March 5, 2008
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Senior forward Rob Kurz
On the defensive style of play…
“To play this type of defense is a big step for us. One of the great things about tonight is that we showed we can win another way, in a half-court, grind-it-out type of game against a very physical defense. They got into us, created some turnovers and played a great game defensively.”
On what his last home game means to him…
“For us to finish two years undefeated is unbelievable. I can’t believe it went by so fast. I had to try to hold it back all game. My teammates have been such an important part of my life these past four years. It’s been an unbelievable experience.”
On looking forward to the postseason…
“Now is the most fun part of the season for us. It’s what we work for all year. So in order to keep playing we have to be playing our best basketball. We want to make a run, so I can leave it all on the floor.”
Junior guard Kyle McAlarney
On finishing the regular season playing well…
“It was nice to go out on a good note, to close the season out undefeated at home. We are very proud of it, and now it is not a distraction. We have next season to look forward to, but for now, we have one more game to play on the road (Saturday at South Florida) and then we have to concentrate on the postseason. Preseason, everyone had us ranked ninth in the BIG EAST. We’ve showed people this season we’re a very good team. What we have done in the BIG EAST is pretty impressive and it should show something about this program.”
Sophomore guard Tory Jackson
On how the game reflected Rob Kurz’ style of play…
“There was blood everywhere. But we bounce back from things like that because that’s the BIG EAST. We beat each other up and the tougher team is going to win. We fed off him today. It was a ‘Rob type of game’. His birthday was today, he’s our only senior and this was his game.”
St. John’s Player Quotes
Senior Guard Eugene Lawrence
On what went wrong in tonight’s game…
“I just think we didn’t come in with the right mindset. We came out way too lackadaisical and we didn’t really give ourselves a chance as a team.”
“When you play a team like this, our one-on-one defense is key because they have a lot of good shooters. In the first half, they got way too many open looks for three and put us in a hole.”
On trying to get back to the BIG EAST tournament…
“I want to get back there a lot. I don’t only want it for myself, but also for the freshmen on the team to get a taste of the BIG EAST tournament and see how hard they are going to have to play for the rest of their careers.”