St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John's Men's Basketball vs. Xavier
1/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On the team's progression throughout the season:
"We've made a lot of improvements in a lot of areas. It hasn't shown up in the win column, but we recognize the improvements. We let them know where the improvements have been, but to get the payoff we need to have execution. We're getting good shots. The last few games I think we're getting more shots than our opponent. [We've] kept our turnovers down so now the challenge is to stay positive and [execute] so we can get in the win column."
On how to keep the team believing in the process:
"We stick to the facts. We show them on tape. That's part of this process. Be realistic and recognize where we are. That's exactly what's happening. There's been improvement individually and as a team. The way we do this is with our daily approach. We prepare to win. We don't prepare to go through exercises just to be here. And if we continue to do that we will win."
On the rule changes impacting the college game:
"There's been a conscious effort to get scoring up. I think it's working and it's great. I watched Kansas and Oklahoma last night, and that's the way the game should be played. Up and down, free flowing, skill based and enjoyable to watch."
On the team's defense:
"To win games you have to play both sides [of the ball]. Defense is really, really important. We concentrate on offense and defense probably 50/50. Effort on both sides is important."
On Xavier:
"[Xavier is] big. They have a lot of talent and play well together. We've got to beat their intensity, beat their physicality. In order to win this game we have to execute and make shots."
Graduate Student Guard/Forward Durand Johnson...
On facing Xavier:
"Xavier is a good team. They come in hungry to win and are well-coached. They have a bunch of good players. It starts today in practice, trying to have a good day today and it will help us tomorrow. We are going to try and get a win."
On team confidence despite the losing streak:
"I think we are right there. We competed and played hard and fought until the end [in our last game against Providence]. It was an [18-point] game and at one time we had cut it to six. We couldn't seem to get over that hump. We are still building, and we are definitely still hungry and confident. Today in practice we will work hard and compete for 40 minutes tomorrow and try to get the win. We aren't going to feel bad about ourselves or pack it in. We will continue to get better and keep improving. And once it turns around and we start to win, we'll feel better about it."
On getting back to winning:
"We have some older guys and a lot of freshmen, but everyone on this team is competing hard in practice and going out trying to win games. Everyone comes in and works hard and tries to get better. That alone shows that this team is a group of fighters and competitors."
On Head Coach Chris Mullin's message to the team after recent losses:
"He believes in us and we all believe in the coaches. We will keep working and keep fighting."
Redshirt Junior Forward Christian Jones...
On improving 3-point defense:
"We know what we have to do on defense. We can get fatigued and lose concentration, but as an older group we need to help make sure we lock in."
On things to learn from the recent losses:
"Our main thought is to put every game behind us. Win or lose, you need to put it behind. We turn our focus to the next game. Playing Xavier, being a top-10 team, we need to focus on each and every game going forward. We can't look back and dwell on the past. That's our message for the whole team."
