“They came out the way I wanted all week in practice. I was extra this week in practice with these guys, and not just because of Rutgers, just getting ready to get started for the Big East. It’s a different type of level you have to have, and these guys will tell you: This week, I wasn’t very nice. And I thought they responded. I thought they came out well, jumped on them early, the crowd was great. I want to give Rutgers a lot of credit. I like Steve Pikiell, he’s a great guy, very supportive, obviously Brandin Knight is family, but those guys are a good team. I told my team, it’s never gonna be over. They’re gonna fight, they’re gonna scratch, they’re gonna claw. I thought they made some runs at us, but I was just happy with the way that we responded.”
On this year’s team versus last year’s team:
“We’re still talking about last year, huh? I think the guard play is different, we’ve got better guard play. I think our bigs are more athletic and they give us more, and I don’t want to talk bad about last year’s team because that’s last year’s team. It’s just a different team with a different mindset, our guards are just different, and when you’ve got good guards, you’re gonna be in any game. I think that’s what the biggest difference is.”
On being 10-1 after being picked last in the Big East:
“You don’t really know when you look at the non-conference schedule, you can’t say. I know some coaches go, ‘we want to be 8-3.’ I just want to play basketball and play Seton Hall basketball. I thought if we do that, then we would have a chance. As far as your question, like I told you, I’m gonna tell you the same thing: It’s amazing to me that other coaches and other people pick people’s teams and don’t know nothing about nobody’s teams. To me, that’s still a mystery. That’s why I let my assistant coaches do it, I don’t get involved with that, but some people like to do it.”
On his extra confidence in his team:
“Because I watched them this summer. I watched how we competed this summer, I watched how everybody was connected, I watched how we got in in June and everybody was there. Najai came late in August and like, in the previous years, I couldn’t even practice in the summer, right? This year, we were practicing, it was intense and I knew that with certain personalities, I could push certain buttons. And so far, it’s been working, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
On Budd Clark:
“I thought he did a really good job. I mean, that’s what I’m looking for him to do. I thought the first half, he really controlled the game, got people involved, the second half, he took over. And we’ve got, to be honest with you — I don’t want to say nothing crazy — but when I saw their starting lineup, I knew that we were gonna have to get after them early, and we kind of did that. I think that’s what changed the momentum of the game, those three steals early.”
On Seton Hall fitting his identity:
“It’s a work in progress. We’re still getting better, we’ve still got a couple of guys that are still out, who haven’t suited up for us yet that could be pretty good for us. So I think once we try to get everybody and keep building on the little things, that’s defending. The thing I’m proud about tonight is I looked at the stat sheet, and we only hit four threes and took twelve free throws. To do that and still score 81 points, that’s showing that the team is starting to come together.”
On being ready for Big East play:
“We’ll see Friday night, right? Problem is, I watched some of that game today. (Providence is) good, like, really good. They’re athletic, they’ve got scorers, and it’s hard to play up there. We’ll see. I’m worried about Monday. Tomorrow, we’re off, I’m worried about Monday, how we’ll practice Monday, how we’ll practice Tuesday, how we’ll practice Wednesday, how we’ll practice Thursday. If we do those things and we practice well, we’re gonna give ourselves a chance, so that’s what it is right now.”
On Najai Hines:
“I’ve been on him for the last week since we got back from the (Maui) trip. He’s a freshman, right? He might hit the wall, we had finals this week, I don’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t practicing well. Even today in the walkthrough, I got into him, and I thought he came out and responded. That’s what I want from him. I want him to play the way he’s capable of playing, just being physical and throwing his body around. I don’t know…Emmanuel, that’s his name? The big kid from Rutgers? He’s a big kid, right? So I told (Hines), ‘you’re gonna have to match his intensity. I watched him and the games he played well, (Rutgers) played well.’ And I thought early on, Steph did a good job and when he came in, he started getting on the floor, getting rebounds and putbacks. That’s how we need him to play for us.”
On A.J. Staton-McCray:
“A.J.’s been good. He hurt his hand in practice, so the last three days, he’s had tape on his right hand, he really didn’t even shoot that much. So to come out and play the way he played, he made a big shot. I want him to do that. He’s one of our leaders, he’s been around for a while, he’s got some experience and I knew we needed him to make plays. And he’s more than just a jump shooter. Think about it: He had 18 points today, he only made one three. That’s pretty good.”
On the Rutgers rivalry and Steve Pikiell being open to a home-and-home every year:
“You guys are unbelievable, man. Like, seriously?”
Jerry Carino: “He wanted us to ask you that.”
Sha: “No, he didn’t. You wanted to ask that, Jerry.”
“I play every local team, like, jeez! But it’s a rivalry, right? It’s a good rivalry, they’re a Big Ten school, so he wants a rivalry and an extra game?”
Bryan DeNovellis: “He wants a home-and-home with you every year.”
Adam Zagoria: “He said he’d be open to it.”
Sha: “So let me get this right? Explain to me what he wanted again?”
DeNovellis: “He said, ‘wouldn’t you love to see a home-and-home?’”
Sha: “No, I would not love to see that. Just one or the other, we can’t do both. Why would I want to play them twice? If they want to play twice, tell them to come back to the Big East. Right? They want to play twice? Come back to the Big East!”
“It’s good, man. It’s good for everybody. It’s good for New Jersey, it’s good for Rutgers, it’s good for Seton Hall, it’s a good game. The last two years, they really took it to us, and this year, it was good to win at home. We needed this game and it was good for the fans, it was good for everybody.”
On Seton Hall’s crowd significance:
“It means everything. When I recruited a lot of these guys, I told them when this place gets rocking, there’s nothing like it. It was good to see it, but I’m selfish. I want to see it all the time. I don’t want to see it just for the Rutgers game, I want to see it for every Big East game. Good teams have a good crowd, and that’s just what it is. We’re building. We’re not there where we need to be yet, but we’re building. And for us to be where we need to get, this has gotta be a place that’s hard to play at. And for it to get hard to play at, we gotta get this place rocking every night. We gotta get the people out, so thanks for coming, but not just one game.”
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