Kevin Willard quote book: Rutgers

On what Saturday's win said about Seton Hall and its toughness:

"I think the biggest thing is we're desperately trying to become more consistent game in and game out, and I think the big thing is coming off a really emotional, big win last Saturday and then getting back up for another big test, and coming out and playing really well defensively for really the first 30 minutes. I think they showed a little maturity in a young team. I was really worried that we were going to come out real flat."

On Myles Powell and his 28-point game:

"I think everyone's seeing the player he is. I think he's starting to figure out that -- although early on in games he's not getting it, if he's not making shots -- he has to stay aggressive, where I thought early in the year he would be a little passive if his first couple of shots didn't go down. Now he's staying aggressive, he's continuing to stay aggressive. I thought he made some really nice passes to some guys. We didn't make the shots, but I just think his overall game's at a pretty good level right now."

On Romaro Gill:

"I thought Ro came in and changed the game for us a little bit. I thought he gave us a really good spark. This was a great game for him, because obviously (Shaq) Doorson's seven-foot, the other kid (Myles Johnson) is seven-foot, and he didn't have to worry about little guys shooting threes or anything like that. I thought he came in and gave us good energy, good defensive presence. He was really good tonight."

On whether defending Angel Delgado in practice enhanced Gill's abilities:

"I think anytime you go up against a really good player like Angel, it definitely helps out, yes."

On Quincy McKnight and his defense on Geo Baker:

"That might be the biggest difference from us defensively this year and last year. Q can lock in on a guy and understand what he's doing, and I thought our pick-and-roll defense on him early was really good. We had a couple turnovers that frustrated him a little bit, and I give the kid credit. He got in a little foul trouble, but he kept coming. He's gotten really good."

"Really, our whole game plan was to take care of their drag pick-and-rolls in transition -- and we did a good job for the most part -- and not let anybody else make threes. I really feel like if you don't let (Issa) Thiam and you don't let Peter Kiss make threes, they're going to struggle to score a little bit."

On next week's games against Sacred Heart and Maryland, and their opportunities:

"It's a big week. We've played the least home games of anybody in the league, so to get home games, more than anything, I think it's really good to be home and get some practice, and get guys in a rhythm. The one negative of the schedule is we just haven't been home at all, and now that we're home -- we have Sacred Heart on Wednesday -- and then at Maryland, every Saturday in this month has been a brutal test. But I like the way we're moving forward."

On maturity of his upperclassman leaders and how they were able to refocus after defeating Kentucky:

"I think I did a great job. Thanks, Jerry. Mike Nzei was really good with that. Mike Nzei took a good role in that in practice. We really practiced bad Monday and Tuesday, we just didn't have a whole lot of energy, but Mike kind of got everybody together Wednesday and Thursday and really got after them, and I thought Michael was really, really good in practice, and that helped everybody."

On how close Seton Hall is to where Willard feels it should be:

"I like where we're at defensively. We're really defending at a pretty good level, and I think we had three shot clock violations. We've had more shot clock violations this year already than we probably did in two years past, so defensively, I like where we are. We just have to get a little more consistent on the offensive end. Sandro took a big step today being a little bit more confident in shooting the basketball. We've just gotta get other guys ready to be able to shoot the basketball, step in and shoot the basketball."

On Sandro Mamukelashvili and his confidence as a shooter:

"He gets in a bad habit of getting a long trigger -- a trigger is when you bring the ball down and bring it all the way up -- and when you're 6-foot-11 and you have a long trigger, your timing's going to be off. Again, the nice thing about having a week -- on Tuesday, I just saw that his trigger had gotten real long -- so Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, we probably shot 500 shots each day just getting him to shorten his trigger a little bit. He has a good release point, and I think that really kind of just helped him simplify his shot. He gets it set really good, but when you're 6-foot-10 and you're not in rhythm, you're not going to make any shots."

On concerns with turnovers:

"Not at all. We're one of the best in the league without turning the ball over. We really only had ten turnovers -- the last one was Myles Cale -- so we're one of the best at not turning the ball over. That's something that we've actually done a much better job than we have in the past."

On changing his rotations to mitigate inconsistency:

"That's just part of having a young team. You've got two sophomores, a freshman, and two other freshmen out there at times. They're going to struggle at times. I think everyone's seen it all across the country: To play at this level and play these types of games back-to-back-to-back, freshmen aren't used to playing hard all the time. They're just not, and it's something they have to learn, something you have to teach them, and you have to be patient with them. The reason why Quincy's probably playing as good as he is, is because he's a junior. He's been through it, he understands. Same thing with Myles Powell and Mike Nzei. These guys have been through the battles, they understand this level of games, how you have to play hard all the time."

On offensive rebounding:

"We were beat like a drum, and that's something that we knew we were going to be a little bit outmatched just because of Doorson and -- I don't want to kill this kid's name, because I love him as a player -- (Eugene) Omoruyi. That's pretty close. But their big guys just manhandled us, and we're not built the same way. Last year, we didn't really have to worry about a seven-footer. We had the toughest guy in the country, and he would handle it. Myles Cale did a much better job in the second half of rebounding. We just need it to be much more of a group effort. It is concerning, but we don't play too many teams with this size. I don't think there's a team in the league that has this size."

On what it means to defeat Rutgers and reclaim the Boardwalk Trophy:

"I think it's important. I love what Steve's doing. As a taxpayer and someone that funds his program, I love the fact that Steve is at Rutgers, because I know he's going to get it done. He's a first-class person, runs a first-class program, he can flat-out coach. So as someone that -- I know this sounds weird -- roots for Rutgers to be good, I think we have the right guy there. And what I told the guys was, we've been the best -- besides Villanova, we've been the best college basketball program in the Northeast for the last five years, bar none. It hasn't even been that close. And what we've done in this area to be a consistent winner, we take a lot of pride in that in this program. What I told the guys was, I said it was going to be a one or two-possession game, but we deserve the right for the fact of how hard we've worked in this program to get it to where it is, that you've got to win this game. And so from that vantage point, I think these guys understood, and they take a lot of pride in where we've gotten this program."

On Powell living for big moments:

"Myles Powell's a hooper, a flat-out hooper. It doesn't matter if it's practice, doesn't matter if it's a pickup game, a big game or a bad game: He just wants to hoop, and that's what everyone sees. I've said this a thousand times: We see this every day in practice, so it's not like when he hits those shots -- the one against Kentucky that should have won the game -- I think everybody was a little shocked at that one, but for the most part, when he comes off and hits it with a guy in his face, that's what he does. He's just a hooper, and he's playing at a high level."