St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. Villanova
3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Final Stats | USATSI Photo Gallery 
| Photo Gallery
St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On the quick turnaround hurting the team:
"Quick turnaround, but that had nothing to do with it. Villanova is one of the best teams in the country. So give all credit to them. ... And we welcome that. That was a good position to be in, to be able to play in today's game. So no regrets."
On what he is looking forward to next season:
"Yeah, improvement; progression, individually and collectively. And lots to look forward to."
On how the team can take the next step:
"I think defensively we need to improve. I do think a lot of that will come with strength and maturity. I think a lot of people, me included, players improve a lot in the offseason. That's the best time to do it. ... But I also think probably, more so in the college game, like, when they're in summer school and they're around each other. It's a really good time to develop team chemistry. And so I think having more guys playing with each other, working out together in the summertime will be another part of something we haven't had. ... And you look at the really, really good teams, Villanova being one of them, they've got experience. Game experience. They've won and lost together, and they've spent summers together.
On the highlight of the season:
"I'd probably say last night was the highlight. For this group of kids to get the first tournament win in five or six years, whatever it was, but also to prove to themselves and to get on that big stage. ... And I think before last night, we probably had like 84 practices. So after all the film sessions and practices and pep talks, halftime talks and all the stuff that goes on, there's nothing better than those guys going out and proving to themselves that they can perform on that stage. So I thought last night was probably something they'll remember and take into the offseason and use it as a positive."
Freshman guard Shamorie Ponds...
On today's game:
"It was tough. They had some time to prepare. We just came off a game less than 12 hours ago. It's tough against Villanova, they are a good team."
On his overall thoughts of the season:
"We improved from last year. There's always room for improvement though. We lost some games that we should have won. Overall I thought we had a great year though."
On the goals of getting into the NCAA Tournament next year:
"Everybody should want to play in March Madness. If everyone plays with that mindset, that's good. We're all on the same page. We know we can get there."
On his thoughts heading into next season:
"I think we can learn from this season and just get better next season. The offseason is going to be very important. We just want to keep gelling as a team and take the experience from this year into next."
Redshirt Freshman Marcus LoVett...
On his overall thoughts on the season:
"It was a great year. We definitely progressed, as you can see from last year, and that's what we need; each and every year to get better. That's what we did this year. We did great. I'm proud of my teammates and we came a long way from the beginning of the season. I'm real happy with everybody."
