Saint Peter's Peacocks team members on their Cinderella March Madness run so far: 'I don't know if I ever dreamed of this'
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Excitement is building in Jersey City, where the Saint Peter's Peacocks are getting ready to continue their Cinderella story at the NCAA tournament.
Their shocking run to the Sweet 16 has brought the big, bright lights to the small school.
"I don't know if I ever dreamed of this. This is something that kids dream about when they're young, so just living this opportunity is amazing," forward KC Ndefo said.
Amazing, remarkable - we could go on and on. This is one of the most magical runs in the history of the NCAA tournament.
It was appropriate that the entire squad took the unique approach of taking the podium as a team to address the media Tuesday afternoon, because that's exactly how this group accomplished the impossible: As a complete, cohesive unit.
A big part of the roster is from the New York and New Jersey area.
"I feel like people from New Jersey and New York are all hardnosed people. We love putting in the work, and we thrive with our toughness," said guard Doug Edert.
"Everybody's like, 'How are you going to compete? How are you going to compete with certain guys' physicality?' When you've got kids from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut - the Tri-State Area - this is what these kids are built for. I'm built for that. We ain't gonna be intimidated by anybody," said coach Shaheen Holloway.
And when the coach speaks, this team listens. It helps when your leader played for the last New Jersey team that reached the Sweet 16 with Seton Hall, 22 years ago.
"That's why I find it so not shocking, that 'cause he's been through this. And we all knew that he was a good player. He had a good resume. So the job we're doing is really not surprising to me, because if your coach was a legend, so you're going to follow it after," said guard Marty Silvera.
"We're a 15 seed. We did some things that nobody would think, so it becomes a Cinderella story. Me, personally? I believed in us the entire time. I feel like we can play with anybody, and our guys are proving it right now," Holloway said.
