St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Syracuse
12/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On what this win does for the team moving forward:
"I truly believe this team can keep getting better. [A win] like this is really important for the guys. It shows them that there is more there, [but] we have to do it together. When you play together and you play well, it's a positive reinforcement."
On today's outcome:
"With a young, inexperienced team we try not to anticipate or assume anything. Each and every day we try and wipe the slate clean and learn from our mistakes. Good or bad game, they've come to be resilient and accountable. More important [for us] is our day to day approach."
On the defensive effort:
"They have really talented offensive players with some nice size. Our defense has been pretty good for us in the half court so I thought we could at least play our regular defense [there]. I was more concerned with them in transition. I thought we did a good job finding them in transition and not letting them get their half court offense going."
On the turnovers late in the game:
"We handled the ball pretty well for the most part. I think some of those turnovers were somewhat unforced, but they still happened. More importantly, we regrouped and got the win. We'll look at that stuff and keep working on it. Even when we don't execute as well I see some improvement in how we handle [the basketball]."
On Amar Alibegovic:
"Amar has worked really, really hard. It's more about him getting experience. Summer training and practice are important, but to transfer it over [to a game] he's done it pretty well. He had a nice game in Hawaii so it's there. We see [his potential]."
On Kassoum Yakwe's play:
"Kassoum keeps growing. He's a young, energetic and a great teammate. The thing I like most about him is his poise. We we're going to him and Sima and putting the ball in their hands to make the next decision. I thought they both handled it really well. They were effective and precise, which is good. For those guys, I thought it was a good game and good experience."
Freshman Guard Federico Mussini...
On today's win:
"This was amazing. This was the best win of my life in "The World's Most Famous Arena" so nothing is better than this."
On playing at Madison Square Garden:
Playing here is really unbelievable. With the crowd [behind us], it's something special and it gives us more energy to do everything. It's an amazing experience."
On attacking the zone:
"We knew we had to move the ball a lot to make them move. If we did that we knew there would be open space at some point. When we're open we're allowed to shoot so that's what we did."
Sophomore Forward Amar Alibegovic...
On facing Syracuse:
"I met some of these guys last year and I recognized how some guys play, like [Trevor] Cooney, who was someone we focused a lot on last year. I just started from the defensive end and tried to do the basic things the coaches told me to do. The zone gave me an opportunity for offensive rebounds and to shoot the ball, which is one of my strengths, and I was able to knock them down."
On his emotions throughout the game:
"It's been sometime since I played like this and it was mostly all coming out at once. It was just pure adrenaline and I was just doing what I felt in the moment."
Graduate Student Guard/Forward Durand Johnson...
On today's outcome:
"We just had a great week in practice. Everybody bought in, we all played hard. We knew we had a great Syracuse team coming in and we wanted to protect our home. We came out, we played hard and stayed together. We never got too high, we never got too low and we came out with a good win."
On what this win means for the team:
"It was a big win for us. We just have to build off it. This one was definitely good for our confidence. We're ready to get back to work and keep improving."
On staying composed when Syracuse made a run:
"That's a good team. They're going to run, they're going to make shots, but the bigger thing for us is that we stayed together and focused on the defensive end first. We just had fun out there."
Syracuse coach Mike Hopkins...
Opening statement:
"The difference in the game today was the shooting. We got some really good looks, but we couldn't knock them down. St. John's did a great job. They got really good shots and those guys made them. From the high post, from the 3-point line, they shot incredible. Rebounding wise we have to do a better job, but it comes down to our shooting. We got some good looks, but we couldn't knock them down and that has been the story of our season."
On the future of St. John's:
"I've watched a lot of their games and their staff has done a heckuva job. They've all gotten better. Yakwe helps them, getting another athletic big guy in there. Sima is good. They really executed against our zone today and got good shots."
