St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Fordham
12/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On if this was the best outing this season:
"I'd say so. [We had] 24 assists against a tough defense, so we did a good job there. Rebounding wise, we also did a good job so I wouldn't argue that."
On using last year's game as motivation:
"After the season we had last year, we have motivation to last us for the rest of our lives. When you play a team and you lose, no matter who it is or how it happens, it should bother you. I remember losses from 30 years ago. I still remember losing to Georgetown and it still pisses me off. That's the way you have to be, but that's not going to win the game. The way you win the game is with preparation and execution. I think they're starting to get that."
On the energy level:
"The building was more energetic than it's been and it helps. All those things help, but you have to go play. It's important to be energetic and enthusiastic, but you have to still understand what's going to help you win and tonight we did a good job of that."
On Shamorie Ponds' development:
"He's way ahead of schedule. I always felt like Shamorie was the perfect guy for us. From day one, he wanted to play here in front of his family and friends. He wanted the big stage and he performs on the big stage, that's what he likes to do. His game is evolving. He's really smart and has great instincts. It's rare to be able to put a kid in different situations. I can play him all over the court and he knows what to do and how to make it work."
On continuing to improve:
"We lost five in a row, but what we did after those games, is really more important than what we do after this game [in terms of] how you handle your losses, how you are accountable for each other and what you do to change it. It's always more important how you handle adversity and get through it. That's what makes your team grow."
On the progression of Tariq Owens:
"Tariq's worked really hard for us. When he came [here last year], he was around 175 pounds. He's still really skinny, but believe it or not, he put on 20 pounds. He's another guy that's had to make the transition from practice to the game. He's starting to get it now."
Sophomore Guard Federico Mussini...
On the win tonight:
"We were so ready to play tonight. We knew what happened last year and we tried to make sure everyone on this team was ready to go out and play hard tonight."
On playing for Head Coach Chris Mullin:
"He gives us the motivation to keep going and to play hard. We also play for him and we have to respect his name. Today was a special game for him too. He wanted to win the game really bad."
On bottling the emotion from tonight's victory:
"We always need to have this mentality, no matter who we play against. We have to make sure we come out every day and play like this."
On learning from wins like this:
"We have a relatively new team still and we have to make sure we learn every day. I think we're doing great right now. Every game this team gets better and better."
Freshman Guard Shamorie Ponds...
On his smooth transition from high school to college basketball:
"It's not possible without my teammates, they've really made this transition easier on me. Without them, I'm not sure how I would be doing, so I really want to thank them."
On playing with Marcus LoVett out:
"It's always a team effort and we miss him dearly. But also, when somebody goes down with an injury, other people have to step up."
On the intensity of this game:
"This was our best game so far in terms of toughness and intensity and getting the crowd involved. This was a good test for me to learn how to win at the next level. We have to keep this same mentality every game."
Fordham Head Coach Jeff Neubauer...
On the game:
"This was perhaps as well as I've seen St. John's play all year. They played a really tough schedule early on, with games against Michigan State, VCU and Old Dominion. They played those high-level teams really tough. You can tell those games were the making of something. Their top four guards are all shooting above 40 percent and they did it again tonight. Their shot blocking really made a difference as well, with 10 blocks, we had a tough time getting anything around the rim."
On St. John's energy levels and emotion tonight:
"I think this is to be expected in college basketball every night. You only get 31 games. We expected them to play great. I really thought, at halftime, when we were down nine, that we were still in a good spot. But give St. John's credit, they continued to play at a high level. I didn't feel bad about our first half but the game did get away from us in the second."
On St. John's performance:
"What they did in the first half was expected. What I mean is that they made some shots, they are very good shooters, they have a good plan at attacking our defense, and their value for the ball was pretty good. When they continued to do that in the second half, that's usually where we've been able to turn people over. Even if they've handled it for a half, our second half defense is usually improved."
On St. John's shooting at such a high clip:
"The percentage doesn't bother us, but the fact that they only turned the ball over 16 times, that's the problem. We give up a high percentage every night and that's part of our defensive philosophy, however we usually come away with a lot more steals."
