St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. No. 10 Creighton
1/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On the approach:
"When you take a daily approach, you kind of just deal with the moment. Naturally, we all want to win and feel good every day, but that's not reality. We make a concerted effort to stay in the moment. When you lose and feel terrible, you go through that day...When we win, it feels better and we sleep better; but we deal with it, file it away and prepare for the next day."
On the difference with the team now and before Syracuse:
"I see more continuity; we've had guys in and out of the lineup. [The team] is building confidence. Continuity and confidence takes time. That's why I believe the best approach is to treat each day [as a new one]...With young guys all those things are going to fluctuate. Part of the process is getting consistent with everything important to winning and that takes time. It's not something we just talk about, it's something we try and practice each and every day."
On Creighton:
"They're really talented. They're 10th in the country and there is a reason for that. They're well coached, play hard, and committed to running so there are a lot of areas where we need to be really good."
On the team's improvement:
"Consistency and putting the preparation into action takes time too. It's more of a natural progression that they're getting experience of carrying those game plans into the game."
On Creighton being more focused coming off of a loss:
"There is a reason they are a top team and it's because they come and play hard every night. After a loss, maybe more so, but when you're really good like they are, you do that anyway."
On the crowd against Butler:
"The crowd the other night was phenomenal. It was great and that's what we need [every game.]"
Junior Guard/Forward Bashir Ahmed:
On the team's last three wins:
"These last three games have been really big for us. We went up to Syracuse and won that game in the Carrier Dome, which built up our confidence headed into BIG EAST play. Then we beat Butler, who was ranked No. 13 in the nation and then out to DePaul, which was a tough game. They lost to Villanova by [three] points so we knew they would be playing hard. It was definitely a good experience for us."
On the feeling after these three wins:
"It's a different feeling. All the teams we've played have been really good. Syracuse has one of the best zone defenses in the nation. Butler is one of the top teams and they always play hard. I think we have the talent and when we come together as a team it's hard to beat us."
On Creighton being hyped to play St. John's:
"Coming into this game, we know it's going to be real tough. Creighton just came off a loss to Villanova, the No. 1 team in the nation. I think they are really going to play hard against us, knowing that we just beat Butler and that was one of the top teams. I think they will come hard and we have to be ready for it."
On the crowd during the Butler game:
"It was a great atmosphere. It was sold out and the game was really loud and intense the whole game. The fans were going crazy and that definitely helped us."
Freshman Guard Shamorie Ponds...
On excelling individually:
"It means a lot to me, but I couldn't do it without my teammates or my coaches. I'm a freshman and they've helped me out through this process."
On the Butler win:
"It was big. We had our momentum going after the win at Syracuse. Then we come home, with a great crowd against a great program and just tried to keep our momentum going with that Butler win."
On the team's confidence level:
"We're improving. We've improved from our conference wins last year, and we're just going to keep getting better down the road."
On the matchup with top-10 ranked Creighton:
"It's going to be exciting. I hope the fans come out like they did with Butler. This game is going to be fun."
On playing in his hometown of New York:
"It's a blessing. It's great that my family can come out and watch me, and it's great playing for such an awesome program like St. John's."
On the keys to slowing down Creighton...
"They can really push the ball. They play a fast tempo and like to get out and run. I think if we limit their transition buckets and slow Maurice Watson Jr. down, we have a shot. [Justin Patton] is really good too, so we want to shut him down as well."
On his individual matchup with Maurice Watson Jr....
"It's going to be a tough matchup and a big part of the game. He's a really good player. I got the chance to spend some time with him during my visit to Creighton and he's a good guy. It's going to take a team effort against him. He's small and really fast. He's good at forcing turnovers and getting his teammates involved. If we can slow him down, we have a good shot."
On the crowd during the Butler game...
"5,600 people are a lot of people. That crowd really boosted our energy during the Butler game. They brought the energy that we needed."
Senior Forward Darien Williams...
On the feeling of winning three-straight:
"It's real good. Obviously, we had struggles earlier in the season, but as a team we've been talking about constantly coming together and finding the right balance for us and we're definitely doing that now."
On coming together:
"The whole team laughs and jokes together. We have a lot of fun off the court so it was about finding it on the court, working together and everybody being in the right spots. When guys are talking to each other, [it is about] understanding that were all trying to help each other."
On the buzz around St. John's basketball:
"It's real fun. When I came to St. John's, I knew about the history of the program and everything. I knew how New York City could be so now that we got a few wins in a row I see the buzz is happening."
