St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. No. 23/RV Connecticut
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson and freshman guard Posh Alexander spoke with the media following Monday’s 74-70 win over No. 23/RV Connecticut.
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement…
“First of all, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day to everyone. It was an honor to have an opportunity to play on such a day because Martin Luther King Jr. meant a lot to so many from Birmingham, Alabama all the way down South where a lot of stuff took place. With what is going on in the world today, I am just hoping that what he stood for and what he said with love overtaking hate, I hope that is the word for everybody. I thought the game was another step in the right direction for our team in terms of where we want to be. We saw some adversity; we were up four and they made a three and we talk about guys having to make a play. They went to the free throw line, missed a couple, and we had guys go to the line and make some free throws. As Posh [Alexander] said, the time for our guys to celebrate is until midnight and then it is over. We have been in so many close games, so many where we were right in position to win it and so confidence has to kick-in when you are playing against a UConn team that is playing really well. They had won [four] games in a row with [three of] them being on the road, and so for us, to come in off a tough loss to Marquette, I can’t say enough about the play of our guys. I don’t even think you realize that Posh didn’t practice yesterday, his tailbone was hurt, and he was getting treatment. So, for him to come out and have that kind of performance, it says a lot about him. I thought he talked about two of the guys that brought the physicality for us in Marcellus [Earlington] and Dylan [Addae-Wusu]. They brought the aggressiveness and toughness that you need to have, but it was a good team win.”
On how important the win was to his team…
“We needed a win, period. I thought that we just needed to play a complete 40 minutes. Defensively, I thought we were good, I thought that we turned the ball over too much, but every time we go out, we are trying to win because almost doesn’t get it done. We had almost against Marquette at home, but we got the job done today.”
On the impact of seeing other guys step up while Julian Champagnie was struggling…
“I think that we took another step, and that is the dynamics of a team. We have a team that is not dependent on one or two guys playing well to win, so now some other guys had an opportunity to go out and perform and they did. Don’t forget Josh [Roberts], and I thought that our bench played really well. I thought Isaih [Moore] came out and gave us some quality minutes. You are going to see some different guys on different nights, so tonight it was Dylan [Addae-Wusu] and Marcellus [Earlington] in the waning moments of the game. Even Rasheem [Dunn] hadn’t shot free throws well, but he knocks down two big ones to give us the lead. Again, this team continues to evolve, and we didn’t have the luxury of having 15 games before conference play, we jumped right into the fire and we are learning and forming our identity.”
On Julian Champagnie looking to make plays late despite not being able to find his shot early…
“I didn’t think he got frustrated even though he missed shots early on that he normally makes. He had a rough night, but we got the trust that he can go out and make plays, whether it be free throws or defensively. That is the sign of a good player, when a guy can still have an impact on a game when he isn’t scoring or at his best, and it makes a big impact on our basketball team.”
On the play of Dylan Addae-Wusu and Marcellus Earlington…
“I thought we saw their physicality in this game here and I thought that has been lacking with our basketball team. Sometimes you need a couple guys to be rough and tough and be physical and we saw that. I thought even Posh [Alexander] had a couple of big rebounds that stand out in my mind. He went and got a big rebound when they missed a fast break, and we were able to score on it. Then, going down the stretch, Dylan came across the lane and came up with a big steal. When you are on the road you need guys to make shots, and the turnovers are the thing that bothers me, but we got to the line and made free throws and that gave us an opportunity to win. Our guys found a way tonight.”
Freshman guard Posh Alexander
On what the win meant to the team after the loss to Marquette…
“It felt good at the moment. I personally feel like we can beat every team in the country and now we are coming together a little bit more. I just feel like this is a win for today and we are going to get back at it next week.”
On the contributions of Dylan Addae-Wusu and Marcellus Earlington…
“Marcellus and Dylan coming off the bench fired up the team because of their defense and toughness.”
On whether he knew Julian Champagnie would make big plays down the stretch despite his struggles…
“If Julian has a bad first half or start to the second, I know he is going to come back to the team. We basically live and die with him, so like, if he takes a couple bad shots and misses, we are going to go with that because I know that a majority of his shots are going to go in.”
On the team’s celebration in the locker room…
“We were just excited because it was the first time we have beaten a ranked team. But personally, I feel like we can beat any team. So, it feels good at the moment, but we are going to get right back at it next week.”
On if the week off will be beneficial…
“it is good, but I wish we could stay in the gym and get a couple more games in because we are already going.”
On his mentality in the big moments of the game…
“I know what I can do and like to get my team involved, but if it comes down to a situation where Julian can’t get a bucket, I like to step up and take over and try to lead my team to a win. When we opened up the floor and I got the and-one and the layup, that is something I know I can do, so I was just attacking the lane.”
Opening statement…
“First of all, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day to everyone. It was an honor to have an opportunity to play on such a day because Martin Luther King Jr. meant a lot to so many from Birmingham, Alabama all the way down South where a lot of stuff took place. With what is going on in the world today, I am just hoping that what he stood for and what he said with love overtaking hate, I hope that is the word for everybody. I thought the game was another step in the right direction for our team in terms of where we want to be. We saw some adversity; we were up four and they made a three and we talk about guys having to make a play. They went to the free throw line, missed a couple, and we had guys go to the line and make some free throws. As Posh [Alexander] said, the time for our guys to celebrate is until midnight and then it is over. We have been in so many close games, so many where we were right in position to win it and so confidence has to kick-in when you are playing against a UConn team that is playing really well. They had won [four] games in a row with [three of] them being on the road, and so for us, to come in off a tough loss to Marquette, I can’t say enough about the play of our guys. I don’t even think you realize that Posh didn’t practice yesterday, his tailbone was hurt, and he was getting treatment. So, for him to come out and have that kind of performance, it says a lot about him. I thought he talked about two of the guys that brought the physicality for us in Marcellus [Earlington] and Dylan [Addae-Wusu]. They brought the aggressiveness and toughness that you need to have, but it was a good team win.”
On how important the win was to his team…
“We needed a win, period. I thought that we just needed to play a complete 40 minutes. Defensively, I thought we were good, I thought that we turned the ball over too much, but every time we go out, we are trying to win because almost doesn’t get it done. We had almost against Marquette at home, but we got the job done today.”
On the impact of seeing other guys step up while Julian Champagnie was struggling…
“I think that we took another step, and that is the dynamics of a team. We have a team that is not dependent on one or two guys playing well to win, so now some other guys had an opportunity to go out and perform and they did. Don’t forget Josh [Roberts], and I thought that our bench played really well. I thought Isaih [Moore] came out and gave us some quality minutes. You are going to see some different guys on different nights, so tonight it was Dylan [Addae-Wusu] and Marcellus [Earlington] in the waning moments of the game. Even Rasheem [Dunn] hadn’t shot free throws well, but he knocks down two big ones to give us the lead. Again, this team continues to evolve, and we didn’t have the luxury of having 15 games before conference play, we jumped right into the fire and we are learning and forming our identity.”
On Julian Champagnie looking to make plays late despite not being able to find his shot early…
“I didn’t think he got frustrated even though he missed shots early on that he normally makes. He had a rough night, but we got the trust that he can go out and make plays, whether it be free throws or defensively. That is the sign of a good player, when a guy can still have an impact on a game when he isn’t scoring or at his best, and it makes a big impact on our basketball team.”
On the play of Dylan Addae-Wusu and Marcellus Earlington…
“I thought we saw their physicality in this game here and I thought that has been lacking with our basketball team. Sometimes you need a couple guys to be rough and tough and be physical and we saw that. I thought even Posh [Alexander] had a couple of big rebounds that stand out in my mind. He went and got a big rebound when they missed a fast break, and we were able to score on it. Then, going down the stretch, Dylan came across the lane and came up with a big steal. When you are on the road you need guys to make shots, and the turnovers are the thing that bothers me, but we got to the line and made free throws and that gave us an opportunity to win. Our guys found a way tonight.”
Freshman guard Posh Alexander
On what the win meant to the team after the loss to Marquette…
“It felt good at the moment. I personally feel like we can beat every team in the country and now we are coming together a little bit more. I just feel like this is a win for today and we are going to get back at it next week.”
On the contributions of Dylan Addae-Wusu and Marcellus Earlington…
“Marcellus and Dylan coming off the bench fired up the team because of their defense and toughness.”
On whether he knew Julian Champagnie would make big plays down the stretch despite his struggles…
“If Julian has a bad first half or start to the second, I know he is going to come back to the team. We basically live and die with him, so like, if he takes a couple bad shots and misses, we are going to go with that because I know that a majority of his shots are going to go in.”
On the team’s celebration in the locker room…
“We were just excited because it was the first time we have beaten a ranked team. But personally, I feel like we can beat any team. So, it feels good at the moment, but we are going to get right back at it next week.”
On if the week off will be beneficial…
“it is good, but I wish we could stay in the gym and get a couple more games in because we are already going.”
On his mentality in the big moments of the game…
“I know what I can do and like to get my team involved, but if it comes down to a situation where Julian can’t get a bucket, I like to step up and take over and try to lead my team to a win. When we opened up the floor and I got the and-one and the layup, that is something I know I can do, so I was just attacking the lane.”