St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Penn State
12/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On players learning by losing:
"I'll never make excuses but part of this is the process of learning the certain level of intensity [it takes to win]. They've done it in glimpses. We've had some good showings, [but] maintaining it has been the problem. I was telling them after the game...that you have to learn from this."
On this season being a disappointment:
"I'm going to look at it after the year. We have plenty of games left. I've seen enough good things from these guys that I'm optimistic. I'm not one to analyze at any certain point...It's really important to learn from [this loss] and get better from it."
On how to pick up the energy level:
"We try to really be sharp in practice and condition. It's always the balance of putting the workload in and being rested. We've had some weird travel stuff [this season] that we thought we were going to be in trouble from an energy standpoint and we've come out and played with incredible energy. I don't know the exact answer to that."
On Bashir Ahmed, Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds all struggling:
"I know when all three of them play like that, we're going to struggle; but we haven't seen all three guys struggle like that. When three of your top players struggle like that, it's going to be a tough night."
Sophomore Guard Malik Ellison...
On the confidence level of this team:
"This is a completely different team. We have a lot of talent on this team and have a great group of guys. I feel like it's just on us whether we want to win or lose. I have a lot of confidence in this team. We just have to play with more energy. We have to stay locked in and mentally focused."
Redshirt Sophomore Forward Tariq Owens...
On the effort in the first half versus the second half:
"Early on we came out playing well and then we just had a couple of mental lapses. In terms of effort, as a complete unit and as a team we didn't bring enough effort. We had to change some things in the second half and adjust our effort."
On playing with a team effort:
"As a team we have to grow. That's just what it comes down to. We have to grow as a complete unit. We have to get on the same page and always stay on the same page."
On the confidence level of this team:
"I still believe as a team we can come out and play hard. As a team we have to get back in the gym and build this thing up as a team. We win as a team and we lose as a team. We're going to take it one day at a time and work hard, cause that's all we can do."
Penn State Head Coach Patrick Chambers:
On today's game:
"First of all, so awesome to be at Madison Square Garden. What a great experience for this group and our program to be put on this stage and to be part of New York for 24 hours - just amazing. So, thanks to everybody who made this happen. We had three practices for the first time in a very, very long time and I thought that was very noticeable for the first twenty minutes, for sure. We look like ourselves again. We competed. We played hard. And it's nice, of course, to make so many three's - that always helps. I want to give St. John's credit; they came back. I think we only had six turnovers in the first half - we ended up with 21. So, we've got to clean that up for sure, but it shows you the type of fight - and, St. John's is in the same boat - they've got young guys too. They have freshmen and sophomores and sprinkle in a junior here and there. So, good game for us. Really good game for us coming off of two losses. [I'm] really proud of how these guys responded especially after exams, tough practices, and look to finish strong Wednesday before we go home for Christmas."
