everything through their guards. It’s just about containing them and not letting their guards beat us.”
On potential lineups against UConn:
“I think Chris is going to start, help control the paint early, grab rebounds and block shots. He’s the protector, so he’ll get on the court early.”
On Marc-Antoine Bourgault’s ability to play at both ends:
“[Defense] is all about locking in, knowing the schemes and what to do. Marco’s a really good player and he knows what to do, so I’m sure he can duplicate what he was able to do last game.”
Sophomore swingman Sir’Dominic Pointer
On previous St. John’s-UConn matchups:
“I’ve watched a few of the games over the last few weeks and there’s always a nice crowd there. It’s always a competitive game no matter who’s on the team. [The Feb. 10, 2011] was a great game. Kemba [Walker] came up with some big shots, but Dwight [Hardy] was killing it and we came out with a victory. Hopefully we can do it again with a different team.”
On where he’s most effective on defense:
“On guard-oriented teams we’ve got guards that can check them out there. It really depends on who the other team puts out there. If they put a bigger lineup out there, then I’m going to match up with a bigger guy. If they put a small lineup out there, I’m going to matchup with a smaller guy.”
On supporting Coach Lavin through their play:
“We want to play well for him. We go out there every time and play our hardest. With what he’s going through, we’ve just got to rally behind him and let him know that we’re behind him. He’ll be here for us, so we’ve got to be there for him, play as hard as we can and let him know that no matter what he’s going through, we’ve got his back. We played hard the last game, but we couldn’t get over the hump. This way we’ve got to find a way to get over the hump, make the extra pass, get defensive rebounds and just get back to what we were doing when we won our last five games.”
On how the team will respond to Jamal Branch’s injury:
“He’s our point guard, but we’ve got Phil and D’Angelo [Harrison] who can play point as well, so we’ve just got to keep playing hard and hope he gets well soon. It’ll just take maturity. We see that we’ve been mature with Branch in, and we can’t [regress] just because he’s out. We can’t go down, we’ve either got to stay the same or go up. I prefer to go up.”
