Media gathers around the St. John’s table at the 2014 Big East Media Day, October 22, 2014 in Madison Square Garden. (Photo: Josh Verlin)
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin),
Jeff Neiburg (@Jeff_Neiburg) &
Patrick Paul (@P_Paul20)
–
The CoBL crew was up at the Big East’s annual media day up at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, to help get to know the 10 teams in the “new” basketball-only conference, now entering its second year in its current format.
Villanova, the defending regular-season champions, were picked to win it all again this season thanks to Preseason First Team All-Conference selection JayVaughn Pinkston and second-team nods Darrun Hilliard and Ryan Arcidiacono.
Here are some thoughts from the various coaches and players around the league:
Georgetown Hoyas
John Thompson, head coach
On developing rivalries in the new Big East
“That’s going to happen with time. The Georgetown/Creighton is going to have a heated rivalry in year two. We haven’t had enough heated battles, I haven’t been mad enough at McDermott yet and he hasn’t been mad enough at me. I think the round-robin format will help that, the fact that a team comes to you, now you go to them. But rivalries aren’t established overnight, it takes moments, it takes events, and that will happen.”
On Villanova/Georgetown getting picked 1-2
“One and two, sitting here October 22nd, that’s great, but when we go to the [Wells Fargo Center], is there a little extra spice there? Probably. When they come down to us? Probably.”
Jabril Trawick, Sr., G
On his expectations for the team
“I think that this year, we’ve got a nice balance between young guys and veterans. We’ve got different guys who can do a lot of things. We’ve got bodies this year, dudes who know how to play, dudes who compete, so we’re very excited about this season.”
D’Vauntes Smith Rivera, Sr., SF
On being named preseason conference player of the year
“It’s great, you know its a blessing to be named in a category with those guys. We have to motivate guys, lead by example, show them how to get the job done. I think we have done a great deal of that this offseason. We have a great chance of doing really well in the conference. I think we’ll have a great year. We have a lot of great chemistry that has been built over the summer time with the new guys and the guys who have already been here.”
Seton Hall Pirates
Kevin Willard, head coach
On the team improving overall and getting them on the same page
“I think the fact that our two returning guards, Jaren Sina and Sterling Gibbs, are going to give us some stability, and then the infusion of really talented young guys are going to help us be a little more dynamic than we were last year.”
On playing three guards
“I’ve done three guards before, so the biggest thing is getting guys used to playing all three positions on the defensive end, on the offensive end.”
Isaiah Whitehead, Fr., G
On leading Seton Hall going into the season
“I personally don’t think I will do it myself. My team is great, so just by them supporting me and I’m supporting them hopefully we can accomplish good things.”
Marquette Golden Eagles
Steve Wojciechowski, head coach
On referring to the Big East in the present, not the past
“We certainly don’t want to discount the tradition of the Big East, [but] this is a new era. And in that new era, there are a lot of things, that I think, play into our favor. One of them is that we are a basketball conference. We are committed to college basketball. And in the landscape of college sports, college basketball is very important.”
On Milwaukee, and Marquette so far
“I love Milwaukee. Though I haven’t been there through the winter. It’s been good. It’s a big city with a small town feel. We’re a small school, under 10,000 [students]. But there’s 16-17,000 people that come to our games. It’s really the city’s team. They’re very passionate and again it’s nice to be in the driver’s seat. Even really good basketball programs, at their schools, are in the passenger’s seat because football is more important. It’s the priority. That’s not the case at some really good programs.”
On his transition to head coach
“The transition has been great. I’m very happy to be at Marquette, it’s a great place. I think the school, the program and the players have all embraced my staff and I, and my family. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to be there.”
Villanova Wildcats
Jay Wright, head coach
On Villanova being the only ranked team in the preseason polls
“Preseason polls reflect a lot of what happened the year before. So we have a good year, we’re up there. I think close to being [ranked] was St. John’s, Providence, Georgetown, so those teams could all sneak in there, so within the first couple of weeks we could have four in there. I don’t have a problem with anybody’s perception, I think we’re on a great path in this league, and I think we’re going to prove it, and I think it’s going to be exciting to watch.”
On sophomore forward Darryl Reynolds’ development
“He’s had a very good preseason and I really like where he is in terms of backing up Daniel. I think he’s going to help us this year, I do. I like where he is. He’s a different kind of player than Daniel, he’s a really good athlete, rebounder, shot-blocker. He’s a good piece for us, he really is.”
Daniel Ochefu, Jr., F/C
On his comfort level on the court
“I just started playing better, so I used that to keep it going. Just knowing exactly what I need to do and understanding what my teammates expect of me and what they’re going to do, so it made it easier for me to know that when Arch is in the corner, he’s probably going to get a 3 up, so I can get weakside and grab the rebound, stuff like that. With the experience I have under my belt, I’m definitely a lot more comfortable, a lot more confident.”
St. John’s Red Storm
Steve Lavin, head coach
On getting St. Johns to become a true contender in the Big East
“We know our objective from the outset is to turn St. Johns into a consistent winner, but that takes time. There is no magic wand, there’s no light switch. We went from 13 wins when they were freshmen, to 17 wins as sophomores, now 20 as juniors, and now in position to do something special.”
On Rysheed Jordan and his role this year
“We want to see him to continue to develop and mature into the leader and the point guard that we know he is capable of being. We saw in stretches last year when we won 10 of 13 Big East games coming down the stretch. In the second half of the year Villanova was 8-1 and we were 7-2. Rysheed was instrumental in that run of 10 of 13 conference games. He received four out of five Big East Rookie of the Week awards. He’s the one that makes this whole team purr.”
Creighton Bluejays
Gregg McDermott, head coach
On his thoughts on Creighton’s first Big East season
“We expected to win the league, and we didn’t, so that was disappointing. But as I look back on it, to finish second in the league to be right there up until the last week of the season, and then to get to the championship game although we came up a little short, certainly proud of what we were able to accomplish in our first year and hopefully now we can develop some consistency and be a team that has a chance to compete for an NCAA Tournament [bid] year in and year out.”
On adjusting to the Big East style
“I think we have to be who we are, and we’ve recruited to our system, we’ve tried to recruit guys that can really shoot the basketball, so we’re going to continue to shoot a lot of 3s, we’re going to continue to play fast in transition. Where I think we can improve, I think we can be a better defensive team, I think we can be a better rebounding team, [and] I think it’s important that we are better in both of those areas because we’re more prototypical with a true center in place of Ethan Wragge who never played a day of center in his life until last year.”
On no longer coaching his son, NBA rookie Doug McDermott
“I thought he was probably going to leave after his junior season, so in a lot of ways last year was a bonus year for me from a father’s standpoint, to have another year with him. It was different, the first practice without him, when you have an opportunity to see your son every day when he’s going through the changes that a college student goes through, you watch him grow up in front of your eyes.”
Butler Bulldogs
Alex Barlow, G, Sr.
On dealing with coach Brandon Miller’s medical leave of absence
“It’s definitely been tough, obviously because we care about coach Miller and have a lot of respect for him. Anytime somebody you crae about and respect so much is going through a tough time, your thoughts and prayers are with him immediately. But it’s honestly been a smooth transition because coach Holtmann has the credentials and has been a head coach before.”
On 7th place selection in the conference
“We kind of expected that to happen with the year that we had last year… we really try not to get caught up in the rankings too much. Creighton and Villanova were picked like 4th and 5th last year and they finished 1st and 2nd. We don’t really get caught up in that. If anything, we use it as motivation to not finish where they projected us.
On expectations for 2014-15
“We have the same expectations every year and that’s to play in the NCAA Tournament. I think if you don’t set your goal as that, then you’re selling yourselves short. Obviously it’s not easy because only 68 teams make it. But that’s our goal every year and we’re going to try to achieve it. It doesn’t matter whether we were picked 1st or 10th, that’s our goal.”
