“We missed a lot of free throws where we could have given ourselves a one or two-point cushion, and we missed a lot of free throws in the last three, four minutes of the game where we ended up getting empty possessions. We get to the free throw line, we miss a free throw, we get to the free throw line, we miss two free throws, we make one out of two, and you just can’t go 5-for-11 from the free throw line when they’re going 18-for-25. That’s the difference in the ballgame.”
On accepting a National Invitation Tournament bid:
“I haven’t put a whole of thought into it at this moment. I’m not 100 percent sure that’s going to be the best thing for this team. I wouldn’t play Sandro in the NIT, I have some seniors that I’m not sure going to a hotel in Texas right now is the best thing for my seniors, but I’ll have a conversation with them later. As of right now, I’m leaning toward not doing it just for the fact of everything that we’ve been through all year long, I’m just not sure if that’s something that’s best for us right now.”
On Bryce Aiken:
“I was really excited about bringing Bryce in, just because of the dynamic and the makeup of this team. We thought his ability to be able to get in the paint and be able to create shots for Jared and Myles would take some pressure off Sandro. Obviously, not having him for the last half of the season really hurt us for the fact that it put so much pressure on Shavar’s plate, not only offensively, but defensively. I feel bad for him. It’s a tough way to end your career, not being able to play all year long. It hurt us, but I feel worse for him, and I think it hurt him more because it’s a tough way to end your career.”
On coaching this season:
“I’m really proud of this basketball team. I think I made some decisions early on, when we came out of COVID lockdown, that hurt us, probably hurt our chances for the NCAA Tournament because it’s looked upon that we didn’t beat anybody. I tried to give what these guys wanted to do. They wanted to play games coming out of the summer and the season ending last year, these guys just really wanted to play games when we came out of lockdown, and we just weren’t ready to play and that kind of set us back. Bryce gets hurt in the first six minutes of the Louisville game, and then we’re on the road, we’ve played more road games than anybody else. I just think it wasn’t the best decision, but when I look back at it, this was a great group to coach. They played hard, they practiced hard, they had a great attitude, we got close to coming after losing three great seniors last year, to come back and replace those guys and get close to making the NCAA Tournament, I’m proud of this team.”
On Sandro Mamukelashvili:
“If you’re driving and you’re not getting foul calls and teams are able to be a little bit more physical with you, that probably doesn’t help.”
On Seton Hall’s senior class:
“This is always tough at the end of the year. I’m proud of them. They’ve been here four years, they’ve given their heart and soul, they’ve been great in the classroom, they’ve been great in the community, and they’ve been terrific on the basketball court. I’m going to miss them very much, but they can hold their heads high that they had great careers. They had a chance to go to four NCAA Tournaments, each one of them gave a lot, and I think what I’m most proud of — I said this the other day — all of them have really grown as men. They’re just not — you look at what Myles Cale is doing in his community, his foundation, Sandro coming in as a young, immature young man who has now blossomed into an NBA player, in my opinion, Shavar was a walk-on and played 34 minutes tonight for us. We’re just really proud of all of them, we really am, and I’m looking forward to what they hold in the future, because they all have very bright futures.”
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