Here's my Q&A with PJ. A good part of it was one on one. I'll note the parts that were not.
On his finest memories being at Seton Hall
It's the relationships. Look, I really enjoyed my time in the NBA but the thing I miss most about Seton Hall was the relationships I had with my players. When I think about this particular team it's almost scary how long I knew Jerry, Terry and Danny before they came here. So it's not like I only knew them the four years they played for me, I knew them when they were almost children playing for Bob Hurley. I loved them back then, They were like little rats running all over the court having a great time, but learning how to become the great players they were when I got to coach them.
So again I would say the relationships and fortunately I have been able to maintain that, especially when I lived in NJ for two years working with Avery (Johnson). I also stayed close with Arturas (Kanishovas) with our NBA connections. Stayed close as well with Johnny Ley (Leahy).
I miss that interaction so much. The wins were great and these guys are the only team that ever won both the regular season title and the championship at the Garden which is incredibly difficult, but the regret I have is that I live in Seattle and that prevents me from being with the guys as much as I really want to be.
Because of where I live my assignments are usually with the PAC 12 meaning I can't watch this current team as much as I would want to. Same thing happened when I coached in the NBA. But without a doubt I'm a Big East guy and will always be one.
On his finest memories being at Seton Hall
It's the relationships. Look, I really enjoyed my time in the NBA but the thing I miss most about Seton Hall was the relationships I had with my players. When I think about this particular team it's almost scary how long I knew Jerry, Terry and Danny before they came here. So it's not like I only knew them the four years they played for me, I knew them when they were almost children playing for Bob Hurley. I loved them back then, They were like little rats running all over the court having a great time, but learning how to become the great players they were when I got to coach them.
So again I would say the relationships and fortunately I have been able to maintain that, especially when I lived in NJ for two years working with Avery (Johnson). I also stayed close with Arturas (Kanishovas) with our NBA connections. Stayed close as well with Johnny Ley (Leahy).
I miss that interaction so much. The wins were great and these guys are the only team that ever won both the regular season title and the championship at the Garden which is incredibly difficult, but the regret I have is that I live in Seattle and that prevents me from being with the guys as much as I really want to be.
Because of where I live my assignments are usually with the PAC 12 meaning I can't watch this current team as much as I would want to. Same thing happened when I coached in the NBA. But without a doubt I'm a Big East guy and will always be one.
