St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Seton Hall
2/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On today's effort:
"The first half we were sleep walking, so I thought we fortunate enough to be only down 14 [points at half]. In the second half we played really well. We started making some shots. I thought it was a good game overall. I was really proud of our team. In my mind, we played well enough to win."
On Kassoum Yakwe:
"He's a hard worker and a great kid. He had a great game today, but that's what he's been doing. He works hard. We see improvement each and every day with his game. He's going to be a special player."
On the final possession:
"Always the main concern is getting the ball inbounds. So we felt like the best option for that was to go to [Yankuba] Sima so he could get a catch. He was open right away. We were a little hesitant, but [the plan was] to drop it to him, let Sima go or kick back out."
On positive takeaways from today's game:
"There have been positives every day. When we look at film, we're very factual. When there are good sections of games we want to repeat that and when there are errors and things we don't like, we emphasize that as well. That's the only way I know how to not only develop a player, but develop a team."
On the feeling after a loss:
"You have to feel like this. The thing is how you come back. I don't know a player, team or business that wasn't built that way. It's not supposed to be easy or a smooth ride, but when you're forthright and you're determined, you'll get paid off. The most impressive thing to me was [the way they] came back, played together and kept that enthusiasm. That's what a team is all about."
Senior Guard Felix Balamou...
On his feelings after the game:
"We feel kind of disappointed, but at the same time proud. We played hard, we played good, [but] we just didn't come up with the win."
On coach Mullin's halftime speech:
"He just told us to wake up. We were playing slow and that wasn't the pace he wanted. [In the second half] we came out, stepped up and played better. It showed that on the court."
Freshman Forward Kassoum Yakwe...
On today's game:
"The beginning was bad, but we kept together and got back in the game. It was a good game, but we had a lot of turnovers and missed free throws. At the end, they got a win."
On his thoughts on the team:
"I'm really proud. Even though we were down we didn't get in to each other. We stayed focused and tried to follow what our coaches said. We kept playing hard and when you play hard, you see the results."
Seton Hall Head Coach Kevin Willard...
On today's game:
"This was the game that I looked at over the last week-and-a-half. I thought it was going to be our toughest game. My New York kids coming back to the Garden and I, watching all the film, watching all the games, thought St. John's was playing harder than anybody else in the [BIG EAST] conference at the time. That was just an old-school, grind-it-out [game]. Both teams played extremely hard. We got lucky enough to make free throws at the end."
On Kassoum Yakwe and Yankuba Sima:
"[Kassoum] Yakwe and [Yankuba] Sima are just terrific. Yakwe times it great, uses his length and is great on pick rolls. From when he got eligible to now where he's playing, his progression has been tremendous. I thought he was the difference in the game, especially in the second half."
