St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Fordham
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson, sophomore guard Posh Alexander and junior forward Esahia Nyiwe spoke with the media after a 83-69 win over Fordham
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement…
“It was a very good effort from our basketball team and a very good effort from Fordham. It was like a neighborhood brawl, it seemed like. They wouldn’t go away and that’s a credit to the coaching staff and their players. At the same time, I thought we had some continuity with our basketball team tonight. We inserted some new blood in the lineup, and sure enough, those guys came out and did the things that I thought they would do. They’ve been doing it in practice, so it was an opportunity to go out and put it on display. Dylan [Addae-Wusu], you can see it now, he’s more ready to play. Coming off that injury, I thought it really affected him. He is a glue guy. He’s one of those guys that makes us go. It was a good team win. We’ll take it and move on to the next.”
On the status of the team...
“We’re still a work in progress. I want to get it where we put 40 minutes together. We were almost there and then Fordham made a tremendous run. It’s a game of runs and I always want to have that last one. We had that last one tonight. If we make some free throws, going down the stretch, I think the cushion would have been bigger. We’re still a work in progress. We still have some things we need to iron out.”
On what the team did well tonight...
“If you look at the last game we played [against Kansas], we got annihilated on the glass. I thought we did a much better job of taking care of the glass with multiple guys getting rebounds. That’s the emphasis. It was about defense. We kept them in the 60s. They were a three-point shooting team and teams have been lighting it up on us. Tonight, they were 10-for-32 [from three]. Sometimes if you live by it, you could die by it. I thought we did a good job of coming up with loose balls. I thought wear and tear was a big part of it and we attacked the basket.”
On why he made a change in the starting lineup...
“I’m all about opportunities, guys showing it to me in practice. I’ve done it games. You’ve seen me shake it up a halftime. It’s all about opportunity.”
On Esahia Nyiwe defensive play...
“He knows when to switch. He knows when to hedge. He just has great instincts. I thought we saw that on display. He’s never in a hurry.”
On if tonight’s result was a step in a positive direction...
“Yes, I really believe that. I thought we came out with energy. We came out with a purpose. We stayed true to the script. I thought guys went out there and laid it on the line. We had charges taken. I thought we did a better job of cutting guys off and making them kick it out. It was a concerted effort.”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander
On his thoughts on the team’s progress...
“We’re coming together. It’s a new group of guys on this team. We are just trying to figure what we can do. Everyone brings something different and our chemistry is improving. Moving forward, I think we are a good team that just has to stay focused, take it day-by-day and get better in practice.”
On the team’s overall effort tonight…
“As a unit, everyone played great. Going forward, I think we are going to play our best basketball and I’m glad we showed that today. We just really focused on defense for the whole entire game.”
On Esahia Nyiwe’s impact when on the floor…
“He brings a lot of athleticism, shot-blocking and defensive ability. [Offensively], he can play around the rim and dunk. He talks a lot on the court and he helps out others telling us to watch the backdoor or whether a screen is to the left or the right. Those are the things he brings to the team that we really appreciate.”
Junior forward Esahia Nyiwe
On making his first-career start tonight…
“Coach [Mike Anderson] gave me the opportunity to start today and I thought to myself that I just had to go in there and do what I do best. I didn’t want to take this opportunity for granted and my teammates helped pick me up to play my best.”
On his defensive effort after recording a game-high three blocks…
“I thought I played pretty well [defensively]. I tried to be versatile and help out with their guards. I was able to block shots and help anchor on the defensive end by communicating. We got the win, that’s the most important thing.”
Opening statement…
“It was a very good effort from our basketball team and a very good effort from Fordham. It was like a neighborhood brawl, it seemed like. They wouldn’t go away and that’s a credit to the coaching staff and their players. At the same time, I thought we had some continuity with our basketball team tonight. We inserted some new blood in the lineup, and sure enough, those guys came out and did the things that I thought they would do. They’ve been doing it in practice, so it was an opportunity to go out and put it on display. Dylan [Addae-Wusu], you can see it now, he’s more ready to play. Coming off that injury, I thought it really affected him. He is a glue guy. He’s one of those guys that makes us go. It was a good team win. We’ll take it and move on to the next.”
On the status of the team...
“We’re still a work in progress. I want to get it where we put 40 minutes together. We were almost there and then Fordham made a tremendous run. It’s a game of runs and I always want to have that last one. We had that last one tonight. If we make some free throws, going down the stretch, I think the cushion would have been bigger. We’re still a work in progress. We still have some things we need to iron out.”
On what the team did well tonight...
“If you look at the last game we played [against Kansas], we got annihilated on the glass. I thought we did a much better job of taking care of the glass with multiple guys getting rebounds. That’s the emphasis. It was about defense. We kept them in the 60s. They were a three-point shooting team and teams have been lighting it up on us. Tonight, they were 10-for-32 [from three]. Sometimes if you live by it, you could die by it. I thought we did a good job of coming up with loose balls. I thought wear and tear was a big part of it and we attacked the basket.”
On why he made a change in the starting lineup...
“I’m all about opportunities, guys showing it to me in practice. I’ve done it games. You’ve seen me shake it up a halftime. It’s all about opportunity.”
On Esahia Nyiwe defensive play...
“He knows when to switch. He knows when to hedge. He just has great instincts. I thought we saw that on display. He’s never in a hurry.”
On if tonight’s result was a step in a positive direction...
“Yes, I really believe that. I thought we came out with energy. We came out with a purpose. We stayed true to the script. I thought guys went out there and laid it on the line. We had charges taken. I thought we did a better job of cutting guys off and making them kick it out. It was a concerted effort.”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander
On his thoughts on the team’s progress...
“We’re coming together. It’s a new group of guys on this team. We are just trying to figure what we can do. Everyone brings something different and our chemistry is improving. Moving forward, I think we are a good team that just has to stay focused, take it day-by-day and get better in practice.”
On the team’s overall effort tonight…
“As a unit, everyone played great. Going forward, I think we are going to play our best basketball and I’m glad we showed that today. We just really focused on defense for the whole entire game.”
On Esahia Nyiwe’s impact when on the floor…
“He brings a lot of athleticism, shot-blocking and defensive ability. [Offensively], he can play around the rim and dunk. He talks a lot on the court and he helps out others telling us to watch the backdoor or whether a screen is to the left or the right. Those are the things he brings to the team that we really appreciate.”
Junior forward Esahia Nyiwe
On making his first-career start tonight…
“Coach [Mike Anderson] gave me the opportunity to start today and I thought to myself that I just had to go in there and do what I do best. I didn’t want to take this opportunity for granted and my teammates helped pick me up to play my best.”
On his defensive effort after recording a game-high three blocks…
“I thought I played pretty well [defensively]. I tried to be versatile and help out with their guards. I was able to block shots and help anchor on the defensive end by communicating. We got the win, that’s the most important thing.”