St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal vs. Seton Hall
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, Jordan Dingle and Chris Ledlum met with the media ahead of the Red Storm’s matchup with Seton Hall on Thursday in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement…
“The BIG EAST Tournament I’ve always looked forward to. It’s been a while since I’ve been back and the tournament’s highly competitive, you don’t know who is going to win so it’s very exciting. We are pleasantly surprised we got a bye; it didn’t look that way about three weeks ago, but it’s very exciting to have a bye.”
On if Seton Hall will see a different St. John’s team from the last meeting…
“We are a team that has improved in the last two or three weeks. We played a decent first half against them the first time around. One thing you have to do, you have to have great spacing against Seton Hall. If you don’t have great spacing in your attack, they are going to make you pay for that. We are a better basketball team from an offensive spacing standpoint since the last time we played them.”
On the pressure his team is facing in this tournament…
“I love [the word pressure]. I think it’s the greatest word for any competitor. Whether you take Billy Jean King’s analysis of pressure as a privilege, or mine. Pressure to me is your ally, your best friend in life. Stress is your enemy. This is what we live for, these moments. I think we are all under the pressure when you get to this time of year. The only ones not under the influence of pressure are probably Connecticut, Creighton and Marquette. So we are all under that, but it’s fun. Pressure makes it fun. We have been under this pressure thing the last [five] games in a row because if we lost any of those, we wouldn’t be on this proverbial [NCAA Tournament] bubble they talk about all the time.”
On Daniss Jenkins’ All-BIG EAST Second Team Selection…
“You know, [Daniss Jenkins] could have made the [BIG EAST] First Team, he was good enough, but I have no problem with the people that are on the first team. He’s had a fabulous year. It is well deserved. I’m very proud of him. You know, Daniss came in [to Iona] and I wouldn’t say his qualities were great as a leader, I wouldn’t say his qualities were great as a point guard. He developed the qualities of a leader and he was the MVP of the MAAC Tournament. He’s developed all of that and now he’s carried it to a different level against better competition in the BIG EAST, so I’m really proud of him.”
On his past success in the BIG EAST Tournament…
“[My teams at Louisville had success] because they all matured together. [Players] came back. Payton [Siva] and Russ [Smith] didn’t play too much, and they all grew into a championship team. My team was not ready to play against Rutgers or Michigan because we were teaching not only the fundamentals, but the system and I realize now I spent a whole summer with player development. I was making them better basketball players, shooting, dribbling and all of the offensive moves. I probably should have spent more time developing the offenses and the defenses. You learn this new climate now and that’s what I would do going into next year. But this team is capable of winning and capable of winning in the NCAA Tournament. Would I have said that three weeks ago? Probably not. But they have evolved into what I hoped they would evolve into and that’s really great to see.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On if the team is treating this game any differently…
“Well, Seton Hall’s been a challenge for us all year and obviously we know there’s a lot of stuff we have to change going into this game compared to how we played the last couple of ones. We are just super focused because at this point; it’s win or go home. We are playing for our livelihood.”
On what he thinks is the biggest difference in the team’s second-half play the past five games…
“I don’t think anything has changed at halftime. We are just playing a lot more freely. I think we are having a lot more fun on the court and we are just being ourselves. Nobody is overthinking or acting like they are scared of making a mistake.”
On if playing Seton Hall allows the team to right some wrongs from the regular season…
“The thing about the BIG EAST is that every game is a challenge. I can’t say that there is a special vengeance we are seeking out for any one team in particular. Over these last five games, it has really been us focusing on ourselves. Yeah, they did get us in the regular season and we are upset about that, but we can’t focus on what other teams are doing. We have to focus on being the best versions of ourselves and going out there and giving 100%.”
On if there is added pressure going into Thursday…
“I don’t think there’s any added pressure. We have known for the past five or six games that we kind of had to win out. So, it’s not really anything new. The only thing I will say is at this point we know if we lose it may very well be our last game. I wouldn’t necessarily call that pressure, but if you want to refer to it as that I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think that’s where people really get the chance to rise to the occasion and everybody is going to step up their game. I have full confidence in our team.”
St. John’s forward Chris Ledlum
On the BIG EAST Tournament…
“There’s just a different energy. It’s not like a regular game, like a regular BIG EAST game. When it comes tournament time, it’s a lot more electric in the building.”
On what the team needs to change this time against Seton Hall…
“The two times we played we have gotten out-rebounded. Rebounding is going to be a big thing for us and just our toughness altogether.”
On if the pressure of having to win the past five games will help with BIG EAST Tournament games…
“Absolutely. I feel like we have taken it one game at a time just knowing that they are must-win games. There has definitely been a level of focus that we have maintained.”
On what he thinks is the biggest difference in the team’s second half play the past five games…
“I think that comes with us just being more comfortable playing with one another. I think that’s definitely helped us finish out games. We have been playing together and like Jordan [Dingle] said having fun. We are playing to win.”
Opening Statement…
“The BIG EAST Tournament I’ve always looked forward to. It’s been a while since I’ve been back and the tournament’s highly competitive, you don’t know who is going to win so it’s very exciting. We are pleasantly surprised we got a bye; it didn’t look that way about three weeks ago, but it’s very exciting to have a bye.”
On if Seton Hall will see a different St. John’s team from the last meeting…
“We are a team that has improved in the last two or three weeks. We played a decent first half against them the first time around. One thing you have to do, you have to have great spacing against Seton Hall. If you don’t have great spacing in your attack, they are going to make you pay for that. We are a better basketball team from an offensive spacing standpoint since the last time we played them.”
On the pressure his team is facing in this tournament…
“I love [the word pressure]. I think it’s the greatest word for any competitor. Whether you take Billy Jean King’s analysis of pressure as a privilege, or mine. Pressure to me is your ally, your best friend in life. Stress is your enemy. This is what we live for, these moments. I think we are all under the pressure when you get to this time of year. The only ones not under the influence of pressure are probably Connecticut, Creighton and Marquette. So we are all under that, but it’s fun. Pressure makes it fun. We have been under this pressure thing the last [five] games in a row because if we lost any of those, we wouldn’t be on this proverbial [NCAA Tournament] bubble they talk about all the time.”
On Daniss Jenkins’ All-BIG EAST Second Team Selection…
“You know, [Daniss Jenkins] could have made the [BIG EAST] First Team, he was good enough, but I have no problem with the people that are on the first team. He’s had a fabulous year. It is well deserved. I’m very proud of him. You know, Daniss came in [to Iona] and I wouldn’t say his qualities were great as a leader, I wouldn’t say his qualities were great as a point guard. He developed the qualities of a leader and he was the MVP of the MAAC Tournament. He’s developed all of that and now he’s carried it to a different level against better competition in the BIG EAST, so I’m really proud of him.”
On his past success in the BIG EAST Tournament…
“[My teams at Louisville had success] because they all matured together. [Players] came back. Payton [Siva] and Russ [Smith] didn’t play too much, and they all grew into a championship team. My team was not ready to play against Rutgers or Michigan because we were teaching not only the fundamentals, but the system and I realize now I spent a whole summer with player development. I was making them better basketball players, shooting, dribbling and all of the offensive moves. I probably should have spent more time developing the offenses and the defenses. You learn this new climate now and that’s what I would do going into next year. But this team is capable of winning and capable of winning in the NCAA Tournament. Would I have said that three weeks ago? Probably not. But they have evolved into what I hoped they would evolve into and that’s really great to see.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On if the team is treating this game any differently…
“Well, Seton Hall’s been a challenge for us all year and obviously we know there’s a lot of stuff we have to change going into this game compared to how we played the last couple of ones. We are just super focused because at this point; it’s win or go home. We are playing for our livelihood.”
On what he thinks is the biggest difference in the team’s second-half play the past five games…
“I don’t think anything has changed at halftime. We are just playing a lot more freely. I think we are having a lot more fun on the court and we are just being ourselves. Nobody is overthinking or acting like they are scared of making a mistake.”
On if playing Seton Hall allows the team to right some wrongs from the regular season…
“The thing about the BIG EAST is that every game is a challenge. I can’t say that there is a special vengeance we are seeking out for any one team in particular. Over these last five games, it has really been us focusing on ourselves. Yeah, they did get us in the regular season and we are upset about that, but we can’t focus on what other teams are doing. We have to focus on being the best versions of ourselves and going out there and giving 100%.”
On if there is added pressure going into Thursday…
“I don’t think there’s any added pressure. We have known for the past five or six games that we kind of had to win out. So, it’s not really anything new. The only thing I will say is at this point we know if we lose it may very well be our last game. I wouldn’t necessarily call that pressure, but if you want to refer to it as that I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think that’s where people really get the chance to rise to the occasion and everybody is going to step up their game. I have full confidence in our team.”
St. John’s forward Chris Ledlum
On the BIG EAST Tournament…
“There’s just a different energy. It’s not like a regular game, like a regular BIG EAST game. When it comes tournament time, it’s a lot more electric in the building.”
On what the team needs to change this time against Seton Hall…
“The two times we played we have gotten out-rebounded. Rebounding is going to be a big thing for us and just our toughness altogether.”
On if the pressure of having to win the past five games will help with BIG EAST Tournament games…
“Absolutely. I feel like we have taken it one game at a time just knowing that they are must-win games. There has definitely been a level of focus that we have maintained.”
On what he thinks is the biggest difference in the team’s second half play the past five games…
“I think that comes with us just being more comfortable playing with one another. I think that’s definitely helped us finish out games. We have been playing together and like Jordan [Dingle] said having fun. We are playing to win.”