Player Quotes
St. John’s at Syracuse
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
February 23, 2005
Senior Forward Hakim Warrick
On how he felt and his career-high 35 points:
“I felt really comfortable. My teammates just got me the ball in good situations and I just had to go and finish. I just tried to go out there and concentrate on my free throws. I wanted to go out and attack the basket and that is what I did. I knew coming in that I wanted to have a big night.”
On the start of the second half when St. John’s cut it to five:
“I think we played a little too laid back and we just didn’t have that same fire that we had in the first half. We got a couple big baskets and that really got us going.”
On the difference in his production tonight compared to the last few games:
“I think it was just going out there and being aggressive. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in a position to score and I just went up and finished. This is the best we have played in a long time.”
Sophomore forward Terrence Roberts:
On starting the game:
“Coach wanted to go big and we needed to get more rebounds and we needed to be more physical inside. He thought our best rebounding (lineup) was with Hak at the three and me at the four. He (Coach Boeheim) just said ‘I’m going to start you because we need to get rebounds.’ That is what we were focusing on tonight and I think we did a pretty good job of that.”
On St. John’s quick start to the second half:
“We didn’t worry about it too much. We know that teams go on runs and we missed a couple shots and had a couple dumb turnovers. We just kept our composure and we knew we could come back and we just played hard. We just took our time and got our key players good shots.”
On if it was SU’s ‘A’ game:
“It was definitely not our ‘A’ game. We did a lot of little things, 12 turnovers in the second half – that is not us. We will continue to get better as the season goes along. And I think we are starting to gel even more right now. Every team has their slumps and they come back from that. I think we are going to do a good job of making the transition of coming back from our slump.”
Freshman guard Josh Wright:
On getting some playing time for the first time since Jan. 8:
“With the team we have, we are so talented that everyone can go into the game and produce. I could not put my head down and not work hard in practice or lift weights after practice. I just had to keep playing and working hard and try to gain the confidence of the coaches and players. And he (Coach Boeheim) called on me tonight and he always told me, ‘just be ready and don’t be surprised.’”
On if this gets him excited that he might get more playing time:
“It really just brings me back to square one—practice tomorrow at four o’clock. I just have to continue to work hard and progress. I am confident and I feel good about everything right now and I just want to keep working hard.”
On what it is like being one of the smallest guys out there:
“It is a matter of mentally preparing yourself. Even when I wasn’t playing a lot, I always thought about the game and I would see myself in different positions and at different times in the game.”
