St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Georgetown
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson and Junior Guard Greg Williams Jr. spoke with the media after Sunday’s 97-94 overtime loss to Georgetown
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement…
“I told our guys that I will take the blame for that one there. I didn’t get the job done. The guys played their hearts out, the tempo of the game was the way that we wanted it to go, and we had a lot of miscues going down the stretch. I think heading into halftime we may have had five turnovers, and you could see it came back to bite us in the second half where we had some turnovers that led to easy points for them. As a matter of fact, they scored off of our turnovers. Greg [Williams Jr.] had a great move to get the game into overtime, and we know the game isn’t over until it’s over. Georgetown did what they were supposed to do, they protected their home court, but I can’t say enough about the effort of our guys, they left it all out on the court. Georgetown had some unsung heroes, guys that hadn’t played much, but they played well for them and it was a good job on their part.”
On why he blames this loss on himself…
“I just didn’t put them in the right position at the right time. When the game was in the waning moments, I thought that we could have executed better, it was something that we practiced, but again it is a team loss, a tough loss, because we were in position to win this game. This team is evolving. I thought that they played with more energy than they did at Seton Hall. I thought that we got our forwards involved, but at the end of the day it was free throws, our turnovers, and defensive assignments.”
On the defense…
“I think we are learning, you know, defense isn’t over until you get the rebound. It was like right before [Donald Carey] scored at the end of regulation, I mean the guy fell and we went to get the ball and all of a sudden, they get a basket where our guys are scrambling and getting on the floor. I think our guys just have to take a little more pride in it, that is what has to take place. We outrebounded them and did the things we need to do, but our defense is not where we need it to be right now”
On the play of Qudus Wahab…
“He did what he does. He manned the post down there and tried to make it difficult for our guys to score at the basket.”
On how to keep the loss from defining them…
“It won’t define us. I think we were better in a lot of areas than we were last game. This team will evolve. They’re going to have a hard day, they’re going to continue to work. You can see, we’ve got a lot of pieces. I thought our bench came in and played well for us at times. We’ve just got to learn how to finish, that’s all. It’s not defining time, it’s not panic time, it’s two games into the league play and just take both of them on the road.”
On what number option Greg Williams was in the play that sent the game into overtime…
“We actually were trying to get Greg [Williams Jr.] in there and we made a mad dash for him, but we knew they were going to keen in on Julian [Champagnie] so we got what we wanted. Yeah, by the time the play evolved, he just made himself available. Players make plays. We had him getting to the basket, then he maneuvered and Posh [Alexander] did a good job of getting it to him. You had action away from it, but then you had him coming to the basket.”
On if Vince Cole’s three-point shot in overtime was the shot he was looking for…
“We actually had an attack before that. Of course, Vince [Cole] saw a little light and thought he had a chance to knock it down. We were trying to get action at the basket. I mean at that time you want to get action at the basket. They clogged the defense in there and I think Posh [Alexander] kicked it back out to Vince [Cole].”
Junior Guard Greg Williams Jr.
On if the loss stings more because they were in a position to win…
“It definitely hurt. That is a big stain on us, so the only thing that we can do is bounce back and move forward while we learn from our mistakes.”
Opening statement…
“I told our guys that I will take the blame for that one there. I didn’t get the job done. The guys played their hearts out, the tempo of the game was the way that we wanted it to go, and we had a lot of miscues going down the stretch. I think heading into halftime we may have had five turnovers, and you could see it came back to bite us in the second half where we had some turnovers that led to easy points for them. As a matter of fact, they scored off of our turnovers. Greg [Williams Jr.] had a great move to get the game into overtime, and we know the game isn’t over until it’s over. Georgetown did what they were supposed to do, they protected their home court, but I can’t say enough about the effort of our guys, they left it all out on the court. Georgetown had some unsung heroes, guys that hadn’t played much, but they played well for them and it was a good job on their part.”
On why he blames this loss on himself…
“I just didn’t put them in the right position at the right time. When the game was in the waning moments, I thought that we could have executed better, it was something that we practiced, but again it is a team loss, a tough loss, because we were in position to win this game. This team is evolving. I thought that they played with more energy than they did at Seton Hall. I thought that we got our forwards involved, but at the end of the day it was free throws, our turnovers, and defensive assignments.”
On the defense…
“I think we are learning, you know, defense isn’t over until you get the rebound. It was like right before [Donald Carey] scored at the end of regulation, I mean the guy fell and we went to get the ball and all of a sudden, they get a basket where our guys are scrambling and getting on the floor. I think our guys just have to take a little more pride in it, that is what has to take place. We outrebounded them and did the things we need to do, but our defense is not where we need it to be right now”
On the play of Qudus Wahab…
“He did what he does. He manned the post down there and tried to make it difficult for our guys to score at the basket.”
On how to keep the loss from defining them…
“It won’t define us. I think we were better in a lot of areas than we were last game. This team will evolve. They’re going to have a hard day, they’re going to continue to work. You can see, we’ve got a lot of pieces. I thought our bench came in and played well for us at times. We’ve just got to learn how to finish, that’s all. It’s not defining time, it’s not panic time, it’s two games into the league play and just take both of them on the road.”
On what number option Greg Williams was in the play that sent the game into overtime…
“We actually were trying to get Greg [Williams Jr.] in there and we made a mad dash for him, but we knew they were going to keen in on Julian [Champagnie] so we got what we wanted. Yeah, by the time the play evolved, he just made himself available. Players make plays. We had him getting to the basket, then he maneuvered and Posh [Alexander] did a good job of getting it to him. You had action away from it, but then you had him coming to the basket.”
On if Vince Cole’s three-point shot in overtime was the shot he was looking for…
“We actually had an attack before that. Of course, Vince [Cole] saw a little light and thought he had a chance to knock it down. We were trying to get action at the basket. I mean at that time you want to get action at the basket. They clogged the defense in there and I think Posh [Alexander] kicked it back out to Vince [Cole].”
Junior Guard Greg Williams Jr.
On if the loss stings more because they were in a position to win…
“It definitely hurt. That is a big stain on us, so the only thing that we can do is bounce back and move forward while we learn from our mistakes.”