St. John's University Athletics
Postgame Quotes: St. John's vs Xavier
St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin and Justin Simon spoke to the media after Saturday’s loss at Xavier, 81-68.
St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin:
On tonight’s performance…
“We just had a hard time maintaining any type of consistent play. We were down five at the half. We came out and cut it to two maybe and then we went right back down.”
On the team’s defensive struggles…
“When we win, we play good defense, perimeter and post. We don’t get manhandled on the boards. It mostly comes down to the perimeter [defense]. We have somewhat of a small team and we have to be active, both offensively and defensively. … It’s something that we’ll keep working at. We’ve done good at it at times, just not so much the last ten days.”
On if the program has made progress this season…
“We made progress. We did do that. We’re always going to have high expectations. Now it’s time to regroup and get ready for the BIG EAST Tournament.”
On what has to change between now and the start of the BIG EAST Tournament…
“We have to get back to the team we were. It’s about activity. We have to be active and play fundamental basketball. Play good defense on the ball. Force turnovers. Offensively, we can be much sharper. Everything we do has got to be at a pace. We’re a small, athletic, quick team. That should show itself. It hasn’t in the last ten days.”
Junior guard Justin Simon:
On the team’s focus after this game…
“We’re just looking forward to the postseason. We wrapped up the regular season tonight. We’ve had a bad stretch the last couple of games, but we just have to regroup, get back in the gym and figure out who we’re going to play.”
On the defensive struggles…
“Our activity level has been low. There hasn’t been a lot of ball pressure. When you’re a small team, you have to be pesky and get after it and run the floor, on defense and offense. As a whole, our activity level has come down.”
On what has been missing the last five games…
“It’s really been our defense. I think that it sparks a lot of good things for this group. The activity level and getting everybody involved has to get better. We’re at our best when we defend and are out and running.”
On finding motivation ahead of the BIG EAST Tournament…
“I don’t think there needs to be a certain kind of spark. We need to get back to that certain type of energy and swagger that we had in the beginning of the season and throughout the stretch where we won four out of five [in conference play]. I think we’ve lost ourselves and we have to find ourselves by getting back in the gym. Gaining confidence. Handle the task at hand, regroup, and play together. I think that’s the most important thing.”
On if the team is worried about missing the NCAA Tournament…
“We have the BIG EAST Tournament ahead of us so we’re going to take that game-by-game. We’re worried about focusing on one game at a time.”
On tonight’s performance…
“We just had a hard time maintaining any type of consistent play. We were down five at the half. We came out and cut it to two maybe and then we went right back down.”
On the team’s defensive struggles…
“When we win, we play good defense, perimeter and post. We don’t get manhandled on the boards. It mostly comes down to the perimeter [defense]. We have somewhat of a small team and we have to be active, both offensively and defensively. … It’s something that we’ll keep working at. We’ve done good at it at times, just not so much the last ten days.”
On if the program has made progress this season…
“We made progress. We did do that. We’re always going to have high expectations. Now it’s time to regroup and get ready for the BIG EAST Tournament.”
On what has to change between now and the start of the BIG EAST Tournament…
“We have to get back to the team we were. It’s about activity. We have to be active and play fundamental basketball. Play good defense on the ball. Force turnovers. Offensively, we can be much sharper. Everything we do has got to be at a pace. We’re a small, athletic, quick team. That should show itself. It hasn’t in the last ten days.”
Junior guard Justin Simon:
On the team’s focus after this game…
“We’re just looking forward to the postseason. We wrapped up the regular season tonight. We’ve had a bad stretch the last couple of games, but we just have to regroup, get back in the gym and figure out who we’re going to play.”
On the defensive struggles…
“Our activity level has been low. There hasn’t been a lot of ball pressure. When you’re a small team, you have to be pesky and get after it and run the floor, on defense and offense. As a whole, our activity level has come down.”
On what has been missing the last five games…
“It’s really been our defense. I think that it sparks a lot of good things for this group. The activity level and getting everybody involved has to get better. We’re at our best when we defend and are out and running.”
On finding motivation ahead of the BIG EAST Tournament…
“I don’t think there needs to be a certain kind of spark. We need to get back to that certain type of energy and swagger that we had in the beginning of the season and throughout the stretch where we won four out of five [in conference play]. I think we’ve lost ourselves and we have to find ourselves by getting back in the gym. Gaining confidence. Handle the task at hand, regroup, and play together. I think that’s the most important thing.”
On if the team is worried about missing the NCAA Tournament…
“We have the BIG EAST Tournament ahead of us so we’re going to take that game-by-game. We’re worried about focusing on one game at a time.”