St. Peter’s Talks Purdue

The Boiling Point: St. Peter’s players and head coach John Dunne met with the media to discuss their first… er…second round matchup with Purdue.

The arrogance it appeared St. Peter’s players had when reading stories from New Jersey about them is either gone, or at least well hidden. The Peacocks met with the media in Chicago today, here’s the transcript. Following are excerpts about Purdue:

"Q. In a game like this, do you have to sort of pick your poison knowing if you sag down on Johnson, you might leave some perimeter things open for guys like E’Twaun Moore?"

"COACH DUNNE: No question. You have to pick your poison against these guys and then kind of hope the bounces go your way. Johnson’s tremendous. I mean, you can throw three guys at him, and he can take his little fadeaway and knock it down.Watching the Indiana game, they played a lot of zone, and then they ran doubles at him, and he was hitting jump hooks and right shoulder turnaround shots with Big Ten big bodies running at him. So we’re not going to be able to stop him. He just try to be able to contain him enough, but we certainly don’t want their role guy — he can’t get 24, and then Moore can’t get 18, and then the rest of them all chip in 14, 15. We’re obviously going to lose the game then.So you have to pick your poison and then see how the ball bounces."

"Q. Ryan, could you just talk about what coach has told you about Purdue and how familiar you are with them and Big Ten basketball."

"RYAN BACON: We watched their film. They’re a lot stronger and bigger. We haven’t learned a lot about them. We just know we’ve got to play hard to win. We don’t have to play a perfect game, but we’ve got to play good. And anything is possible."

"Q. Ryan, specifically about Purdue — another Purdue question. I think you’ll be the guy dealing with JaJuan Johnson a lot. What do you know about him from watching tape thus far, and how does it change your game to go up — to give up inches, which you probably don’t always give up that many, as you will tomorrow."

"RYAN BACON: I watch video all the time. I watch film with coaches. He’s a very good player. I think my game plan is — our team game plan is the same as any other good big man in our league or any other team that we play, just to play defense, and be solid, rebound, box out, same thing."

"Q. How do you kind of simulate Purdue’s defense? I know that’s kind of a big issue usually for smaller schools to try to figure out how you’re going to be able to go against that type kind of man-to-man pressure defense."

"COACH DUNNE: The one thing that’s hard to simulate is JaJuan Johnson blocking shots, coming from the weak side. We’re actually a pretty good defensive team ourselves. We’re number two in the country in defensive field goal percentage. So their style is very similar to our style.So as far as the ball pressure, the help defense, that’s very similar. We just don’t have the shot blocking that they do when you beat the first offender and get into the paint. So we’re used to that style.Q. Coach, you’re watching them after two tough losses. It’s the first round of the tournament as it is, but how tough is it when you catch a team like that when they’ve been stung twice in a row?"

"COACH DUNNE: I get — I don’t know. I guess it’s the first round of the tournament for all of us. They have more experience with the tournament than we do, but I’m sure they’re going to just want to get out and play as hard as we can and have a good feeling going into the second round, or I guess third round now. We feel the same way.So I’m sure they’re going to come out and compete hard, as are we, and we both have — they have pretty good seniors, and so do we. I don’t know if that makes much of a difference."