St. John's University Athletics
QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Loyola Maryland
Head Coach Chris Mullin…
On Shamorie Ponds and Mustapha Heron’s chemistry:
“We were really good in the first half. Great defense. Great activity. For the most part we ran our offense pretty well. I think that’s going to keep getting better as they play more together and get some minutes. We threw out a lot of different lineups on the court and that’s what we intend to do all year. The combinations are going to take some time to get better. I think Shamorie and Mustapha have a great feel for the game. They’ve played with each other in the past before college. They’re two very skilled, smart players. I’m not really concerned about that. ”
On the improved effort from last game:
“The effort was a lot better. … I thought we did a good job. We committed a lot of fouls. Playing defense without fouling is something we have to get better at, but I rather be more aggressive and tone it down a little bit and be a little smarter than the other way around. The energy and effort I think was much better, especially in the first half and in the second half I thought we were a little lackadaisical and the scoreboard came into play a little bit, but in overall, it was pretty good.”
On having a lot of offensive weapons:
“Yeah it’s a huge difference. I haven’t seen both [Mustapha Heron and Shamorie Ponds] go off like that in practice. I think we’ll get better. We played a lot of minutes without Justin [Simon] and Sedee [Keita] because of foul trouble. My college coach [Lou Carnesecca] told me when I took the job to get good players. The better players you get the better coach that you are and I think we are continuing to work on that. Shamorie and Mustapha have had two great seasons. Everyone knows that. Now it’s about winning and doing it with other players around them.”
On the home court advantage:
“It’s great. I told the guys coming in that we want to make this place an impossible place for other teams to win in and establish this as a huge home court advantage. We appreciate the support.”
On Mikey Dixon’s and the rest of the bench’s performance:
“I thought [Mikey Dixon] played well and that’s coming off almost sitting out and not playing a real game in about 15 months. I think he did good job. We’re gonna need those guys at certain points. You never know what’s going to happen. Whether it’s foul trouble or if someone gets injured. We need them to keep practicing and training hard every day and be ready to go. Mikey did a good job tonight.”
On what this game says about his team:
“You have to establish yourself every day. I tell my guys that we’re gonna have some bad days and that it’s ok. I haven’t really seen our guys play together well yet. I haven’t seen it in practice either to tell you the truth. The first half was the first time I saw them play well and energetic with effort. ... I’ve seen spurts of it in practice. … It was pretty encouraging to me, with Sedee [Keita] and Justin [Simon] in foul trouble. The other guys came in and they looked like they belonged and fit on the court. So that’s a good thing. … Today was a good step forward since last Thursday’s [exhibition], but we still have a long way to go.”
Shamorie Ponds
On first game jitters and expectations:
“We felt good, but as a team we felt that we didn’t play well in the second half. It’s just the first game and we’ll get it together.”
On the atmosphere in Carnesecca:
“I thought the fans definitely brought it tonight. We definitely want a packed house every night because we feed off the energy. They boost us every night.”
On the team’s depth:
“It’s great because guys are fresh and guys are ready to come right in and do their job. It’s definitely a great thing.”
On the team’s exciting plays:
“That’s what we are definitely trying to do. Definitely trying to have fun. We try to play as a team and have fun.”
What it is like to have Mustapha Heron on the team:
“It’s a blessing, he can score inside and out, defend, rebound. He’s a great added piece that was definitely needed.”
Mustapha Heron
On first game jitters and expectations…
“I thought we started out strong. There was definitely a drop off in the second half. We just have to work on staying in game shape and keeping our foot on people’s necks with a lead like that.”
On the atmosphere in Carnesecca:
“For my first time playing in Carnesecca, it was a good turnout. We expect every game to be sold out.”
On his thoughts and feelings coming into tonight’s game:
“I wasn’t worried about too much. The game plan was to come out and play hard. We knew that they had an old-school pressing offense. He had to stop their back door cuts and limit their paint scorers as much as possible.”
On the excitement around the team and the new season:
“There was definitely excitement heading into this game. We were walking around campus handing out flyers a couple of days ago. The students were bought into it and I think it showed tonight with the turnout and hopefully it will only get better.”
On the alley-oop to LJ in the first half:
“I heard LJ calling from behind, so I knew to throw it off the backboard. I knew that wherever I put it off the backboard, he was going to get it.”
On Shamorie Ponds and Mustapha Heron’s chemistry:
“We were really good in the first half. Great defense. Great activity. For the most part we ran our offense pretty well. I think that’s going to keep getting better as they play more together and get some minutes. We threw out a lot of different lineups on the court and that’s what we intend to do all year. The combinations are going to take some time to get better. I think Shamorie and Mustapha have a great feel for the game. They’ve played with each other in the past before college. They’re two very skilled, smart players. I’m not really concerned about that. ”
On the improved effort from last game:
“The effort was a lot better. … I thought we did a good job. We committed a lot of fouls. Playing defense without fouling is something we have to get better at, but I rather be more aggressive and tone it down a little bit and be a little smarter than the other way around. The energy and effort I think was much better, especially in the first half and in the second half I thought we were a little lackadaisical and the scoreboard came into play a little bit, but in overall, it was pretty good.”
On having a lot of offensive weapons:
“Yeah it’s a huge difference. I haven’t seen both [Mustapha Heron and Shamorie Ponds] go off like that in practice. I think we’ll get better. We played a lot of minutes without Justin [Simon] and Sedee [Keita] because of foul trouble. My college coach [Lou Carnesecca] told me when I took the job to get good players. The better players you get the better coach that you are and I think we are continuing to work on that. Shamorie and Mustapha have had two great seasons. Everyone knows that. Now it’s about winning and doing it with other players around them.”
On the home court advantage:
“It’s great. I told the guys coming in that we want to make this place an impossible place for other teams to win in and establish this as a huge home court advantage. We appreciate the support.”
On Mikey Dixon’s and the rest of the bench’s performance:
“I thought [Mikey Dixon] played well and that’s coming off almost sitting out and not playing a real game in about 15 months. I think he did good job. We’re gonna need those guys at certain points. You never know what’s going to happen. Whether it’s foul trouble or if someone gets injured. We need them to keep practicing and training hard every day and be ready to go. Mikey did a good job tonight.”
On what this game says about his team:
“You have to establish yourself every day. I tell my guys that we’re gonna have some bad days and that it’s ok. I haven’t really seen our guys play together well yet. I haven’t seen it in practice either to tell you the truth. The first half was the first time I saw them play well and energetic with effort. ... I’ve seen spurts of it in practice. … It was pretty encouraging to me, with Sedee [Keita] and Justin [Simon] in foul trouble. The other guys came in and they looked like they belonged and fit on the court. So that’s a good thing. … Today was a good step forward since last Thursday’s [exhibition], but we still have a long way to go.”
Shamorie Ponds
On first game jitters and expectations:
“We felt good, but as a team we felt that we didn’t play well in the second half. It’s just the first game and we’ll get it together.”
On the atmosphere in Carnesecca:
“I thought the fans definitely brought it tonight. We definitely want a packed house every night because we feed off the energy. They boost us every night.”
On the team’s depth:
“It’s great because guys are fresh and guys are ready to come right in and do their job. It’s definitely a great thing.”
On the team’s exciting plays:
“That’s what we are definitely trying to do. Definitely trying to have fun. We try to play as a team and have fun.”
What it is like to have Mustapha Heron on the team:
“It’s a blessing, he can score inside and out, defend, rebound. He’s a great added piece that was definitely needed.”
Mustapha Heron
On first game jitters and expectations…
“I thought we started out strong. There was definitely a drop off in the second half. We just have to work on staying in game shape and keeping our foot on people’s necks with a lead like that.”
On the atmosphere in Carnesecca:
“For my first time playing in Carnesecca, it was a good turnout. We expect every game to be sold out.”
On his thoughts and feelings coming into tonight’s game:
“I wasn’t worried about too much. The game plan was to come out and play hard. We knew that they had an old-school pressing offense. He had to stop their back door cuts and limit their paint scorers as much as possible.”
On the excitement around the team and the new season:
“There was definitely excitement heading into this game. We were walking around campus handing out flyers a couple of days ago. The students were bought into it and I think it showed tonight with the turnout and hopefully it will only get better.”
On the alley-oop to LJ in the first half:
“I heard LJ calling from behind, so I knew to throw it off the backboard. I knew that wherever I put it off the backboard, he was going to get it.”