St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John's Men's Basketball vs. Villanova
1/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On defending center Daniel Ochefu:
"His size, strength and experience are some of the big reasons he has an impact on the game. Villanova has always been really good at their guard play. They've got the combination of really good guard play and rebounding with a big man. It's a big challenge."
On Kassoum Yakwe's growth:
"There may be a little too much on his plate as far as battling all the bigs, but in the long-term it's going to be really valuable and beneficial. He's another example of [someone who] goes out, lays it all on the line in the game and the next day comes and improves."
On his message to the team:
"From day one I told them if you work hard and give good effort, we'll live with the results. When we look at the film and talk about performance, we're very honest about it. I don't try and sell my game plan or philosophy; I just try to teach them the right way to play."
On the team's approach:
"We look at every game as an opportunity to play well together and ultimately upset [teams]. The only way to do that is take the steps before the game: having good habits, a clear positive mindset and not letting frustrations set in."
On rebuilding a program:
"Every great team resets or rebuilds. This is one of the [nine] schools in college basketball history with 1,800 wins so the brand is what it is. To reset is the thing to do. Sometimes it takes some fortitude to know that's the right thing to do to get back to where you want to go. I've seen teams build and this is the way to do it."
On the frustration of losing:
"I've struggled as much as anybody; most good players have. The reason winning is so nice is because you lose so much first, and the reason succeeding is so great is because you fail first. In reality it makes perfect sense what's going on. It doesn't make it easier or harder, but this is what resetting and rebuilding is."
Graduate Student Guard/Forward Ron Mvouika...
On putting the Seton Hall game behind them:
"Every day is a new day. We're just going to come back today, get back to work and do what we do. That game is past us. We're going to watch it, study it, apply whatever we see in practice and get ready for Sunday."
On the challenge Villanova presents:
"It's a great opportunity for us. They're one of the best teams in the country. We have to find a way to fight and have a good game for 40 minutes. Our mindset Sunday is to go out there and give Villanova a great fight. Let them know it's not going to be easy."
On the mindset of the younger players:
"I've been on teams where the younger guys, when things don't go so good, just give up. [Our] younger guys keep fighting and bringing it every day. It might not show now, but it's going to show at some point. I'm very impressed and proud of them for coming in and bringing it every day. That shows their true character."
On the frustration of losing:
"For me personally it burns a little bit, but I know that we're not doing all of this for nothing. I still believe we're going to get some wins. I know that the process we're going through this year is going to help [the team] next year. [Mussini] is going to come back with a full year under his belt playing in the BIG EAST and averaging 35 minutes a game. Obviously, all the mistakes the [young guys] made this year they will learn from for next year and the wins will come in abundance."
Freshman Guard Federico Mussini...
On forcing shots:
"We're doing much better than the beginning of the season at sharing the ball and setting plays. Sometimes we just need to stay calm and try and find a great shot. We need to keep working on that because there's a lot of work to do."
