Sha Sounds Off: Hofstra

On the final play of the game:

“We called a play that’s one of our quick hitters. We were trying to get Dylan going downhill, Chaunce was coming back off a misdirection, and then we had a hammer screen on the other side. I thought it was there, we just didn’t make the play. I thought Dylan could have just put his head down and just kind of went to the basket and got a foul, but he chose to try to pass the basketball, so more learning lessons.”

On coaching against Speedy Claxton:

“I don’t have a lot of good things to say about this event right now. But Speedy’s a good guy, great coach, his team played hard tonight for him. They played hard for him, and that’s the reason why the last couple years, he’s won 20 games. He’s a good friend of mine and I’m wishing we didn’t have to play against each other either, but it’s all in competition.”

On point guard issues:

“I don’t know, Jerry. We gotta figure it out. Like I said on the radio, man, we just gotta find a way and we gotta figure it out. One thing about me, I’m not a quitter, I’m a fighter, so my team will continue to keep fighting. But we gotta figure it out and we gotta figure it out quick. I’m not wavering. I’ll figure it out, I’ll find a way.”

On Seton Hall’s rotation:

“I thought David Tubek gave us good minutes tonight. I thought he gave us good minutes, I probably should have played him more in the second half. Some of the core guys, we gotta do a better job. With everything being said and done, and no disrespect to Hofstra, I thought they played a hell of a game, and Fordham too, but this is two games in a row that we beat ourselves. We just can’t continue to keep going to the free throw line and not make our free throws, man. You can’t go 9-for-17…if you go 12, 13 or even 14, the game is ours. Just like the other day, same thing. And I don’t know…our guys shoot a lot of free throws, the guys come in every day and shoot 100-200 free throws, and that’s before practice. We’re not cashing in when the game is on the line.”

On Yacine Toumi’s foul trouble:

“I don’t know. He’s being active, getting some tough calls against him, which is tough on us because we need him on the floor. I thought Prince played too many minutes, he was tired, Garwey tried to play but he couldn’t play tonight with his shoulder, that’s why Dylan played a little too much. But with all that being said, we still had opportunities and we kind of controlled the game. Hofstra’s a really good team, but they won’t score a lot of points. I thought tonight, we did a good job of shutting them down, making them play half-court, and I think the game was ours until the last three minutes. Then the next thing you know, missed free throws, turnover, missed free throws, and then that’s what happened.”

On Garwey Dual and Zion Harmon:

“They both…I don’t know, Jerry, to tell you the truth. I don’t know what’s going on right now. I know we gotta figure out how to win these tough games.”

On Godswill Erheriene:

“Yeah, you know what? He got thrown in the fire with Manny being out, and Gus being hurt for a while, so Godswill kind of got thrown in the fire, which I think is gonna help us in the long run. Right now, he’s holding his own, he’s playing hard, and I thought tonight, he was very active. So I think that’s gonna help us in the long run.”

On Jaquan Sanders and getting open in transition:

“I don’t know, Jerry. I gotta look at the film. I have no idea. Good for him. He found a place where he could contribute and play, so good for him. I’m happy for him.”

On a message to the fans:

“Already? That question? I’m not sure how you guys want me to answer that question. I think that question is really not a good question right now. It’s three games in and you guys are worried about the fan base. Why would the fan base worry right now? I know it’s two tough games, but you guys gotta look at it like this, right? Fordham is an Atlantic 10 school, it’s not a MEAC school. And I’m not disrespecting the MEAC, so let me be very clear with what I’m saying right now: It’s an Atlantic 10 school, that’s a quality opponent. Hofstra is a Colonial, very good opponent. Hofstra wins 20 games a year. Should we have lost this game? I don’t think so, right? But these are the games that you gotta have early on so you could have success later. So what should I say to the fan base, because everybody keeps asking me that same question? Step by step. We’re gonna put it together, we’re gonna figure it out. I gotta get back in the lab and tweak some things, and get the guys ready for Saturday against a good Wagner team.”