Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Kevin Willard
Ismael Sanogo
Isaiah Whitehead
Seton Hall
Seton Hall - 69, Villanova - 67
THE MODERATOR: We'll start with our players. Ismael Sanogo and Isaiah Whitehead. Congratulations to the Pirates. Isaiah is the winner of the Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player.
Q. Isaiah, big players make big plays in March. Tell me what was going on in your mind when you had the three-point play.
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: This whole year Coach has been raving about just making winning plays and making winning plays. I really just attacked the basket. I felt I had an opportunity to score the ball. I mean, I saw Kris Jenkins coming over and I knew that he wouldn't be able to get in position fast enough for me to draw a charge. I just tried to lay it in on him.
Q. Isaiah, can you talk about what it means to be the MVP of the tournament?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: This is an amazing accomplishment. I mean, if you look down the line at MVPs in the Big East, it's some real big-time names down there. So just to have my name on there is an amazing feeling.
Q. Isaiah, did you understand or did you realize what was going on out there? That was a great game, a Big East traditional type of game. Did you sense that during the game or now afterwards?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: It didn't hit me yet. I'm pretty sure when I wake up tomorrow morning it will probably hit me. Right now I'm just enjoying what's going on right now. It's an amazing feeling.
Q. Isaiah, when you committed to Seton Hall you talked about wanting to turn the program around. Did you envision this?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: Definitely. Me and Khadeen talked about it before. Me and Khadeen was talking about it before. Before I committed -- actually he committed before me. He really tried to string me along. I really went for it. He said they have a great group of coaches here, and that could get us better and hopefully win a Big East championship.
Q. Ish, could you explain how you guys were able to defend very long so well?
ISMAEL SANOGO: We just went out there and played our hearts out. We knew it was going to come down to a last-second shot. Kris Jenkins was hitting some unbelievable shots. And we just -- it was just grit. We knew we had to go out there and defend.
Q. Isaiah, what does it mean to you as a New Yorker to play such a great game for a New York area team in New York?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: I mean, it's a great accomplishment. It's an amazing feeling. This is one of the main reasons I chose to stay home, just so my friends and family could see me play as much as possible and having them in the crowd and really cheering me on and seeing me hold up the trophy at the end. It's like picture-perfect.
Q. Coach, could you talk about the start you guys had tonight and then on top of that, what were some of the adjustments you made when Villanova went on that run?
KEVIN WILLARD: I knew we would come out pretty good. We were pretty focused this morning at breakfast and the walk-through. With these guys sometimes you can tell a lot. We talked at halftime that they were going to make a run on us. I really think it was important the way the Creighton game went the other night. We had pretty much the same thing. We had to battle back.
So I think Ish said it at the under 6 or under 8 was we've been through this before; we know what's going to happen. Let's just get some stops. And they did it.
Q. Ish, you're a New Jersey guy. Obviously, leading a New Jersey team to the NCAA Tournament. Now you win the Big East Tournament title. What does this mean to you especially since this is a school right in your own backyard?
ISMAEL SANOGO: It's like a dream come true. Who would have ever thought a kid from Newark would make it to play at Seton Hall and make it into the NCAA and win a Big East championship. I'm telling you now I sure didn't. I didn't think I was going to be this far in life right now.
I'm just so glad that Coach gave me an opportunity to play here. I want to thank him and the coaching staff.
Q. For both players, you beat the No. 5 ranked team in the country yesterday. You beat the No. 3 ranked team in the country today. What is this team capable of doing in the Tournament?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: I mean, this is just about really whoever we play, just better watch out. We really defend at a high level. When we get on the break, it's hard to stop us. It really doesn't matter who we play; we're up for the challenge.
Q. Coach, was there a point in the season where you felt like this type of result was possible? Was it the Xavier game? That's when my eyes were opened.
KEVIN WILLARD: No, I've said this 1,000 times, it was this summer. You were there. May 19th. That's when I knew. Grant Billmeier reminded me of something. When I rehired Grant, I told him I said, Grant, I know things look shaky but I'm telling you, man, these kids are special. And after about a month of Grant being around him, he came up to me and said, You're right. These kids it was every day, with us, weight room and by themselves and at night. So that was really -- that was the point where I thought these guys could be something special.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Kevin Willard
Ismael Sanogo
Isaiah Whitehead
Seton Hall
Seton Hall - 69, Villanova - 67
THE MODERATOR: We'll start with our players. Ismael Sanogo and Isaiah Whitehead. Congratulations to the Pirates. Isaiah is the winner of the Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player.
Q. Isaiah, big players make big plays in March. Tell me what was going on in your mind when you had the three-point play.
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: This whole year Coach has been raving about just making winning plays and making winning plays. I really just attacked the basket. I felt I had an opportunity to score the ball. I mean, I saw Kris Jenkins coming over and I knew that he wouldn't be able to get in position fast enough for me to draw a charge. I just tried to lay it in on him.
Q. Isaiah, can you talk about what it means to be the MVP of the tournament?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: This is an amazing accomplishment. I mean, if you look down the line at MVPs in the Big East, it's some real big-time names down there. So just to have my name on there is an amazing feeling.
Q. Isaiah, did you understand or did you realize what was going on out there? That was a great game, a Big East traditional type of game. Did you sense that during the game or now afterwards?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: It didn't hit me yet. I'm pretty sure when I wake up tomorrow morning it will probably hit me. Right now I'm just enjoying what's going on right now. It's an amazing feeling.
Q. Isaiah, when you committed to Seton Hall you talked about wanting to turn the program around. Did you envision this?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: Definitely. Me and Khadeen talked about it before. Me and Khadeen was talking about it before. Before I committed -- actually he committed before me. He really tried to string me along. I really went for it. He said they have a great group of coaches here, and that could get us better and hopefully win a Big East championship.
Q. Ish, could you explain how you guys were able to defend very long so well?
ISMAEL SANOGO: We just went out there and played our hearts out. We knew it was going to come down to a last-second shot. Kris Jenkins was hitting some unbelievable shots. And we just -- it was just grit. We knew we had to go out there and defend.
Q. Isaiah, what does it mean to you as a New Yorker to play such a great game for a New York area team in New York?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: I mean, it's a great accomplishment. It's an amazing feeling. This is one of the main reasons I chose to stay home, just so my friends and family could see me play as much as possible and having them in the crowd and really cheering me on and seeing me hold up the trophy at the end. It's like picture-perfect.
Q. Coach, could you talk about the start you guys had tonight and then on top of that, what were some of the adjustments you made when Villanova went on that run?
KEVIN WILLARD: I knew we would come out pretty good. We were pretty focused this morning at breakfast and the walk-through. With these guys sometimes you can tell a lot. We talked at halftime that they were going to make a run on us. I really think it was important the way the Creighton game went the other night. We had pretty much the same thing. We had to battle back.
So I think Ish said it at the under 6 or under 8 was we've been through this before; we know what's going to happen. Let's just get some stops. And they did it.
Q. Ish, you're a New Jersey guy. Obviously, leading a New Jersey team to the NCAA Tournament. Now you win the Big East Tournament title. What does this mean to you especially since this is a school right in your own backyard?
ISMAEL SANOGO: It's like a dream come true. Who would have ever thought a kid from Newark would make it to play at Seton Hall and make it into the NCAA and win a Big East championship. I'm telling you now I sure didn't. I didn't think I was going to be this far in life right now.
I'm just so glad that Coach gave me an opportunity to play here. I want to thank him and the coaching staff.
Q. For both players, you beat the No. 5 ranked team in the country yesterday. You beat the No. 3 ranked team in the country today. What is this team capable of doing in the Tournament?
ISAIAH WHITEHEAD: I mean, this is just about really whoever we play, just better watch out. We really defend at a high level. When we get on the break, it's hard to stop us. It really doesn't matter who we play; we're up for the challenge.
Q. Coach, was there a point in the season where you felt like this type of result was possible? Was it the Xavier game? That's when my eyes were opened.
KEVIN WILLARD: No, I've said this 1,000 times, it was this summer. You were there. May 19th. That's when I knew. Grant Billmeier reminded me of something. When I rehired Grant, I told him I said, Grant, I know things look shaky but I'm telling you, man, these kids are special. And after about a month of Grant being around him, he came up to me and said, You're right. These kids it was every day, with us, weight room and by themselves and at night. So that was really -- that was the point where I thought these guys could be something special.
