“I just liked, being down Lex and again, kind of having a weird lineup, that guys were just able to step up and really make plays. I thought Kooks (Kadary), Jared and Bryce were just phenomenal spacing the court and going one-on-one.”
On Kadary Richmond and Bryce Aiken offensively:
“I just liked the fact that Kooks was being aggressive getting to the rim. I thought we needed, kind of early in the second half, we settled for some jumpers and I thought we just needed someone being aggressive getting to the rim. And I thought he played physical and aggressive while Bryce was out there with him. We’ve had both of them out there at times and both of them have not been aggressive at the same time, and I thought with both of them out there, they were both aggressive, which I thought put a lot of pressure on their defense.”
On Richmond’s stretch of 17 straight points:
“It’s pretty simple, and what I like about this team is everyone knew he was cooking. So it was just, get out of his way and let him go, and he just had a really good rhythm.”
On playing Richmond with Aiken more often:
“We’re definitely going to get them out there together. Them together at Butler, that lineup when they were in the lineup together, they were plus-14. I didn’t get my lineup analysis yet, but I’m sure it’s going to be something good. It gives the other guys a chance to kind of be able to have guys create shots for them, which is really nice. Bryce had seven assists, I thought he passed the ball really, really well in the first half, and that’s kind of been one of our issues. Sometimes we get stuck doing a little bit one-on-one, and today we had some good, aggressive one-on-ones, and we made some passes.”
On Ike Obiagu and Tyrese Samuel:
“There’s not too many teams that could roll out a 7-foot-1 guy, a 6’11 guy, a 6’9 guy and a 6’9 guy. That’s been our strength all year. Everyone looks at the guards and Jared, and rightfully so, but I can go 7’1, 6’11, I can go 6’8, 6’9 and space you out. It’s been our strength, so to have them back — Tyrese was phenomenal, I couldn’t believe he played 17 minutes, I mean, he’s been stuck in Canada in an apartment for 10 days — so just to get them back, it just gives us a chance to play physical, and at the same time, we could go small at times. Tray Jackson hits two big threes to start the game and kind of get us back into the game, so our frontcourt has been our strength all year.”
On Rhoden’s steal in the final seconds:
“Jared’s played at an extremely high level all year, and I think he’s getting back into the groove of — and again, he had a tough little battle with COVID, too — he’s one of the best players in the league, so whenever he’s out there, he’s doing something good.”
On Seton Hall’s camaraderie and chemistry:
“I think they all understand this is their last rodeo. Lex has never played in the NCAA Tournament, Jamir’s never played, Kooks had a good run last year, my guys want to get back to where we were. So I think that goal, and the understanding that on any given night, some guys are going to get it going, and when they have, we’re going to let them go and support them. So I think that’s kind of the common goal, it’s what we talk about as a team, and again, you've got a guy like Ike who’s extremely unselfish and plays defense really, really hard, and sacrifices some offense for the greater good. They all work really well together.”
On long-term prospects:
“We have a tough two-game road trip. DePaul’s playing great. I know they’re 0-3, but they came off a COVID pause themselves and they’re up seven in the first half, and Marquette's playing really well. I watched their Georgetown game last night, they’re playing terrific. We were 9-1 before we got shut down, we beat Texas, beat Rutgers, lost to Ohio State at the buzzer, won at Michigan, so I like this basketball team. If we can get back in a rhythm, which we’re not yet, but if we can kind of get back in a rhythm, like I said, I wasn’t worried about losing the first two.”
On Myles Cale and Rhoden:
“I’ve talked about Myles Cale a thousand times. He’s one of the most consistent, one of the best players that I’ve ever coached. I know what I’m getting every night, I never worry about Myles Cale. He’s a superior young man, he’s a great teammate, he’s a phenomenal defender, and Jared Rhoden went from being a center in high school who didn’t shoot to — he’s probably the hardest worker I’ve ever had — being a very, very high-level player. And I think the best thing about both of them is that they’re both high-level people, and I think that’s why they’ve achieved what they achieved.”
On Seton Hall’s rivalry with UConn:
“Danny’s as good a coach as I go against all year long. It’s why I wasn’t happy they came in the league, it wasn’t anything — I know I made a wise-ass comment about it. I don’t want to go against Danny twice a year. Danny’s a — the way he runs his program, the players he gets and recruits, and the level he coaches at — it’s a high-level program and he’s a high-level coach. It’s great that our games are battles, I think they’re going to be battles because we’re very similar. Danny’s and my personality are very similar, we’re very intense, his teams and my teams play very similar, both physical, they rebounded the ball phenomenal tonight. They’re always going to be high-level, they always are. That’s just the way Danny is, he runs a phenomenal program. So when coaches say they don’t want you in the league, it’s probably the biggest compliment you can get, because they don’t want to go against you twice.”
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