St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Georgetown
2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2017
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St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On playing through adversity at home:
"I thought we got off to a bad start, lackadaisical, and our bench came in and gave us a big spark. And then we went back in the tank a little bit, but at halftime we talked about playing the game like we played for about five or six minutes in the first half and we were fortunate to be down one point and really just tried to focus on being unselfish on the offensive end and staying locked in on defense and not gambling. I thought a lot of times we were putting pretty good pressure on the ball, but then towards the end of the [shot] clock we were gambling and giving them open looks. In the second half we did much better staying disciplined. In general, I think these guys feed off the crowd, for sure. I think they're comfortable playing here now. It wasn't always the case. I thought our first few games here they were not but now they are, so it's always good. We talked about it yesterday, to be a good team the first thing you have to do is protect home court. And to be above average, you win on the road. So I think we're making a step towards playing well at home and the sooner we do that on the road, that will be the next step."
On Georgetown going with a smaller lineup at times:
"They have a versatile lineup. The bigs are dangerous but I think we were taking away that elbow catch, which is a big part of their offense. I thought they made a good switch in going small, posting up some of our guards. ... We mixed and matched a little bit, too. We played Amar [Alibegovic] and [Darien Williams]. They're not as big as those guys, but they can play the perimeter a little bit. I thought we did a decent job getting them out of their offense a little bit, but like I said in the first half, it was really the end of the shot clock where they were hurting us."
On Federico Mussini's impact:
"Federico was big because we were really struggling to get going. I thought he came in and was aggressive and made some shots, which he will do. But I thought also he was just scrappy on defense and that's always an added bonus for a guy coming off the bench and giving us a lift. Probably more importantly, he put a little pressure on our guys to play up to that level."
On Federico Mussini as a teammate:
"He's as valuable [as he was last year], minus the minutes, and one thing we had to do last year was have him on the ball all the time and it wasn't even fair. So he understands with Marcus [LoVett] and Shamorie [Ponds] and Malik [Ellison], that these guys can create shots for him and that's really his strength. He's a consummate teammate. In general, those European kids are groomed the right way and they grow up, not only learning the game the right way, but are very focused on team and competition and winning."
On forcing 22 turnovers today:
"I think we forced them into 16 at half, the problem was we really didn't get much out of it. We were turning the ball right back over. I love our pressure and I love our length. It's just kind of two mindsets, we want to be really aggressive in the backcourt and create havoc, but then in the half court, we want to be disciplined and keep the ball in front of us. Similar to the offensive end having two different mindsets where we want to play in the open floor as much as possible, but if there's not a good shot there, we want to take the ball and get the shot that we wanted and make them play defense."
On Shamorie Ponds' freshman season:
"He's been pretty amazing all year long. [He's been] so good that if you watch him you'd probably forget that he is a freshman. Early on, he really exceeded my expectations and has been consistent and probably better as the season has gone on. We have total confidence in him. He's got confidence in himself and more importantly, his teammates have confidence in him. He's one of those kids that can score the ball but he's always trying to make the right plays. He's as dangerous scoring as he is making the pass or drawing the defense. The big thing tonight, if you look at the stats, the big thing was our free throw shooting. So we can put guys in there at the end of the game even if we just have a one-point lead, whether it's Marcus [LoVett], Shamorie [Ponds], Federico [Mussini], if they get fouled, they have to make their free throws which is key."
Freshman guard Shamorie Ponds…
On the team's performance at home:
"I would say that we have more confidence here. The fans are rooting for us, and having them on our side boosts our confidence a lot."
On how the team's home-court advantage will help in the BIG EAST Tournament:
"It will help a lot. Playing at Madison Square Garden and having the fans on our side will be a great advantage."
On reacting to Georgetown's smaller lineup:
"We were tired and we just had to get it together. Down the stretch they went small a lot, and we just stuck together."
On keeping his composure down the stretch:
"Down the stretch, our teammates built our confidence up. We were just running off one another's energy. Down the stretch, we just toughened up."
On having the ball in big moments:
"My teammates believe in me. I just got the ball and didn't really think too much. When the team believes in you, they want you to do what you do. I believe I was built for that moment."
On the team's improvement throughout the season:
"In the beginning of the year, everybody just went their separate ways. As the games went by, even through wins and losses, I feel like we just came together as a team. We're more like a unit now."
On nearing D'Angelo Harrison's freshman scoring record:
"That would be a great accomplishment. I'm not chasing it, but if it happens, it happens."
Sophomore guard Federico Mussini …
On keeping his composure down the stretch:
"We knew we had to stay focused and stay together. We knew we needed them to turn the ball over and play as solidly as we can on defense, and we made it."
On embracing his role this season:
"I know I need to bring energy every night and do the best that I can from the bench, especially on defense, and offense, I just take my shots. My teammates did well to find me tonight and that's what I have to do.
On the team's performance at home:
"This crowd is really nice. It helped us a lot. We have really good confidence when we play here, and we just need to translate this mindset and this atmosphere to away games, too.
On how the home-court advantage will help them in the BIG EAST Tournament:
"It can be an advantage for us because this crowd supports us a lot. When it gets loud, we feel better on the court. We feel way more confident, we like to play together, and so the crowd is going to be important in the BIG EAST Tournament."
