St. John's University Athletics
QUOTES: Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Teleconference
11/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin…
On participating in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Los Angeles next week:
"We're excited about it. Our association with the Hall of Fame has been great, they've been helping schedule games and have been a great resource for us. It's great to be able to continue that relationship. As for Arizona State, just recently in the top-25, and Bobby Hurley, who I've known since high school, so it will be a nice game to play inside a great venue and against a great team."
On working to improve both Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds during the offseason:
"The offseason is really important to us. We do a lot of conditioning and try to take what's on the court and develop it. Those two guys just came together and developed great chemistry on the court, so it's really important since we finally have some continuity with guys coming back understanding what we are trying to get done on the court, not having to explain every drill, and understanding what we are trying to get done. Having guys coming back who understand what we are doing is really important,"
On how St. John's is preparing for the game against Arizona State:
"We prepare by having our daily habits. We try not to rise to the occasion and just fall back on our training. We have confidence in what we do, so when the schedule comes out we try to train and plan accordingly, then we just go out and play."
On importance of the Basketball Hall of Fame:
"From a player's standpoint, it's the greatest achievement you can have. Just to be recognized as one of the greatest players to play the game is incredible and something that you dream of. When it happens it's somewhat surreal. I love that the people at the Hall of Fame are working with the college game to keep that relationship alive and that's important to me. It's been a big help to us to schedule games in great venues. We have a great relationship."
On the stretch of games on the West Coast approaching St. John's:
"It's a West Coast trip so physically we have to make sure that we get our rest and prepare accordingly by getting a good workout in before playing in Phoenix and L.A. Arizona State has a terrific offense with great guards and the team is scoring up in the 90s, so it should be a fast-paced and exciting game. However, we have two games before that so we will start preparing, but we also have to prepare for the two games before that."
