March 20, 2015
Recap | McGrane: SDSU Not About to Shrink From Duke's Shadow | Notebook
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -
COACH FISHER: Tonight we beat a team that's very hard to guard, and we statistically are a pretty good defensive team and we had a hard time keeping them in front of us, especially in the first half. They had four guys play the whole game and they would have had, Jordan probably would have played the whole game had he not gotten two early fouls. So we thought we could create tired legs, but we were the ones that got tired legs in stretches, but first half we made some shots obviously and Polee and Matt combined to make a bunch of 3s. When you do that, you've got a chance. When we score points, we've got a chance. We score this many points, we've got a chance against anybody. St. John's is well-schooled, they play hard and they were very difficult to keep out of the transition game. But our guys did a nice job, I love the way we compete and play for one another, so really good win for San Diego State and we're glad that we're here and going to be playing another game on Sunday.
MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes?
Q. This is for Dwayne. Dwayne, you came out and took seven shots tonight, you hit five of them and hit three of them in the first five minutes of the game, obviously you're feeling well coming out of the gate. Talk about that a little bit.
Dwayne Polee II: My teammates found me in positions where I could shoot the ball. I found myself open a lot of times because, you know, we have a lot of great players on this team. You know, Coach Fish, he just does a great job of telling me to shoot your shot and I found myself wide open so I give a lot of credit to my teammates as well.
Q. JJ, start with you first, can you talk about just kind of how uncomfortable it was, this was definitely not the type of game that you guys generally get drawn into, yet you were able to really score in bunches.
J.J. O'Brien: Yeah, we haven't played a team like that all year. They do a great job of pushing the tempo and they kind of imposed their will on us early so we kind of had to slow it down and get back to our defense in the second half. We did a good job of getting back to how we play, getting back to our defense, getting inside and hit people on the outside or scoring inside. They do a good job of that but we did a good job of adapting.
Q. Dwayne, how special was this for you to have this type of game tonight in an NCAA Tournament given everything that you've been through health wise?
Dwayne Polee II: It's just a blessing, you know. I had a lot of positive support around me, my teammates, the whole coaching staff, my family, my girlfriend, they just stayed positive for me and that's the reason why I'm here right now, just living by faith and just staying really positive. It felt really good to have a good game in the first game of the tournament.
Q. Matt, you just kind of knew things weren't going well, you guys weren't shooting. Like Coach said, when you guys score you probably can beat anybody or at least be in the game. When you were getting hot right there, did you know how important it was or how important it would be to score a lot of points against these guys because they're tough to stop?
Matt Shrigley: Yeah, definitely. They push the ball and play a lot of transition, that's a lot of their offense. Dwayne came out, making a lot of shots. You kind of take it upon yourself to say, okay, let me make my shot now, and you feed off each other. Coach says it a lot, take your shot, make your shot.
Q. Is that what it will take to beat Duke?
Matt Shrigley: Definitely. I mean, to beat anyone you have to make your shots and score a lot of points.
MODERATOR: Other questions for the student-athletes?
Q. This is for Sky, you were playing in there against I don't think anybody taller than 6'6 to start. What was it like to kind of play where you are the big guy in there and kind of have your way?
Skylar Spencer: It was different but I had to kind of take advantage of my opportunities and just let everything come to me and let the game flow.
Q. For JJ, obviously Aqeel wasn't feeling a hundred percent tonight and you guys have all said he's your emotional leader. What was it like not having him out there in such a big game, how did you guys adjust?
J.J. O'Brien: It was different, usually he's out there with us, someone had to step in in that role, I think we all tried to step up and be a little more vocal. Someone had to fill in, we had to adapt to situations like that. But we definitely missed him and we hope he gets better.
MODERATOR: Any other questions? Thanks, guys. Head back to the locker room. Good job. Questions for Coach Fisher?
Q. Coach, just give us an update on Aqeel and how were you able to play him or not play him based on how he was feeling?
COACH FISHER: At our open shoot around here yesterday, came into the arena feeling good. Towards the end, he told Tom that he didn't feel great, had a knot in his stomach. By the time we got back, he could hardly stand up. I think they've attributed it to some form of food poison. He had an IV last night. He had another IV this morning and he probably still is feeling pretty miserable, but he said I'm good to go. He tried and competed, like AQ competes, but he was not obviously at full strength. And hopefully we'll have a day and a half to get him ready because we need him.
Q. Coach, what can you say about Duke? You have a big game ahead of you playing them and it's going to be a tough match-up, they had a pretty good game themselves tonight.
COACH FISHER: They did, and they've had a lot of pretty good games, which is why they're the No. 1 seed. We're glad that we're playing. It's them that we have to play. We were 8 seed. That's the math, I used to teach math and we will definitely have our hands full. But our players compete and if we make shots and that's a big if, we will have an opportunity to make it interesting. We know not only are they a terrific team but they are a premiere program that is in that elite stratosphere, and that's where all the rest of us aspire to get. We're inching our way along, building our own resume. They've got a pretty good one that's built on a number of years of great, great teams. Our players and our fans will be very excited to play the game and we'll see what happens.
Q. Steve, I think you shot 16 3s in the first half and I don't think you've shot more than 17 in the last nine games. Every game has its ebb and flow, but were you at all surprised by that number, that high number there?
COACH FISHER: Well, the 3s we got were wide open 3s, and they were taken by guys that can shoot and make 3s. And between Dwayne and Matt, they made a bunch, and I saw highlights of, I think it was, Davidson or one of the games where a player banked it in and he turned to the TV and said I called that. DP did not call his two banks but they were well received on our end. You have to get a little bit lucky and we were ready to talk about had we continued to shoot them and not make them about play inside out, throw the ball to JJ or throw the ball inside and play inside out. But the 3s we had were great looks.
Q. Steve, I'm going to try to sneak in two questions. One, how much did you watch tape of St. John's with Obekpa and what kind of a difference might he have made in this game? And on Duke, where does Jahlil Okafor rank against some of the great freshmen in college basketball you've seen and coached against?
COACH FISHER: Well, St. John's is not as good a team obviously without the big shot block or the inside presence. We knew he wasn't going to play so I watched very little without him. I did watch some segments, but they're different. They're like us. When Skylar's not in there we're a little bit different. When they get to the rim they can finish. When we get to the rim tonight we could finish, and with him in there it would have been harder for us to finish up going to the rim, but we earned a win tonight against the team that they had. Okafor is a terrific player. I'm not an NBA scout but everyone says he's going to be the No. 1 guy taken in the NBA draft this year. He knows how to play, he plays within himself, he's a legitimate center that wants to be a center and doesn't care to drift out and shoot 3-pointers. He's a hard guy for anybody to guard. I don't like to do a lot of ranking because I'm not very good at it, but I know he's good.
Q. Coach, from going essentially facing a five guard lineup in St. John's how much of a transition will it be facing Jahlil Okafor, Marshall Plumlee and Justise Winslow at Duke?
COACH FISHER: Every game has a different storyline. Every game has a different way that you have to play. Tonight our No. 1 concern is who's going to cry uncle first, can we get back and can we have a bigger lineup and stay in front of people without them driving around us time and time again. Obviously with a smaller team, point of emphasis, go rebound the ball, go rebound a miss. I think we had 13 out of 28 misses. We had a goal, rebound half of our missed shots, so we were close on that tonight. The thing we did tonight, we not only rebounded them, we got them in the basket. We got several points off of offensive rebounds and Sunday will be different obviously. They've got some size, and size that's quality, but they've got some perimeter play that will be hard to deal with, too.
Q. Steve, it's essential obviously to win at this point in the season. How proud are you of your guys, playing a team like they had not played all season, that they did find a way to get it under control and to win and advance?
COACH FISHER: I've loved every team I've ever had but this is a unique group and we're fed by our fifth year seniors. Got three of them, AQ, Polee and O'Brien, and JJ is someone that I use often, play like JJ. If you have a team that will be willing to give up -- give of themselves, we had to say, JJ, we're going to play through you and we want you to be a facilitator when needed but an aggressor to score, he's as happy if he scores two points or if he scores 22 as long as we win. So this was a good win for our program. We want to continue to play. This is a stage, as all of us know, where everybody starts watching, the eyeballs multiply with each victory. So we'll have more folks watching, it will be a bigger deal come Sunday, and if we happen to win, it will be a bigger deal come next week in Houston.
MODERATOR: Anyone else? Thanks, Coach.
MODERATOR: Coach Lavin will be joined by D'Angelo Harrison and Sir'Dominic Pointer.
COACH LAVIN: Just in terms of the game, foul trouble early clearly, you know, affected our chances to be successful. Rysheed picking up that second so early in the first half and that's when San Diego State put some distance. That's when they kind of extended, went on their run. With him out and we fought back some and cut it to 7, and we played them even for most of the second half until late, so we were equal on the boards in the first half, shot 50 percent in the first half. Their put-backs, second chance points in the first half is where they were able to extend some, and then knock it in, in the seven 3s also allowed them to extend. So the 3-point shooting in the first half and the second-chance points is where they were able to put some distance between us and them. But obviously we're a different team when Rysheed is on the floor, and in the second half again we played them pretty much even until the very end of the game. So big picture, just proud of this group of seniors taking us on this ride, restoring pride in St. John's, getting us back to the NCAA Tournament and representing the University in such a first-class manner and all earning their college degrees. True to their character, they fought and scraped and showed grit, fight, right to the last possession of the game. So the most gratifying year of my coaching career because of the opportunity to participate in this senior class' journey here at St. John's.
MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Please raise your hand.
Q. D'Angelo, how tough was it against their size without Chris? They're going 6'7, 6'7, 6'8, 6'9, and you guys are playing all guards how difficult was that?
D'ANGELO HARRISON: It was tough but we didn't use that excuse. We did what we can down low. You credit them, they've got some of the 50/50 balls and kicked out for 3s in the beginning. They got off to a hot start. They were shooting 3s, we were daring them to shoot and they were making them. You credit them. It was tough but we fought as hard was we could but it just wasn't enough today.
Q. Can you talk about what emotions you're feeling as you picked up your fifth foul, walked off the floor and realized your career was going to end at that moment?
D'ANGELO HARRISON: No, just keep trying to do what I can to win the game. Nobody was there to foul so I fouled. When I sat down that's when it hit me. It's tough. I don't even know how to put it in words yet, but I owe this guy my life, so I'll probably talk to him every day for the rest of my life, that's just the kind of guy he is.
Q. For Dom, after you got a couple of fouls early, how much did it take away from your aggressiveness because you basically were the rim protecter back there?
SIR'DOMINIC POINTER: It didn't take away from my aggressiveness at all. I was down there playing tough. The ball didn't bounce our way. A lot of times we had the rebound in our hands, we slipped out of our hand and we gave them easy layups like that. It was more the ball just didn't bounce our way.
Q. D'Angelo, it looked like you talked to Winston there a little bit at the end of the game. What did you guys say to each other?
D'ANGELO HARRISON: Just continue to move forward. He played well, so just continued success. That's my little brother, I talk to him every day, we're all in a group text. Just saying keep moving forward and keep winning, win the next game, it's important, for us.
Q. For both of you guys, can you describe the way that when San Diego State gets a second chance point, like after you've already gotten the stop and then they get another chance, the way that that affects morale or spirit or your ability to keep pushing?
D'ANGELO HARRISON: It definitely hurts, but our goal was get the first rebound but sometimes they're going to get the tip. I tried to do my best, when they get it try to run up under them, try to grab it, too. They're just bigger than us on some plays and sometimes you just can't do nothing about it.
SIR'DOMINIC POINTER: Exactly what D'Angelo said. We did get our rebounding. We were trying our best, the ball bounced their way a couple of times. Sometimes we had, like I said we had the ball in our hands, we got tipped. Once it got tipped around it, they a lot bigger so they longer, they get the rebound and they put it back up. I wouldn't say it was deflating it until the end, but more toward the end it hurt us.
Q. If Chris is there, how different is today's game?
D'ANGELO HARRISON: You could say the game would be different but we're an old enough group that that wasn't a factor. We played without him, we played without him before. I think we only lost one game when he wasn't out so I think we're like 6-1 when he didn't play. We didn't use that as an excuse. I mean, you can say it would be different, he's 6'9, does unique things. We didn't use that excuse, we just tried to play hard.
Q. For Dom, you had a stretch where you guys got back where you were within 7 again and you were getting a lot of stops but you committed four turnovers in five possessions. How frustrating was it to be there with a chance and not be able to convert?
SIR'DOMINIC POINTER: It's very tough but we just kept fighting through it. The team, we don't let those turnovers affect us, we came out, we scratched it off and kept playing. We started to come back at the end just we didn't have enough guys.
Q. I know that you guys are going out in a very well-respected class. The last three games, you had three opportunities to do things that you had never done before, beat Villanova, win a Big East tournament game, win a NCAA tournament game. To have come up short on all three, how do you put that into words?
D'ANGELO HARRISON: That's a tough question, to be honest. We tried our best, man. I couldn't do enough today. I played my hardest, I do what I could and we just came up short. So you credit San Diego State, credit their coach. I mean, it's tough, that's a tough question, I don't know how to answer that.
SIR'DOMINIC POINTER: Like D'Angelo said, we played our hearts out and not winning none of it was hard, but it happens. Like I said, we had a great year, successful year as a team, our seniors played our hearts out, everybody played our hearts out, that's all we can ask for.
MODERATOR: Other questions for D'Angelo or Dom? Thanks, guys. Congratulations, a great year. Questions for Coach Lavin.
Q. Steve, I mean, it's the obvious thing's missing here, which is Chris, and the number of second chance points that you mentioned. I mean, is this not somewhat his, you know, his doing?
COACH LAVIN: You know, it's interesting. If Rysheed doesn't get in foul trouble, I think this is a game that comes right down to the wire. We knew San Diego State was a very capable, you know, basketball team. They've had a great run of success, six straight NCAA tournaments. But to me the defining or turning point in this game was Rysheed picking up that second foul within the first minute because he's been a catalyst in this run that allowed us to get to the NCAA Tournament and the numbers bear that out, and even points in the paint. We outscored them 40-30 with the points in the paint. Granted, there's a plus 13 on the second chance points, so it's undeniable that their size was a factor for them in terms of getting those second shots. But this group has been successful without Chris. Ideally, we would have preferred to have Chris' services today, but to me, when I look at the game, it was, when Rysheed picked up that second foul because of the way he influences the game at both ends of the court with his ball pressure, with his ability to put pressure on defenses by breaking them down off the bounce, his playmaking ability, finishing at the rim ability, drawing fouls. He's a real catalyst and a key contributor to what we do at both ends of the floor, and he's one of the better guard rebounders I've coached. When he went out with the second foul, really the rest of the game was pretty equal until right there at the end until we were in a situation where we were just fouling to try to get back into the game. We cut it to 7, had multiple possessions but we never really got back over the hump from the lead that they extended on us with Rysheed out, even though I thought the group fought back admirably well given the circumstances. And I thought the second biggest factor is Dom takes that spill and he was just basically not the same. So now Obekpa is not with us, Rysheed's in foul trouble and Dom goes down with the hip pointer. That just now becomes too much to overcome, and we still fought back in spite of that, had the ball on multiple occasions on the break and a couple possessions where we can cut it to 5 or even to 4 if we hit a 3-pointer on one of those possessions. So the group fought admirably well and I'm proud of them, but those combinations, Rysheed and Dom being injured I thought was the difference tonight given that we didn't have Chris with us.
Q. Steve, if you had Obekpa for tonight, would you have opened in that zone with Rysheed down low protecting against the guys 6'9, 6'10?
COACH LAVIN: The hypotheticals are obviously, if we had Maurice Harkless tonight or Jakarr Sampson or Amir Garrett, but I'm just proud of this group and we got to give credit to San Diego State. They had a great season and they played really well here tonight and we came up short but I thought the foul trouble with Rysheed and then Dom's injury, the combination of those two made it very tough on us tonight with the group we were competing with.
Q. I know the game just ended, but is the door open on a return for Chris Obekpa next season or do you expect that his time at St. John's is done?
COACH LAVIN: We'll get a chance next week to decompress and talk to one another. We've texted the last couple days, we've been in communication and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he doesn't return to St. John's.
Q. Your post-season record at St. John's is 2-8. Why don't you think it's better and how disappointing is that number for you?
COACH LAVIN: We probably need about an hour and a half for that one, so I won't, in fairness to the other writers who probably have deadlines tonight I'm not even going to delve into that one because I have to talk about the last five years, Harkless going pro, Sampson going pro. I'm just proud of this group if they got us back to the NCAA Tournament and it's so rare to be able to take two groups, the team we inherited from Norm Roberts, the team he left behind, great character, they were such a special group, D.J. Kennedy because they got us back after a decade in the dessert. D.J. Kennedy and Dwight Hardy, Paris Horne, Justin Burrell, Sean Evans, Malike Boothe. Go right down the list. That was a special group of seniors in my initial year at St. John's and I was like a stepfather, as we all can appreciate. That's tough to do, coming in as stepfather with someone else's kids, and they punched us back in the tournament and then we had to start over with this wonderful group that now got us back to the NCAA Tournament. Ideally I wish we finished in the Final Four, cutting down the nets in the National Championship but they overcame a number of things that you don't anticipate. We never thought Harkless would leave after one year and lose Jakarr after two, and Amir Garrett to Major League baseball. But these guys, the last of the Mohicans fought to their last possession for St. John's, really represented the front of that jersey well. And if we wanted to do an overview, comprehensive, sit down together, it would be great to get a cup of coffee with you, Zack.
Q. Your four seniors played 39 minutes tonight. You had a four or five minute stretch in the second half where you your guys didn't score. Do you think fatigue set in?
COACH LAVIN: Those kids were so tuckered out, that's why I'm so proud of them. The combination of Dom Pointer being injured, Rysheed Jordan being in foul trouble and obviously we know we didn't have Chris Obekpa's services and yet it's still a 7-point game with multiple possessions and a chance to cut it inside of 7. These kids are super heros in my eyes. I look up to them and I told them as much after the game. I've had 27 years in the business and I probably admire this group more than any that I've coached and it's tough to separate who's your favorite, I had some special groups along the way. This one, because of what they had to overcome and where they started as the youngest team in school history. Not the youngest team in the country but the youngest thing in school history. And those things that we just talked about, the number of kids along the way that decided to opt for the professional route, which I can't fault them for, if I had a chance to play for the 76ers, I would probably opt for that, too, if I was at that age and had that opportunity, financial gain but it made it tougher and to me the story even more remarkable of this group of seniors who will all earn their degrees. I'm sure they were tired emotionally, physically. They gave everything they had to this University and they gave us a special ride this year and took us back to the tournament so couldn't be more proud of them. But they're probably a little tuckered out.
Q. Coach, you talked about how this is your most rewarding season as a coach and we talked about these seniors and how they define St. John's and the program going forward. How have they changed you as a coach going forward?
COACH LAVIN: It's a unique group. The first year I didn't get to coach them because of the cancer, so they arrived on campus and ended up playing for a coach other than the one who recruited them. Right there, that's not something they signed up for, yet they had a great attitude, they were eager to learn, they worked their fannies off that first year and made progress. Then my second year my father passed away. So any time you go through a battle with cancer and losing someone so close to you, and this group, there's something special about their character, their makeup, their demeanor. These phrases we use in coaching and teaching and education, and they're just really a special group. So I think their resiliency, their spirit inspires me. I mean, watching that grit and that determination, that resolve, they were so resolute, tenacious comes to mind as a word, they're just a tenacious group that would not be denied, which, you know, which is why they're all going to earn their degrees and why we're here tonight. I just wish we could have taken it further. Obviously that's what makes it tough. It's kind of a bittersweet. It comes to an end after a great run with this great group of kids. I wish we could take it further but San Diego State played really well and we were short handed and they deserve to move through the brackets and we're proud of what we did. Now we go home and regroup.
Q. This is another hypothetical question, I guess, but given Rysheed's importance to the team, did you consider keeping him out there?
COACH LAVIN: Yes, I did.
Q. Or bringing him back early?
COACH LAVIN: Yeah, in hindsight naturally as a coach, 20/20, but my concern was that if he picked up a third or a fourth that maybe then we would look back at the second half if he ended up fouling out, we didn't have him down the stretch. But we definitely considered it and then we were staying -- I didn't feel they were pulling enough, like you know, if it got past, if they started to go double digits, it was 10, 12, 14, 16, I think I would have gone back to him, but the fact that I felt we were right there within striking distance, it ended up being a two, two and a half possession game at the half. I thought we were in a good place, Dom's injury compounded it, because Dom was dominating the game, but then after the hip he was not the same player. He hung in there, didn't want to be taken out. The combination of no Chris Obekpa, then Rysheed's foul trouble, if we didn't have all three of those working against us maybe we get inside of 5 or 4 or 3 but it put us under duress because we've shown we can beat everybody playing 6, 7 this year. But we need all 6 of those 7. Now we're down basically to four. When Rysheed is on the bench, there is no Obekpa, then Dom's injured. Essentially we're playing four in a group of seven and that was a little too much for us to sustain against a good team at this stage of the year.
MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.