Kevin Willard quote book: Providence

On Seton Hall fighting through adversity:
"We got down seven. and Mike Nzei and Myles Powell were very vocal about how it's not now or never, but it's a pretty important time. They were both extremely vocal in the last -- I think we called the under-16 timeout -- I think I called timeout at 17 -- they were just kind of extremely vocal about it, and they stayed vocal throughout the whole game."

On Myles Powell's 31 points:
"I think the biggest thing is I told the team the other day, I'm like, 'Guys, we can't go five minutes without Myles Powell touching the ball.' I said we got here riding his back. I said, 'Let's not play make-believe. This is the guy that's gotten us here,' and there were times where we were going too long without him touching the basketball. And I thought he came out from the start being aggressive, and I thought that really set the tone. I just thought it was big the way he set the tone coming out and being aggressive."

On Powell's anticipation during his steal-dunk sequence that swung momentum late in the game:
"Again, I just think his sense of urgency tonight on both ends was great. I thought playing the 39 minutes he played, at the level that he played, just showed how much this meant to him."

On Seton Hall's response to Sunday's loss at Villanova:
"I let these guys understand -- I think they were all petrified about what was coming on Monday -- and I had a long conversation with someone that's much smarter than me, and he reminded me that I have five kids that are playing 30-plus minutes a game who are giving it their all, are playing their hearts out, and three of them have no experience. I went back and watched the first half of Villanova, and the only thing we did was just throw it around, but our intensity was great, we defended at a high level, and I just came in and I said, 'Guys, the only difference between us now and us in December is the fact that we're getting killed on the glass and we're not taking care of the ball.' We did 30 minutes of box-out drills, and I told them how proud I am of them at the time. I thought we were way -- for a team no one thought can be in the position that we're in -- I just had to remind them that if we rebound the basketball, we have a chance to win, but we can't not rebound and turn the ball over. We turned it over again tonight, I know why we're doing it, and one of these days, guys are going to have to just relax."

On Romaro Gill and Seton Hall's defense on the final possession:
"Once we get Ro back, I think he'll be a difference-maker for us. We've missed him. He just gives us a presence -- even two possessions before that, I think Maliek White was driving -- and then he stopped and pivoted, and realized he was down there. He doesn't have his timing back yet, he doesn't know the offenses, but as he continues to kind of get his sea legs back, as I say, he's going to be a big boost for us."

On Taurean Thompson and his second-half effort:
"Taurean was terrific. The thing I was really happy with T was he rebounded the basketball. He went in there and he got dirty, came up with some big rebounds, kept some balls alive, had a big block on a three-point shot. He just played really well."

On Seton Hall's second-half defense and its galvanizing potential:
"It's one of those things that -- the second half at 'Nova -- that's happened to me enough. I told the guys I think Isaiah's team his first two years, they went in there and they got blasted every year until they figured out how to play them. The old guys last year could have -- they knew how to play, they knew what was coming when you play Villanova -- the other day was their first experience of playing that style. The biggest thing was us kind of just getting back to playing defense. We have to not take the basketball out of the net every time. If we take the basketball out of the net, it's hard to score with a young team."

On Seton Hall's response following the Villanova loss:
"Monday was great. No matter what happened tonight or going forward, this team -- the way they showed up Monday -- we practiced for a good hour and 45 minutes hard, and they got after it, they had a great attitude. Yesterday's practice was great, we practiced for two hours yesterday. They were into it, their attitudes were great. To me, that's what I was looking for. It's not the win today -- we could have got blown out today -- but they had shown me what they're all about on Monday and Tuesday."

On Michael Nzei calling a players-only meeting after the Villanova loss:
"Everyone always makes big deals of players' meetings. It happens a whole lot more than you would actually imagine. I think this is probably their fourth one that they've had, believe it or not. Mike has called a couple, I know Myles Powell has called a couple. It happens a lot during the year. The ones that get publicly noticed are after you get your butt whipped by 'Nova, but for the most part, it's a mature -- they called a meeting to watch film. They didn't really call a meeting to have a meeting, they called a meeting to watch film, and to me, that was more important than anything else. It just shows 'let's watch what we're doing, let's watch how we're playing.' You can talk all you want, but when you watch yourself, you're going to have to be honest with your teammates about how you're playing."

On Butler and Hinkle Fieldhouse, plus taking part in Fox's All-Access game:
"I'm just looking forward to seeing the bulldog. I think I am (ready for all-access), maybe not, I don't know. That's hard, because I think they mike you up the whole time, so you don't even have a few seconds. I think I'm bringing my kids on the trip, which will help. When they sit on the bench, they make me calm down just a little bit, but it's going to be interesting. I love Hinkle, I think the fans there are knowledgeable, they get there and it's a great, historic place, plus they've got the bulldog that runs across the floor. I just think that's awesome, and I'm a fan of that."

On putting the rest of the season in perspective:
"We've had some tough Januaries, and the one thing I've learned from those is to just be positive. There's so many -- like I said, after the Villanova game, I watched the first half and I was -- there are so many good things that I picked up on, that I was like, 'These kids have never been in this situation before.' They've never had this pressure before. This team wasn't supposed to be here, and for me, it was just kind of reminding them -- and we're not back yet to where we're playing -- just kind of who we are, and don't lose sight of the fact that we've got a long journey ahead, and you can't get down just because some things don't go your way. Sandro's a sophomore, didn't play, Quincy's never played at this level, didn't play last year. Myles Cale didn't play last year, he's a sophomore. Romaro Gill didn't play last year, Anthony Nelson, Taurean didn't play last year, Jared didn't play last year, Shavar was a walk-on. Mike Nzei's the only guy, and Myles Powell, so where this team is, it's phenomenal. You can get beat down in this league, and we've had a tough run at it, but I have confidence in these guys and they showed me a lot the way they practiced Monday and Tuesday."