St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Seton Hall
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson spoke with the media following Friday’s 77-68 loss to Seton Hall to open BIG EAST play
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement…
“First game of conference play, we always talk about a sense of urgency and you could see it with Seton Hall tonight. They really came to play and went to their go-to guys. We had no answer for Sandro [Mamukelashvili], even as we made runs in the second half. In the first half, I thought the nerves were going. With that being said, it was a five-point game at halftime, but they came out and hit us early on in the second half, but to the credit of our guys they came together, fought, got it back down to three and even down the stretch, it was a five-point game and we had two bad possessions where we turned the ball over. The game came down to the free throw line, you know, it’s hard when a team shoots 28 free throws and you only shoot 10. We were already down in that category, so there’s the difference in the game between the free throw line and we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but let’s give them credit, they defended their home court.”
On the team’s approach to defending Sandro Mamukelashvili …
“I think we were probably most effective when we tried to keep the ball out of his hands. I thought that going down the stretch, we made their other guys make plays. He is a really good basketball player, he uses his angles well, and obviously he is 6”11 and very gifted, he played well. He is very talented, has a nice touch outside, has a good feel for the game. He played like a senior is supposed to. A guy that has those kinds of talents and they do a good job of utilizing him.”
On the team’s start to the second half…
“We didn’t execute. We didn’t do any of the things that we talked about. We got a stop early on, then of course, they had an out of bounds and got a dunk and rattled off four straight points and I looked up and it was 39-30 before we knew it. Then, we came down, took a quick shot looking for a nine-point shot and that is not going to happen, so they did what good teams need to do. They just took advantage of us coming out and I thought we were a little flat. We inserted some guys off of the bench and they gave us some energy. I thought Marcellus [Earlington] came in and gave us some great minutes off the bench, then you saw Rasheem [Dunn] come in and played like a fifth-year guy that has been around. He was still a little out of sync, but you saw his willpower and being an older guy, he helped us settle down a little bit. But I thought our defense picked up a little bit as well.
On the play of Julian Champagnie…
“I thought he played well, he was out there fighting and trying to win. He was leading our basketball team and played within himself, so again, we just have to get some better efforts from some other guys as well.”
On if they converted enough points off of turnovers…
“I mean, you always want to get more, but I just thought the rhythm of the game was their pace in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, I thought it picked up to our pace and then the whistles started and of course, now you’ve got free throws and that disrupts the rhythm of the game. I thought our defense pressured and on our end the pressure is not necessarily to steal the basketball. The pressure is so they don’t come down and pound with their size. They can just go get it if you allow them to do it. So no, I thought our defense was good, especially in the second half when we went down, I thought our guys doubled them deep and I thought we saw our guys create some chaos.”
On how Takal Molson affected the game for Seton Hall…
“He is a good player, he did a good job with attacking and getting to the free throw line. He is a versatile player.”
On if he wants to see Posh Alexander be more aggressive…
“I think aggressive from a standpoint of he can push tempo. We’ve got to be able to push tempo a little bit more. He is a freshman, he is fine.”
On the play of Rasheem Dunn…
“I think it’s important. I think what it does, it gives our backcourt a little bit more strength. Like I said, you have got to have some balance on your basketball team, you’ve got to have the forwards and you’ve got to have the guards. His experience alone will help our basketball team, even when we were down, if you look out there, he was the guy kind of leading the charge and once we get him going, we get Posh [Alexander] going, we continue to get Greg [Williams Jr.] to play at a high level, and then of course now you have Dylan [Addae-Wusu] playing well. When you get a contingent of guards like that, I think that we can be pretty good in that area, but the key is going to be consistency. Tonight, we shot 19% from the 3-point line and we had some open looks. We just have to get back in the gym, but without a doubt, Rasheem is going to impact this team.”
Opening statement…
“First game of conference play, we always talk about a sense of urgency and you could see it with Seton Hall tonight. They really came to play and went to their go-to guys. We had no answer for Sandro [Mamukelashvili], even as we made runs in the second half. In the first half, I thought the nerves were going. With that being said, it was a five-point game at halftime, but they came out and hit us early on in the second half, but to the credit of our guys they came together, fought, got it back down to three and even down the stretch, it was a five-point game and we had two bad possessions where we turned the ball over. The game came down to the free throw line, you know, it’s hard when a team shoots 28 free throws and you only shoot 10. We were already down in that category, so there’s the difference in the game between the free throw line and we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but let’s give them credit, they defended their home court.”
On the team’s approach to defending Sandro Mamukelashvili …
“I think we were probably most effective when we tried to keep the ball out of his hands. I thought that going down the stretch, we made their other guys make plays. He is a really good basketball player, he uses his angles well, and obviously he is 6”11 and very gifted, he played well. He is very talented, has a nice touch outside, has a good feel for the game. He played like a senior is supposed to. A guy that has those kinds of talents and they do a good job of utilizing him.”
On the team’s start to the second half…
“We didn’t execute. We didn’t do any of the things that we talked about. We got a stop early on, then of course, they had an out of bounds and got a dunk and rattled off four straight points and I looked up and it was 39-30 before we knew it. Then, we came down, took a quick shot looking for a nine-point shot and that is not going to happen, so they did what good teams need to do. They just took advantage of us coming out and I thought we were a little flat. We inserted some guys off of the bench and they gave us some energy. I thought Marcellus [Earlington] came in and gave us some great minutes off the bench, then you saw Rasheem [Dunn] come in and played like a fifth-year guy that has been around. He was still a little out of sync, but you saw his willpower and being an older guy, he helped us settle down a little bit. But I thought our defense picked up a little bit as well.
On the play of Julian Champagnie…
“I thought he played well, he was out there fighting and trying to win. He was leading our basketball team and played within himself, so again, we just have to get some better efforts from some other guys as well.”
On if they converted enough points off of turnovers…
“I mean, you always want to get more, but I just thought the rhythm of the game was their pace in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, I thought it picked up to our pace and then the whistles started and of course, now you’ve got free throws and that disrupts the rhythm of the game. I thought our defense pressured and on our end the pressure is not necessarily to steal the basketball. The pressure is so they don’t come down and pound with their size. They can just go get it if you allow them to do it. So no, I thought our defense was good, especially in the second half when we went down, I thought our guys doubled them deep and I thought we saw our guys create some chaos.”
On how Takal Molson affected the game for Seton Hall…
“He is a good player, he did a good job with attacking and getting to the free throw line. He is a versatile player.”
On if he wants to see Posh Alexander be more aggressive…
“I think aggressive from a standpoint of he can push tempo. We’ve got to be able to push tempo a little bit more. He is a freshman, he is fine.”
On the play of Rasheem Dunn…
“I think it’s important. I think what it does, it gives our backcourt a little bit more strength. Like I said, you have got to have some balance on your basketball team, you’ve got to have the forwards and you’ve got to have the guards. His experience alone will help our basketball team, even when we were down, if you look out there, he was the guy kind of leading the charge and once we get him going, we get Posh [Alexander] going, we continue to get Greg [Williams Jr.] to play at a high level, and then of course now you have Dylan [Addae-Wusu] playing well. When you get a contingent of guards like that, I think that we can be pretty good in that area, but the key is going to be consistency. Tonight, we shot 19% from the 3-point line and we had some open looks. We just have to get back in the gym, but without a doubt, Rasheem is going to impact this team.”