St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Monmouth
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson, sophomore guard Posh Alexander and junior forward Julian Champagnie spoke to the media after an 88-83 win over Monmouth
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement…
“[It was] a very gutty performance by our basketball team. I was really proud of guys making plays going down the stretch. Posh [Alexander] with the deflection off the leg of the opponent. Dylan [Addae-Wusu] makes a big shot [and] makes big free throws going down the stretch for us. Our defense got stops when we needed to. I thought the big key for this game tonight was trying to get the tempo to our liking. Starting off in the game, [Shavar] Reynolds was on his way to having a career night. We did a much better job in the second half. Monmouth is a good basketball team. King Rice has them playing well. They have been road warriors, so we were fortunate. We made enough plays and got the win.”
On Posh Alexander stepping up in big moments...
“He just has a knack for it. I always talk about instinctive guys and that’s hard to teach. Either you have it or you don’t. He just has a knack for it; that’s that ‘it’ factor that people talk about. [He is] not afraid of the moment. [He] leaves his heart and guts out on the floor, and it trickles throughout our basketball team.”
On the importance of team depth...
“I think the lulls are where guys get tired. We have to continue to expand our bench. Our bench was really instrumental in this game tonight. Stef [Smith], he comes in and plays big for us. Monmouth is a good basketball team. They have five graduates that have played a lot of basketball. We [left] the window of opportunity open for them, and that’s the part [where] we have to learn how to finish. At the end of the day, I thought we got a little bit better today.”
On Stef Smith’s improvement...
“I think he’s focused. He’s focused on what he can do and bring to this basketball team. He sits there and analyzes the game. I’ve got a starter coming off the bench and that’s why I talk about our bench. He’s coming out and he’s impacting [the game], understanding his role and what he brings to the basketball team. That’s what I love about him. He’s a scrapper. He’ll get out there, and he’ll fight you. That’s what I’m looking for.”
On the hustle play by Alexander...
“He just made a play. He just has a feel for it. It’s hard to teach that. Some guys shine when the lights are the brightest. He plays to win. I think that’s the bottom line. He made some big free throws down the stretch [as well].”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie
On the team’s stretches of efficient play...
“I feel like we’re having more of those stretches now. We have those moments where we go [on a run] and are ready to push the pedal. We get lost sometimes but I think we are ready to take the next step and finish off games.”
On Posh Alexander’s tenacity on the floor…
“He has a knack for basketball. He’s been doing that for years now. … It’s a special trait that not a lot of people have. We’re fortunate enough to have him to make those kinds of plays for us, especially when we need them.”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On what went through his head during his clutch defensive play down the stretch…
“[Dylan Addae-Wusu] shot the free throw and he missed. Once it missed, I just chased after the rebound. When I saw [Nikkei Rutty] grab the rebound I took the ball. As I was going out of bounds [with the ball] I just threw it off his body. … I was just thinking about winning the game.”
On his mentality at the end of close games…
“I just need to go to the ball and not shy away from big moments. I have to try to make plays to help us win the game.”
Opening statement…
“[It was] a very gutty performance by our basketball team. I was really proud of guys making plays going down the stretch. Posh [Alexander] with the deflection off the leg of the opponent. Dylan [Addae-Wusu] makes a big shot [and] makes big free throws going down the stretch for us. Our defense got stops when we needed to. I thought the big key for this game tonight was trying to get the tempo to our liking. Starting off in the game, [Shavar] Reynolds was on his way to having a career night. We did a much better job in the second half. Monmouth is a good basketball team. King Rice has them playing well. They have been road warriors, so we were fortunate. We made enough plays and got the win.”
On Posh Alexander stepping up in big moments...
“He just has a knack for it. I always talk about instinctive guys and that’s hard to teach. Either you have it or you don’t. He just has a knack for it; that’s that ‘it’ factor that people talk about. [He is] not afraid of the moment. [He] leaves his heart and guts out on the floor, and it trickles throughout our basketball team.”
On the importance of team depth...
“I think the lulls are where guys get tired. We have to continue to expand our bench. Our bench was really instrumental in this game tonight. Stef [Smith], he comes in and plays big for us. Monmouth is a good basketball team. They have five graduates that have played a lot of basketball. We [left] the window of opportunity open for them, and that’s the part [where] we have to learn how to finish. At the end of the day, I thought we got a little bit better today.”
On Stef Smith’s improvement...
“I think he’s focused. He’s focused on what he can do and bring to this basketball team. He sits there and analyzes the game. I’ve got a starter coming off the bench and that’s why I talk about our bench. He’s coming out and he’s impacting [the game], understanding his role and what he brings to the basketball team. That’s what I love about him. He’s a scrapper. He’ll get out there, and he’ll fight you. That’s what I’m looking for.”
On the hustle play by Alexander...
“He just made a play. He just has a feel for it. It’s hard to teach that. Some guys shine when the lights are the brightest. He plays to win. I think that’s the bottom line. He made some big free throws down the stretch [as well].”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie
On the team’s stretches of efficient play...
“I feel like we’re having more of those stretches now. We have those moments where we go [on a run] and are ready to push the pedal. We get lost sometimes but I think we are ready to take the next step and finish off games.”
On Posh Alexander’s tenacity on the floor…
“He has a knack for basketball. He’s been doing that for years now. … It’s a special trait that not a lot of people have. We’re fortunate enough to have him to make those kinds of plays for us, especially when we need them.”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On what went through his head during his clutch defensive play down the stretch…
“[Dylan Addae-Wusu] shot the free throw and he missed. Once it missed, I just chased after the rebound. When I saw [Nikkei Rutty] grab the rebound I took the ball. As I was going out of bounds [with the ball] I just threw it off his body. … I was just thinking about winning the game.”
On his mentality at the end of close games…
“I just need to go to the ball and not shy away from big moments. I have to try to make plays to help us win the game.”