Kevin Willard quote book: St. John’s

On Seton Hall’s ball movement:
“I really was happy with the fact that we came out with a good defensive mindset, to be honest with you. I thought that set our tone, and then we really talked about looking for Ro, looking for guys on the baseline on our drives. I thought the first game, especially the first half, I thought Roberts really changed the game against us in the first half with him coming over and getting some blocks, and I thought today, we did a much better job of making sure he wasn’t such a big presence at the rim than he was the first game.”

On Seton Hall’s response to his challenge:
“Terrific. I think everybody looked a little too much into it. I think there’s times in the season where you have to get on your team and you have to know your team, when to get on them, and no one knows them better than me. I wasn’t worried about how they would respond, I saw it Monday in practice. Monday in practice, after I got on them, they responded great. I knew we’d have a great shot to win today because we practiced two-and-a-half hours yesterday, much longer than we usually do a day before a game. Individually, they’ve all bounced back, but as a team, I think they’ve really understood what our mentality this time of year has to be.”

On Myles Powell’s shooting:
“We actually started working a lot in the last week, week-and-a-half, and right now, the way he’s releasing it and the way it’s coming off his fingertips every time, it looks like it’s going in, but right now, he’s having a hard time buying one. I think he’s doing so much other good stuff on the court, and when he’s out there, he’s getting his teammates involved. I think he’s playing an all-around terrific game, but right now, he just can’t buy a shot to go in.”

“This bye week’s coming at a good time for him and Quincy. They’re both dealing with a little bit of tendinitis, Myles a little bit more, just overall usage. It’s nothing terrible, but he does have a little bit of tendinitis going on, so I think this week will be good for him.”

“He loves to practice. I balance getting him out because he likes to compete, but I think everyone’s workload for the most part this time of year is really cut. You just have to, whatever month we’re in. I have my theory on why his shot — I think after the concussion, that could take some time to get all your motor skills a little bit going — he’s obviously 100 percent recovered from it, but I do think there’s some lingering effects with just technique and form, and that’s what we’ve been working on more than anything. I don’t think it’s his knee, I’ve done a lot of research and Tony Testa has done a lot of research. Sometimes some of the basic things that you know and you’ve done forever can linger a little bit, and I think that has a little bit to do with it.”

On Seton Hall’s fast start:
“Defensively, the way we came out, that was my biggest thing with these guys. I’m like, ‘let’s stop reacting,’ because we’ve been digging ourselves a hole because we haven’t played overly well offensively here. We got five straight stops early, and I thought that kind of relaxed us where we were able to get a layup, Ro got a dunk, Sandro made a really great ball fake and a kickout, and I think Anthony Nelson made a great kickout to Q. It was a nice combination. Being up 14 at half, that was like being up 30, to be honest with you. It was just a different feeling. We haven’t had that feeling a whole lot.”

On Sandro Mamukelashvili’s form returning:
“Like I said, he had a vacation for seven weeks. For him, it was more of a mental grind, not physical, and I think he’s now in a pretty good mental state where he’s ready to attack and be aggressive every game, where I think when you come back right away and you’ve got to play against the teams we have to play against, it just doesn’t come naturally.”

On winning big games helping the program:
“I think it always helps when you win. I think the fact that whatever we’re ranked in the country and what we’ve done over the last five years straight, I think that’s really helped recruiting.”

On what it means to be the first coach in New Jersey Division I basketball with five straight 20-win seasons:
“It means Myles Powell’s a hell of a player, Angel Delgado’s really good, Isaiah Whitehead’s really good. I’ve been blessed to have a lot of really, really good players over however long I’ve been here, but I think over the last five, especially with the groups that have been with me and worked hard, I’ve had some really good players.”

On being ready for Seton Hall’s three remaining regular season games:
“Three monsters? Yeah. There’s no hiding anymore. What we have in front of us — obviously at Marquette is going to be Markus’ senior night, I’m pretty sure, and then we come here for our senior night against — I think ‘Nova’s as good as any team in the country, and obviously I think at Creighton for their senior night, I don’t think there’s anybody playing better basketball than Creighton in the country right now. The way I’m looking at it is three great opportunities to kind of solidify where we’re going to get seeded in the NCAA Tournament, it gives us a chance to win the a Big East championship, and it also gives us a chance to get a great seeding in the Big East tournament, so it’s three great opportunities.”