St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Pittsburgh
St. John's Head Coach Mike Anderson, sophomore guards Dylan Addae-Wusu and Posh Alexander spoke to the media after a 59-57 loss to Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement...
“Obviously, it was a tough game for us. For Pittsburgh, it was a great game. Tempo was the name of this game and I thought they got the tempo going the way they wanted to. Defensively, we were okay, but it comes down to making plays at the end. They made some plays. We got it tied up with eight seconds to go. [We] had a lot of chances to get some distance with ourselves. We didn’t take care of the basketball. [We’ve] got a disappointed locker room, but at the same time, we know the sun is going to come up tomorrow. It’s not the end of the world.”
On playing without Julian Champagnie...
“That’s part of the adjustments. We found out a few days ago that [he tested positive]. Then, of course, the protocols began. That’s the adjustment for a team. That’s one of your leading scorers [that can’t play], but I told our guys someone else has to step up. At the same time, we’re hopeful that Julain is going to be okay.”
On not being able to extend the lead...
“[We were] not making the right play. We had four turnovers at halftime. We ended up with 14. We always talk about momentum. Our defense is a big part of what we do. If you get a chance to score, it really amps up your defense. It was kind of like shooting yourself in the foot. I think our guys were trying. Let’s give Pitt some credit too. I thought they didn’t give up on plays.”
On the final play...
“I thought we could have not let the guy have a straight-line drive, but he made a play. Let’s give him credit. Dylan [Addae-Wusu] did a good job of getting to the free-throw line and making a couple of free throws. I knew in my heart that we had another stop in us. When you let a team hang around, it comes back to bite you, and it did. He made a good shot.”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On the transition offense..
“I felt like we weren’t running the floor well. When we were getting turnovers we didn’t get out in the open floor. We would slow it down and not look up ahead [for our teammates].”
On missing Julian Champagnie offensively…
“Julian is a great scorer for us, but it is about the whole team. There is no “I” in team, we just tried to go out there and get the win for him. We came up short.”
Sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu
On hitting two free throws to tie the game at 57 with 8 seconds remaining...
“I just got on the line and tried to make the two free throws to extend the game. We practice free throws every single day and it’s something coach emphasizes.”
Opening statement...
“Obviously, it was a tough game for us. For Pittsburgh, it was a great game. Tempo was the name of this game and I thought they got the tempo going the way they wanted to. Defensively, we were okay, but it comes down to making plays at the end. They made some plays. We got it tied up with eight seconds to go. [We] had a lot of chances to get some distance with ourselves. We didn’t take care of the basketball. [We’ve] got a disappointed locker room, but at the same time, we know the sun is going to come up tomorrow. It’s not the end of the world.”
On playing without Julian Champagnie...
“That’s part of the adjustments. We found out a few days ago that [he tested positive]. Then, of course, the protocols began. That’s the adjustment for a team. That’s one of your leading scorers [that can’t play], but I told our guys someone else has to step up. At the same time, we’re hopeful that Julain is going to be okay.”
On not being able to extend the lead...
“[We were] not making the right play. We had four turnovers at halftime. We ended up with 14. We always talk about momentum. Our defense is a big part of what we do. If you get a chance to score, it really amps up your defense. It was kind of like shooting yourself in the foot. I think our guys were trying. Let’s give Pitt some credit too. I thought they didn’t give up on plays.”
On the final play...
“I thought we could have not let the guy have a straight-line drive, but he made a play. Let’s give him credit. Dylan [Addae-Wusu] did a good job of getting to the free-throw line and making a couple of free throws. I knew in my heart that we had another stop in us. When you let a team hang around, it comes back to bite you, and it did. He made a good shot.”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On the transition offense..
“I felt like we weren’t running the floor well. When we were getting turnovers we didn’t get out in the open floor. We would slow it down and not look up ahead [for our teammates].”
On missing Julian Champagnie offensively…
“Julian is a great scorer for us, but it is about the whole team. There is no “I” in team, we just tried to go out there and get the win for him. We came up short.”
Sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu
On hitting two free throws to tie the game at 57 with 8 seconds remaining...
“I just got on the line and tried to make the two free throws to extend the game. We practice free throws every single day and it’s something coach emphasizes.”