BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 13, 2003

Marcus Hatten

Mike Jarvis

Willie Shaw

MIKE JARVIS: Well, one thing for sure anybody who came to see St. John's yesterday and today certainly got their monies worth. Anybody that sees us next week when we play in the National Invitation Tournament which we hope to be invited to, will get their monies worth. I want to congratulate Boston College it's not often you lose to the same team three times in one year, but that's happened. I remember Connecticut beat us three times in one year. I remember we beat them three times in one year so I am looking forward to next season's games with B.C. and maybe we can turn the tied and win three next year. They have got a hell after basketball team. Any time you have the player of year in Troy Bell, and you have got a young man by the name of Craig Smith who is a man in the post, you got a chance to win it. They are a very good basketball team and we played very well, just not well enough to win. But I am very, very proud of my kids. I think that two weeks ago if you told if those -- that most people said St. John's would be in this position playing and people actually believing which I think a lot of people started to do and I think a lot of opposing coaches knew that this team was possibly capable of pulling off an unbelievable feat. If somebody wins four it won't be us this year. And hopefully we will never be in the position where we'll have to win four in the future. But I am very, very proud of my kids. I am very, very proud of how they hung together and did not quit at any time. I am really happy for them after the disappointment of Sunday that will pass; that we'll be back together and have the opportunity to practice again which they may not be so happy about. But more importantly to play again. We'll try to do the very best that we can if we're invited to the NIT. Which I hope we are.

MIKE JARVIS: A basket.

MIKE JARVIS: As always you got to pick your poison. The problem with some of the baskets that he got they ended up being three-pointers. If they were just two it wouldn't have hurt as much. The kid, you have got to give him all the credit in the world; he made a lot of free throws coming down the stretch. Most big guys wouldn't to be in that situation but he made a lot of big time free throws. He's a great competitor. He always has been. He's a winner. Just going to have to find somebody as big as him to play against him in the future. That will be our next test.

MARCUS HATTEN: That was pretty much the situation. We was in a fine position to win the game and I shot the ball felt like it was good, but -- (inaudible).

MARCUS HATTEN: Pretty much it's one-on-one, so it was just opportunity for me get the best shot possible. And I thought I had the best shot I could.

MIKE JARVIS: When we were able to disrupt the passer then obviously it did present some opportunities that we took advantage of somewhat. I don't think our conversion rate on turnovers was anywhere near what you wanted it to be. But once again, the guys I thought they did pretty much what they were asked to do and we were once again in the position to win. The shot that Smith rebounded and put back in was just a God awful shot. If it was a normal miss he doesn't get the rebound. But it was such a bad shot and those shots it's almost like an air ball, the defensive man is almost helpless. But that's the name of the game. That's the way the ball bounces. We have had some. I have had many over the years that have been favorable bounces. And this one just wasn't. It was B.C.'s day. They were going to get the bounce when they needed it. We weren't. They got it. They advance. We now regroup and get ready for the next tournament.

MIKE JARVIS: Willie has become the reason why Willie was asked to be our 6th man a couple of weeks ago was because of the great way he -- just how well he was playing and particularly on the defense and even though we're expecting Willie to make 3s. Willie has become our defensive stopper against the other team's best guy. He's done an incredible job and today he continued to be Willie Shaw on defense, just giving everything he had, diving on the floor, denying Troy. Troy is a helluva player as we know. I wish we had been able to find a way to stop Smith along with Troy and we would be -- we would have already been interviewed. We would be getting ready for the winner of the Pitt Providence game.

WILLIE SHAW: Try to make him go left, not try to-- I know he likes to pull it for the three a lot so didn't really want to overcrowd him. Just stay between him really, that's all.

MARCUS HATTEN: I think playing any tournament after the regular season is over we're happen to be in this tournament which is the NIT tournament so we're going to look at it and be very positive.

MIKE JARVIS: The one thing and what I wanted to tell the guys and I told them after the game was something I have told them before, I want them to really take home with them that probably the most important number that was ever created was the number one. You must live one day at a time. Play one game at a time. You have one season, one team at a time. And usually when you look back at a game like today, almost every player can look at one play that if they had made or didn't make, could have made the difference. So everything -- every single thing is important just like everyday is a blessing. You have got to try and learn from everything, whether it's good bad or indifferent.