Thursday, November 2, 2017

Kevin Willard quote book: La Salle exhibition

On what he liked and did not like from Seton Hall's effort:
"I liked our defensive intensity in the first half. I thought we did a lot of good things. I thought we got off to a good start -- eight assists, no turnovers at one point, and I think we got a lead and we got a little -- not selfish, but I think we got a little lackadaisical and didn't keep the hammer down in the second half. It's tough sitting that long and not coming back out, but I thought both teams did a really good job."

On Seton Hall's bench:
"I did the same thing at Boston College. Those guys played a lot of minutes. I want them getting used to being out there, being out in the lights. I think the first time you're a freshman and you're playing, it's always a new experience than anything else, and for the most part, I thought they gave us good energy and they did a lot of good things."

On playing this game and contributing to the hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico:
"I got a phenomenal e-mail this afternoon from someone saying how proud he was of both universities for doing this and how much Puerto Rico needs help. I think we sold 1,200-1,300 tickets, and you talk about $25,000 we can donate, that's -- I just think anything you could do to help is great."

On Walsh Gymnasium atmosphere:
"Yeah, I love Walsh! We don't play here very often, and we don't even practice at Walsh anymore. We practice in the back, we haven't practiced up there all year, so anytime you can come back and get that tight, cool atmosphere, it's really nice."

On Khadeen Carrington at point guard:
"He's doing a really good job. We only ran four plays, so that was by design. It wasn't a whole lot of stuff. We've got more stuff that gives him opportunities to score at the same point, but I think he's doing a good job of understanding he's got a lot of talented guys around him. He's got to get guys involved."

On Myles Powell and Jordan Walker aiding the transition defense with seven steals:
"I think that's something -- what Myles Powell gives that first group is a lot of energy. Obviously, great shooting and he can score, but he's given us great energy on both ends. And I think Jordan, the more he gets it, will become what he needs to be as a freshman: A little bit more of a waterbug, a little bit more of a pain in the butt, a little bit more of a pest on both ends."

On mixing and matching his starting lineup between Michael Nzei and Ismael Sanogo:
"I'm really happy with where Mike is. I've gotta get him rebounding the basketball a bit. That position might switch depending on who's at that spot. Obviously B.J. Johnson's a tremendous player, but Mike's done a good job of really working on his defense. But there's going to be times where we need Ish in that spot, or Mike might match up low post-wise with the guy they bring in off the bench. But that position, more than anything, will be a matchup. They both give us energy, they both give us so many good things. If I could get -- where's Ish at? That position gave us 17 points, just not enough rebounds. If we can get 15-17 points from that position, that's almost 10 more than we were getting last year."

On Angel Delgado's passing and his five assists:
"Against smaller teams, that's what he's going to have to do. The big fella's still not in terrific shape -- he's in good shape, it's just a matter of -- there's going to be times when everyone's going to come double-team him, and he's going to continue to -- he's going to get a triple-double this year. I really think he'll get one. If teams are going to double-team him, he's got a chance to get one. Obviously he was close last year, but he enjoys passing. He's a terrific passer."

On Sandro Mamukelashvili:
"Sandro played really, really, really good. I'm really comfortable with him being in there, and again, I think the more these freshmen get reps, and obviously playing the game for charity is huge, but also getting an opportunity for them to play against somebody else? Like I said, I wish we could play twelve of these games, because it's so beneficial for freshmen to play real, live games."

More on the depth and its luxury:
"It's -- again, it gives you different opportunities, it gives you chances to mix different lineups. I didn't even get to play Shavar (Reynolds), just because I wanted to get Khadeen and Jordan, but Shavar played against Boston College. We'll continue to use this depth, Obviously the minutes won't be as evenly distributed, but it'll be pretty close."

On Saturday's exhibition vs. LIU Post:
"I'm contemplating starting the younger guys just to give them that atmosphere a little bit, to kind of get them to feel maybe what it's like to start the game. Again, I think all those kids are going to have a chance to slide in, slide out during the year. I haven't really thought about it, I was just worried about La Salle at this point."

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