St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Iona
12/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin…
On rest vs. rust argument:
"We take our rest, they do their finals, and then we get back to work. It's a good situation. I'm always a believer that rest both physically and mentally is important. Would rather have a fresh body and fresh mind, so I think we should be fine."
On playing in Madison Square Garden for the first time this season:
"It's funny because I think it gets a lot more recognition now. That's probably from social media. It's always been the premier place to place basketball, going back to the 40s and 50s. It's always been the Mecca of basketball, so it's special. We love playing there. So for the guys who haven't played there, it's a special time. For high school, college, or even NBA guys, whenever you come into the Garden you want to put on a show. Everyone usually has it marked on their calendar when they are playing at the Garden, and it's no different for us."
On playing competitively in every game this season:
"That's the way we train. We try to focus on the way that we train and prepare, and then going out at competing. Not rising to the occasion, or playing differently during any special game. We just really train ourselves so when we do it, we are there to compete, play unselfishly, aggressively, and live with the results."
On BIG EAST play quickly approaching:
"It's a natural progression. We have our preseason, practices, 10-to-12 non-conference games, and of course when you get into conference play, things get revved up a bit. The rivalries, the preparations, the familiarity with each other's teams, and individual players, so the intensity ramps up naturally, but our preparation remains the same."
Redshirt junior Marvin Clark II…
On his overall performance:
"I have come into the season just really focusing on playing hard and doing the little things to be a leader. I worked pretty hard over my sit out year and this summer so I knew my offense was going to come to it but I have just been taking it game by game. Coach [Mullin] told me that I am starting to get into a rhythm so he is going to start going to me a little more and help me get more acclimated."
On playing at Madison Square Garden:
"I am anxious. It still hasn't hit me yet. I don't think it will hit me until tip off or maybe layup lines but I am anxious. I got to work out in there last year before a game but to be able to play in there in front of fans and to play in the Mecca is crazy. For me it is something you dream about and I would never think I would be playing basketball in New York at Madison Square Garden."
On the team's performance:
"I think we have a never die attitude. We don't lie down, we never quit and I think that is what makes us so dangerous. We are never out of a game because the offensive skill set and the players we have on this team. I am definitely happy with the way we are competing. We just have to figure out how to stay out of those holes, once we are a little more consistent with it; I think we are a hard team to beat. I am definitely happy it is a major jump from last season to this season and we just have to keep on getting better."
