St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Baruch College (Exhibition)
10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On the team's effort:
"Overall, it was a good effort. Offensively we shared the ball. We were unselfish. And then defensively for the most part we were active, so it's something good to build on."
On learning from last season's exhibition:
"It's always important to learn from your experiences and that was one of our experiences. This summer we focused on working hard, working together, being unselfish, and all the things that really matter to make a change. So, yes we remember that feeling but more important is the action you take to try and change the outcome of things and I think we've done a good job of that."
On Richard Freudenberg's debut:
"When he plays to his strengths, he's good. I think his game will expand over time, but right now if he gets in open space, he will get his looks. He's big and strong so he will help on the glass. And he has a really good IQ, both offensively and defensively."
On Richard Freudenberg and Bashir Ahmed playing together:
"I like them together because they have opposite skills. Richard is more of a spacer and spot up shooter, while Bashir loves to attack. So, they can work well together."
On mixing lineups:
"We have the ability to mix lineups and give the defense some tough matchups. What we really try to do is teach them how to play with each other and then we'll put sets in later. Tonight, we really tried to emphasize playing unselfishly, aggressively, sharing the ball and making the right play."
On his thoughts on Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds:
"They both have really good instincts on the court and they take pride in stopping their guy. I thought they both played well and I also liked when we had all three guards on the court at the same time."
Sophomore Guard Federico Mussini...
On the feelings of a new year:
"Before the game, everyone said to each other to remember how we started off last year. We tried to play hard and get this year started off right. I really liked how we looked out there. I think the most important thing is the chemistry. Everybody is unselfish and willing to play for the other guy. We have good players and I'm excited about it."
On playing with a deeper backcourt:
"It's great. [Marcus Lovett] and [Shamorie Ponds] are smart players, great shooters, great ball handlers, and they can really pass the ball. I feel really good playing with them."
On coming off the bench:
"I know my role is a little bit different from last year. I know when I'm out there I'm going to play as hard as I can. Every one of us has that mentality."
On playing more off the ball:
"All of our guards are really unselfish players and really good passers and ball handlers. They can really read the game. They make great decisions and I feel really good playing with these guards."
Junior Forward Bashir Ahmed...
On his first-ever game at Carnesecca Arena:
"It felt amazing to be out there. I had the chance to play in front of my family. The fans were great and I was happy to be out there."
On getting the offense going:
"We came out and wanted to start off with a statement. We had a slow start and once we got the hang of it, everything starting rolling for us. We starting moving the ball around and shots started coming easier."
On the different lineups:
"I like playing with all the guys. I think this whole team is unselfish. This team has a lot of players with good basketball IQs. I like playing with everybody and we have a lot of different lineups we can use, which is good."
On the importance of this game:
"I think it's definitely important. We talked about it in the locker room. We wanted to go out there and play hard, and not look at the team as a Division III school, but just as any other opponent. We wanted to go out and play them tough."
Baruch Head Coach John Alesi...
On squaring off against Chris Mullin:
"I've known [Chris Mullin] my whole life. My dad has been coaching forever. I understand that's part of the story here and it's certainly part of it. It's a nice side story. I really think the story is about the opportunity it provided our kids and what it meant to our program. Big thanks go to St. John's and [Chris Mullin] for this opportunity. We hope we gave them some sort of test early in the season. For us, it was good. I'm not real worried about the score. I was more concerned with how we were playing. It was a good experience. To do this with [Chris Mullin] and to see Coach Carnesecca was really neat. He's part of the reason I started as a coach and player."
On the importance of this game:
"I think what this game does for us is give us an experience that nobody else on our schedule has. I think that's a good thing. I think it's good to test kids early. We will go through the rest of our season and reference this game tonight. Nothing will be as difficult for us down the road as it was tonight."
On the depth of St. John's guards:
"They have a lot of talent. Those guys are really good. [Marcus Lovett] obviously makes a really big difference for St. John's. Having somebody that you can put the ball in his hands for 40 minutes and be comfortable with makes a huge difference. It makes everyone around him better. It also allows [Federico Mussini] to focus a little more on doing what he really does well, which is shooting. Having him more as a secondary ball handler is a really good thing. When you can have two guys handle the ball and make decisions, make shots, and make the guys around them better, that's when things really get going. I think those guys are going to be tremendous for them."
