Sha Sounds Off: Rutgers

Note: This transcript also includes quotes from KC Ndefo.

Shaheen Holloway on Seton Hall’s defense:

“First off, I want to give Coach Pikiell and Rutgers a lot of credit. His team played hard, they compete, very well-coached. I told my guys I thought the score would be something like this, I thought it was going to be a slugfest. We’re starting to understand who we are on the defensive end. Getting everybody back was key for us, and I thought Dre Davis and Kadary were huge, but a good win for us, good stepping stone to where we want to be and where we want to go, so we’ve got to continue it up.”

“I thought we played with a sense of urgency the whole game. I thought we had a couple of mental lapses in the first half, the last 10 minutes, but for the most part we had two solid days of practice with the whole team, finally, and we just defended. I’ve got an older team. We’re old, and I’ve got a bunch of juniors and seniors. I think these guys came in here and understood the magnitude of the game, understood the rivalry, and guys stepped up, especially this guy next to me (Ndefo).”

On defense sustaining Seton Hall all season:

“I think we’ve got to continue building our defense and I think our offense — and I said it a long time ago — our offense is a work in progress. I hope we get there sooner than later, but as long as we continue to keep defending, we give ourselves a chance to be in the game.”

On pride in seeing Seton Hall win:

“I’m really tired of these types of emotional games. I’ve had like, five of them this year, so enough of them already, right? You know what? It’s not about me, Jerry. It’s about these guys on my team. They came out, like I said, with a sense of urgency, some pride, and I thought KC was a guy who stepped up in practice the last two days and also stepped up today. He understands this. For him to play in this game and never played it in before, to play the way he played and play with that sense of urgency and the guys kind of followed behind him, I thought that was huge.”

On the opening minutes of the game:

“I mean, we’re a physical team. Like I said, I’ve got a bunch of older guys. We’re a physical team, I thought both teams played physical, I thought it was a hard-fought game. I give both teams a lot of credit, they fought, and we just happened to come out with the win.”

Ndefo on what this win means:

“This is a big win for us. We have a lot of guys on this team from last year just understanding this rivalry and how big of a game, and the atmosphere. I talked to the media early this week about the guys being locked in. We had, like Coach said, a good two days of practice, so I feel like we were all focused and dialed in on the game plan and what we had to do, and I feel like we did good.”

“This is a big confidence booster. This is a big game, a great Rutgers team, so to just come in here and get a big win on their home court is big.”

On his last-minute block of Cliff Omoruyi:

“I knew they were trying to get something towards the basket, so Coach said it, just being locked into what we had to do on defense. That’s something I thrive on, getting blocks and being a defensive dude, being active whichever way I can.”

On whether Seton Hall’s physicality surprised Rutgers:

“If it was a surprise, I think we’ve played physical the whole year, so this is what we do. We’re a physical team. We’re just going to keep building on this one and trying to get more.”

Holloway on missing Dre Davis:

“We missed everybody. Like I told you guys the other day, we need everyone. We need all 10 guys that’s healthy to be on the court. We definitely missed Dre. Dre brings leadership, Dre played in the ACC, he played in big games, he can score, he can defend. I went small with KC and Dre today down the stretch because these guys play bigger than their height, and it was good. It was also good, to tell you the truth, I’m super proud of Kadary. He played way too many minutes in the first half, I didn’t think I was going to be able to play him in the second half, but he and Dre fought through it, and I’m proud of both those guys.”

Ndefo on defending Omoruyi:

“I feel like it’s something I’ve been doing my whole life, just being able to defend one through five and just doing whatever I have to do to help our team get the win.”

Holloway on what this win says about Seton Hall’s progression:

“We’ve got a long way to go, right? This is a good win, it’s a good confidence booster, it’s a good thing for our guys to see where we could be if we continue to keep fighting, keep growing, and keep playing together. But we’ve got a long way to go. This was a big win, I don’t want to get carried away, I don’t want my guys to get too carried away. We’ve gotta get ready for Drexel on Wednesday, so we’ve just gotta take this game, enjoy tonight and then get ready for work tomorrow.”

Ndefo on raising the Boardwalk Trophy:

“Going back on the rivalry, seeing pictures of guys who hold that trophy, we just came into this game and knew what we wanted to do. We knew what we wanted to get at, and having that trophy was a big accomplishment for us. It was good.”