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 following Sunday’s 94-83 win over Georgetown.
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement…
“We finally put a game together for the most part. We came out, changed the lineup a little bit, and along with making shots, you need to have good spacing and ball movement and I believe we did that in the first half. We had 12 assists on 17 field goals made, and that means you are sharing the basketball, and I thought that translated to the defensive end. We ended up giving up 41 points in the first half and I thought that was a bit too much, but we came out in the second half and I thought we stepped up and continued to play a better brand of defense. I thought our defense was much better. We had some guys with good nights, too. Of course, [Julian Champagnie], he has been pretty consistent, I thought Vince [Cole] was much more assertive, and you saw Greg [Williams Jr.] doing the things he has to do. I also can’t say enough about Posh [Alexander], he continues to bring it every night. Plus, our bench, I thought that Marcellus [Earlington], we saw him, and I thought he put a complete game together for himself. It was a good team win and a good way for these guys to go home and get a break. They have been going for four or five months straight and with that being said, they need to continue what they have been doing here.”
On why the team played better today than over the last few games…
“I thought we were connected. I thought we were connected defensively. We didn’t come out with the understanding that we were going to beat people with our offense, and I thought that was the difference in the game. We came out with a defensive mindset, trusting in one another and sometimes you have those setbacks in order to have some comebacks. We had an opportunity to have a socially-distanced meeting to make sure that everyone was on the same page and to go out and play for one another. I give credit to our guys for understanding that the games we have played up until this point, they have been learning situations and in order to be the team we want to be, we have to play together and trust each other. We have to be connected defensively and you have been seeing us not being connected recently and it translates to offense, the same thing where we get stagnant. But tonight, you saw a much better flow both defensively and offensively.
On the changes to the starting lineup…
“I was looking for Vince [Cole] to be more selfish. We know what Vince is capable of doing. I believe he was much more aggressive offensively and more engaged defensively. He had three defensive rebounds in the first half. Some guys, when they come off the bench, they just try and fit in, and I want him to do more than that because he has that kind of talent.”
On the play of Greg Williams Jr. in big situations…
“He is one of the more experienced players on our basketball team, so that is him just being more assertive and to me, he is one of our captains so with that being said, it is the evolution of a guy stepping up and being what we want him to become. When you listen and talk to him, he is really sharp, and it is starting to translate on the floor as well.”
On the team’s response to having the lead cut to two in the second half…
“I thought we grew up today. We have been in those situations and you guys have seen it where we have been up and down. Seven days ago down at their place, we were up five with under three minutes to go and they threw a little press on us and we threw it all over the yard. We were fortunate to get it into overtime and they ended up winning the game, but tonight they did the same thing, and our guys were in attack mode. They stayed together, we stayed in attack mode, got the balls in the hands of the ball-handlers and stayed in attack mode. I thought Isaih [Moore] came off the bench and gave us some big minutes offensively and defensively, and we are going to be a team where multiple guys have to give us something each and every game.”
On whether this was a “must-win” game…
“Every game is a must-win game. I think every game is a big game. As a coach, you always want to see your guys improve and the improvement tonight, to me, was we got off to a good start, made shots, were connected defensively and obviously we faced some adversity in a game of runs. Both teams made runs, but we learned our lessons from earlier games by staying in the moment and waiting for the next play. I think that every game is a big game.”
Junior guard Greg Williams Jr.
On the importance of the team’s start to the game…
“I think it was very important. We wanted to keep the pressure on and keep on playing how we are capable of playing, keep the tempo up, and just find guys that are open by making the right play.”
On what he saw in the slow start to the second half…
“I think we learned a little bit about our basketball team as Coach Mike [Anderson] likes to say. I think that we responded to adversity, but they made a run, they came back, but then we went on our run and kept it going. So, I think that it was a step in the right direction.”
On the team’s focus…
“We just played together, we played for each other. We played with a lot of trust that led to a lot of good things.”
On why the team played more together today…
“We all just had a common understanding of what needed to be done. I think that the trust and connectivity was good, and it just came from us talking about it and just trying to figure it out.”
On going through the first portion of the BIG EAST schedule without a win…
“I think we just had to figure out what we needed to do and playing how we are capable of playing. There a lot of great teams in the conference, so we definitely have to step up to the plate every night.”
Opening statement…
“We finally put a game together for the most part. We came out, changed the lineup a little bit, and along with making shots, you need to have good spacing and ball movement and I believe we did that in the first half. We had 12 assists on 17 field goals made, and that means you are sharing the basketball, and I thought that translated to the defensive end. We ended up giving up 41 points in the first half and I thought that was a bit too much, but we came out in the second half and I thought we stepped up and continued to play a better brand of defense. I thought our defense was much better. We had some guys with good nights, too. Of course, [Julian Champagnie], he has been pretty consistent, I thought Vince [Cole] was much more assertive, and you saw Greg [Williams Jr.] doing the things he has to do. I also can’t say enough about Posh [Alexander], he continues to bring it every night. Plus, our bench, I thought that Marcellus [Earlington], we saw him, and I thought he put a complete game together for himself. It was a good team win and a good way for these guys to go home and get a break. They have been going for four or five months straight and with that being said, they need to continue what they have been doing here.”
On why the team played better today than over the last few games…
“I thought we were connected. I thought we were connected defensively. We didn’t come out with the understanding that we were going to beat people with our offense, and I thought that was the difference in the game. We came out with a defensive mindset, trusting in one another and sometimes you have those setbacks in order to have some comebacks. We had an opportunity to have a socially-distanced meeting to make sure that everyone was on the same page and to go out and play for one another. I give credit to our guys for understanding that the games we have played up until this point, they have been learning situations and in order to be the team we want to be, we have to play together and trust each other. We have to be connected defensively and you have been seeing us not being connected recently and it translates to offense, the same thing where we get stagnant. But tonight, you saw a much better flow both defensively and offensively.
On the changes to the starting lineup…
“I was looking for Vince [Cole] to be more selfish. We know what Vince is capable of doing. I believe he was much more aggressive offensively and more engaged defensively. He had three defensive rebounds in the first half. Some guys, when they come off the bench, they just try and fit in, and I want him to do more than that because he has that kind of talent.”
On the play of Greg Williams Jr. in big situations…
“He is one of the more experienced players on our basketball team, so that is him just being more assertive and to me, he is one of our captains so with that being said, it is the evolution of a guy stepping up and being what we want him to become. When you listen and talk to him, he is really sharp, and it is starting to translate on the floor as well.”
On the team’s response to having the lead cut to two in the second half…
“I thought we grew up today. We have been in those situations and you guys have seen it where we have been up and down. Seven days ago down at their place, we were up five with under three minutes to go and they threw a little press on us and we threw it all over the yard. We were fortunate to get it into overtime and they ended up winning the game, but tonight they did the same thing, and our guys were in attack mode. They stayed together, we stayed in attack mode, got the balls in the hands of the ball-handlers and stayed in attack mode. I thought Isaih [Moore] came off the bench and gave us some big minutes offensively and defensively, and we are going to be a team where multiple guys have to give us something each and every game.”
On whether this was a “must-win” game…
“Every game is a must-win game. I think every game is a big game. As a coach, you always want to see your guys improve and the improvement tonight, to me, was we got off to a good start, made shots, were connected defensively and obviously we faced some adversity in a game of runs. Both teams made runs, but we learned our lessons from earlier games by staying in the moment and waiting for the next play. I think that every game is a big game.”
Junior guard Greg Williams Jr.
On the importance of the team’s start to the game…
“I think it was very important. We wanted to keep the pressure on and keep on playing how we are capable of playing, keep the tempo up, and just find guys that are open by making the right play.”
On what he saw in the slow start to the second half…
“I think we learned a little bit about our basketball team as Coach Mike [Anderson] likes to say. I think that we responded to adversity, but they made a run, they came back, but then we went on our run and kept it going. So, I think that it was a step in the right direction.”
On the team’s focus…
“We just played together, we played for each other. We played with a lot of trust that led to a lot of good things.”
On why the team played more together today…
“We all just had a common understanding of what needed to be done. I think that the trust and connectivity was good, and it just came from us talking about it and just trying to figure it out.”
On going through the first portion of the BIG EAST schedule without a win…
“I think we just had to figure out what we needed to do and playing how we are capable of playing. There a lot of great teams in the conference, so we definitely have to step up to the plate every night.”