St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. No. 24/22 Xavier
1/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On the progression from last season to now:
"I see the progression, but the focus is on the daily progress. When you put good days together you get results. I've always said the timing of it is going to vary; it's usually not as fast as you want it. As long as you stay true to your daily work, I'm confident things will work out."
On coming back to win after losing the lead:
"They proved to themselves that they can fight through on the road after playing a great first half and coming out a little flat [in the second half]. ... Not only individually, they proved it to each other. Trust and confidence is built through that. It's built through adversity, it's built through failing and handling it. Part of it is daily practice, feeling good about yourself and knowing the coaches have your best interest at hand. The real part comes when you do it yourself."
On why the team is playing better in BIG EAST play:
"We're playing together longer. Ideally, the longer you play together, the longer you experience different things and get better."
On the improvement the team is making:
"Of course you want to win every game, but I always look at how you respond the next day and the next game performance. ... Being able to stay somewhat on an even keel through the ups and downs is [important], especially for a younger team to maintain that composure."
Redshirt Sophomore Forward Tariq Owens...
On getting to .500 in BIG EAST play:
"Getting to .500 would be good. Last year we won one game in the conference so being .500 would be a big step. It's something that we can definitely do."
On playing with Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett:
"Right now they are playing great. They complement each other well and they do a lot for our team. It's kind of scary to see what these two can really be, playing together this well as freshmen. The fact that they don't shy away from the limelight is impressive. They both had it going against Providence and they both never back down. [Shamorie Ponds] stays calm, cool and collected throughout the game. He just plays his game and stays within himself. Marcus brings an edge to our team. He brings aggressiveness, the attitude, the mindset, which is great. Having both of them is really special."
On the significance of Sunday's matchup with Xavier:
"Sunday is another conference game. We can't really look at it as any more or any less. It's just as important as the games we're going to play after it. We're going to prepare for this game like it's another game. We have to mentally prepare ourselves to be physical and try to run. We will use these next couple of days to prepare and get ready for Sunday."
On playing in front of St. John's fans:
"The atmosphere with our fans is always great. It's always great to have the crowd into the game. It brings another level of intensity. We can bring the energy, the intensity on the court, but when you have the fan base behind you, when you have a packed house and the fans going crazy, it creates a different type of environment that the other team can feel. Having a good crowd for the Xavier game is really important. We played them on the road and they had a packed house. You can feel that. Every home game, you should feel the advantage of having the crowd behind you, having the city behind you."
On the last two defensive possessions in the Providence win:
"Before those possessions, we had come out of the timeout and the big thing was that we needed to get a stop. Everybody came together and we all knew we needed those stops. On the backside they had a guy penetrate and he dished it off and [Darien Williams] and myself stepped over. Darien got to him first and then I just went up top and tied him up. Then Darien got a steal on a lose ball which sealed the game. There was another play where Marcus dove out of bounds, threw the ball back and Shamorie picked it up before he was fouled. Those were all just winning plays from the team's effort. Everyone collectively bought in so we could get that win"
On the intensity of the Providence game:
"It was a road game. It was an intense game. As a team, we bought into everyone wanting to win. We wanted to do everything we could to ensure that was a win. Providence down the stretch was making plays, and we went down on the defensive end and made some stops and were successful. As it goes on we're just learning together and growing together."
On the meaning of the Providence win:
"It was a really good win. It was a really good team win. Everyone came together in that harsh environment. Providence's crowd was really into it, their team was into it. To be able to stick through that storm together, coaches, players, everybody felt really good."
Freshman Guard Shamorie Ponds...
On the team getting in a rhythm:
"Throughout the season we've been coming together as a team. There have been some games where we played more individually but as we come together, we're going to rack up some more wins."
On the Xavier matchup:
"They are going to try and play the same way as when we played them on the road. They want to play up and down, fast paced and get us off balance and push the tempo."
On the team playing better in conference play:
"We handled our early losses well. We prepped and we made sure to move on. We knew not to take any team lightly. We learned how to keep our feet on the pedal every single game."
