Jeremiah Robinson-Earl spoke with reporters Wednesday ahead of Saturday's game with Baylor and touched on a wide range of topics. Here will share some of what he said, similar to how we do with coach Wright's media sessions.
On Gillespie's leadership post-injury...
“Collin’s been doing a great job leading from afar. He does a great job coaching us up and leading us from after games or what we need to do going into games and he’s been doing all he can.”
On his relationship with Jermaine Samuels...
“We have a great bond on and off the court. Our off the court bond definitely leads to chemistry on the court. I think we do a great job playing off each other as the forwards. He’s been a great leader and captain for us. I think he’s been doing a great job keeping this team together.”
On the younger guys stepping up, especially defensively...
“I think those guys have been doing a great job. I think the most important thing is they bring it every single day in practice. And now it’s just getting those game reps and I think now that they’ve played a lot more games they’ve gained a lot more confidence and we feed into their confidence. They’ve been doing a great job going out there playing hard, Villanova basketball.”
On the Big East having two teams in the Sweet 16...
“I think is shows how tough we are as a conference. I think that conference play really helps us in the postseason and I think it’s been showing. Creighton has been doing a great job and hopefully they prevail. We’re just rooting on the Big East for sure.”
On the job of the coaches navigating Gillespie's injury...
“I think the coaching staff does a great job preparing us for the most difficult situations. Nobody was expecting our starting point guard, our leader, to be out for the remainder of the season going into the postseason. Our coaching staff does a great job putting us in those situations and different types of lineups just so we’re prepared for in-game situations.”
On who he would compare Baylor to in the Big East...
“Creighton in how they get out and their tempo is really fast and Butler on their defensive side. So I’d say defensively probably Butler how physical and tough they are and then Creighton offensively just how they get out, everybody can shoot, everybody can dribble, everybody’s dynamic on the court so I would say those are probably my two comparisons.”
On being an underdog...
“We take every single team the same way. We have the utmost respect for every single team we play.”
On Gillespie's leadership post-injury...
“Collin’s been doing a great job leading from afar. He does a great job coaching us up and leading us from after games or what we need to do going into games and he’s been doing all he can.”
On his relationship with Jermaine Samuels...
“We have a great bond on and off the court. Our off the court bond definitely leads to chemistry on the court. I think we do a great job playing off each other as the forwards. He’s been a great leader and captain for us. I think he’s been doing a great job keeping this team together.”
On the younger guys stepping up, especially defensively...
“I think those guys have been doing a great job. I think the most important thing is they bring it every single day in practice. And now it’s just getting those game reps and I think now that they’ve played a lot more games they’ve gained a lot more confidence and we feed into their confidence. They’ve been doing a great job going out there playing hard, Villanova basketball.”
On the Big East having two teams in the Sweet 16...
“I think is shows how tough we are as a conference. I think that conference play really helps us in the postseason and I think it’s been showing. Creighton has been doing a great job and hopefully they prevail. We’re just rooting on the Big East for sure.”
On the job of the coaches navigating Gillespie's injury...
“I think the coaching staff does a great job preparing us for the most difficult situations. Nobody was expecting our starting point guard, our leader, to be out for the remainder of the season going into the postseason. Our coaching staff does a great job putting us in those situations and different types of lineups just so we’re prepared for in-game situations.”
On who he would compare Baylor to in the Big East...
“Creighton in how they get out and their tempo is really fast and Butler on their defensive side. So I’d say defensively probably Butler how physical and tough they are and then Creighton offensively just how they get out, everybody can shoot, everybody can dribble, everybody’s dynamic on the court so I would say those are probably my two comparisons.”
On being an underdog...
“We take every single team the same way. We have the utmost respect for every single team we play.”