John Giannini Quotes (16 Quotes)

The atmosphere is far most positive because of the results. La Salle has an unbelievable basketball tradition. Our other peers in the city, St. Joe's, Temple, Penn and Villanova, have consistently been strong. We've had an inferiority complex with seeing our peers being in the postseason every year. There's really been a resurgence of pride that La Salle can get back to where we were in the past, which is a prominent program.

I think the personnel they had on the court helped them attack our zone a little bit better.

They are huge for us. We don't have a lot of offensive firepower. Jermaine and Darnell are solid guards, and we are much better when they are able to make their shots.

I just thought it was very important for us to have a winning season. I think the fact it happened very early is a great testament to our players. It really speaks to how much they've improved and how hard they've worked.

These guys have been through far, far worse. Most of these guys were on the 20-loss team from a couple years ago last year we were on a seven-game losing streak. They've seen it all.

Give credit to Saint Joseph's for running its offense so well in the second half. I wouldn't say (our players) ran out of gas I think it's more accurate to say we weren't able to sustain our intensity.

Give Duquesne credit. They only had eight scholarship guys and they came out extremely hard and they beat us. It wasn't like we were lying down.

He's a very gifted player, and he's really worked hard to develop his skills. In the short term, we couldn't have had the success we've had (this year without him). He has helped turn the program around this year.

I really thought the difference was our defense in the second half. (Enright) had a tremendous first half.

It was a great game, a great environment for our fans and for our community. Our seniors are phenomenal people who have invested their blood, sweat and tears. Then, we also passed the ball extremely well against one of the best zones in America, which shows progress.

I thought that in itself was a big first step. Once we hit 15 wins we knew we had done something to turn the program in a significant way, and then we set our sights higher.

The first half was really a disaster. We didn't match Duquesne's intensity. We couldn't make a lay-up. We were very fortunate to be within eight points. The second half, we played tremendous.

We've hit a wall. I don't know if it's physical or mental. I tend to think it's more mental. We're not as focused or as intense in practices or in games as we were earlier.

It means so much to the seniors. They've had some hard times, but they're resilient and they never quit. They always fought hard.

They were guarded on every shot (in the first half). That was not an accident. That was not them just being cold. In the second half, we weren't able to sustain that level of effort. They really stayed with their offense. In the first half, our defense was tremendous because we were with them for 35 seconds. In the second half, they stuck with what they did. When we broke down, they did make their open shots.

I thought it was a great challenge, a great chance to see where we are. That's a good team they have over there.