St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Villanova
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella spoke with the media following Sunday’s 74-65 loss to Villanova
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
Opening statement…
“Obviously I am not too pleased with how we played today. I thought Villanova did a nice job of playing their style and I thought we looked tired and fatigued through the game. We didn’t really follow what we had tried to accomplish. I thought we were pretty good early and then got deflated a little bit especially from an energy standpoint and I give Villanova credit, they made 11 3-pointers and they hadn’t shot the ball well coming into the game. We tried to do some things to influence their ability to put [3-pointers] up and they took 30 threes which they hadn’t really done either and made 11, while we only made five and that is a big difference in a game. I am certainly pleased that we fought back and didn’t give up towards the end, but we just didn’t do enough today.”
On the rebounding disadvantage…
“It was just effort. They went harder after the ball and we didn’t.”
On what he liked defensively…
“I thought we did a good job having gone through a lot and making an adjustment based on the players that we had available today from what we had prepared for. We played pretty well in the zone. I thought we got hurt in transition which is a joke, in my view, for how we are supposed to play. Credit to them for running by us, though, they looked like the team that had three days off and not a team that played Friday. I thought we did some good stuff [defensively] we knew that would probably hurt our rebounding a little bit. I was pleased with the way that we played towards the end in trying to get steals and deflections. Sara [Zabrecky] came in and was able to get some good minutes, so I was pleased with those things. We need some better performances though from players who have been here and I have got to do a better job of getting us ready to play. So, we have got to move on, play more games, get our legs under us, and prepare for what now becomes league play earlier than ever.”
On what the team can carry over to the road trip…
“I think we are trying to take something out of the game. To be able to claw back into the game was a positive, but a great player [Maddy Siegrist] made a great shot for them off of a broken play and put the lead away for good as we were trying to come back. The margin for error becomes so slim there as you are in that situation. I was happy to see a scramble and something that we can use in situations like that as we try and get better as we move forward.”
Opening statement…
“Obviously I am not too pleased with how we played today. I thought Villanova did a nice job of playing their style and I thought we looked tired and fatigued through the game. We didn’t really follow what we had tried to accomplish. I thought we were pretty good early and then got deflated a little bit especially from an energy standpoint and I give Villanova credit, they made 11 3-pointers and they hadn’t shot the ball well coming into the game. We tried to do some things to influence their ability to put [3-pointers] up and they took 30 threes which they hadn’t really done either and made 11, while we only made five and that is a big difference in a game. I am certainly pleased that we fought back and didn’t give up towards the end, but we just didn’t do enough today.”
On the rebounding disadvantage…
“It was just effort. They went harder after the ball and we didn’t.”
On what he liked defensively…
“I thought we did a good job having gone through a lot and making an adjustment based on the players that we had available today from what we had prepared for. We played pretty well in the zone. I thought we got hurt in transition which is a joke, in my view, for how we are supposed to play. Credit to them for running by us, though, they looked like the team that had three days off and not a team that played Friday. I thought we did some good stuff [defensively] we knew that would probably hurt our rebounding a little bit. I was pleased with the way that we played towards the end in trying to get steals and deflections. Sara [Zabrecky] came in and was able to get some good minutes, so I was pleased with those things. We need some better performances though from players who have been here and I have got to do a better job of getting us ready to play. So, we have got to move on, play more games, get our legs under us, and prepare for what now becomes league play earlier than ever.”
On what the team can carry over to the road trip…
“I think we are trying to take something out of the game. To be able to claw back into the game was a positive, but a great player [Maddy Siegrist] made a great shot for them off of a broken play and put the lead away for good as we were trying to come back. The margin for error becomes so slim there as you are in that situation. I was happy to see a scramble and something that we can use in situations like that as we try and get better as we move forward.”