St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball at Creighton
Head Coach Mike Anderson and graduate student forward Aaron Wheeler spoke with the media following the 87-64 defeat at Creighton
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement...
“First of all, Creighton did what they were supposed to and held serve at home. … They played with a lot of energy. It seemed like we were just a half-step slow in a lot of different areas. … I thought our defense was not very good tonight for our standards. We gave up 87 points. They shot the ball extremely well, that’s what they do. I was disappointed in our effort on the boards. We have to be more physical down there and keep them off the glass. Again, it was one of those nights where if you don’t come out and defend you’re going to pay for it. They made three-point shots, [grabbed] rebounds. [Alex] O’Connell was in a zone and their freshman [Arthur] Kaluma, they were making shots and played with a lot of confidence.”
On what he thought went wrong tonight …
“If you don’t shoot it well, aren’t rebounding well and the team [Creighton] shot it as well as they shot it, that’s what’s going to happen, especially in our league. We missed a lot of shots, a lot of lay-ups. ... I thought one of the defining plays came in the first half, we were down seven and they came up with a four-point play. I thought that spearheaded them right before halftime.”
On what Creighton did well offensively…
“I thought we were a half-step slow, we were late on rotations and knowing who the shooters are. The first shot of the game, [Ryan] Hawkins pulls up and we know his kind of range. It’s what we talked about in the scouting report. We have to be ready to make him drive him and we gave him the cushion to shoot it. One thing about shooters is once they get their confidence a lot of things take place. [Hawkins] started to making them, they got their confidence up, all the sudden [Alex] O’Connell made shots, then the freshman [Arthur] Kaluma gets to making them. … They have a good team.”
On the offensive struggle…
“We missed a lot of lay-ups. … In order to spearhead your defense you have to be able to score. We missed a lot of threes. We tried to attack the basket and they did a good job of blocking shots.”
On his thoughts moving forward…
“We will look at the film and see what went on. We will get back and find out where we are and continue [to work]. One game doesn’t make the season, with that being said these guys are working hard and we will continue to improve every single day. … We have a lot of basketball left.”
Graduate student forward Aaron Wheeler…
On the team’s performance tonight…
“Overall, we have to be more disciplined. We allowed them to get on the break and find open shooters that were hitting [shots]. Like Coach [Mike Anderson] was saying, we have to be more physical on the glass. Me and all the guys have to slide in, especially when we are playing small like that. We have to find a way to get those rebounds. … Overall, this is definitely something we can learn from.”
On playing on the road in the BIG EAST…
“Coming out on the road, we have to be ten times better. We still have yet to get a road win, so we have to figure out how to win on the road. It’s a tough league, so we have to figure out how to get the win. We will learn from this.”
Opening statement...
“First of all, Creighton did what they were supposed to and held serve at home. … They played with a lot of energy. It seemed like we were just a half-step slow in a lot of different areas. … I thought our defense was not very good tonight for our standards. We gave up 87 points. They shot the ball extremely well, that’s what they do. I was disappointed in our effort on the boards. We have to be more physical down there and keep them off the glass. Again, it was one of those nights where if you don’t come out and defend you’re going to pay for it. They made three-point shots, [grabbed] rebounds. [Alex] O’Connell was in a zone and their freshman [Arthur] Kaluma, they were making shots and played with a lot of confidence.”
On what he thought went wrong tonight …
“If you don’t shoot it well, aren’t rebounding well and the team [Creighton] shot it as well as they shot it, that’s what’s going to happen, especially in our league. We missed a lot of shots, a lot of lay-ups. ... I thought one of the defining plays came in the first half, we were down seven and they came up with a four-point play. I thought that spearheaded them right before halftime.”
On what Creighton did well offensively…
“I thought we were a half-step slow, we were late on rotations and knowing who the shooters are. The first shot of the game, [Ryan] Hawkins pulls up and we know his kind of range. It’s what we talked about in the scouting report. We have to be ready to make him drive him and we gave him the cushion to shoot it. One thing about shooters is once they get their confidence a lot of things take place. [Hawkins] started to making them, they got their confidence up, all the sudden [Alex] O’Connell made shots, then the freshman [Arthur] Kaluma gets to making them. … They have a good team.”
On the offensive struggle…
“We missed a lot of lay-ups. … In order to spearhead your defense you have to be able to score. We missed a lot of threes. We tried to attack the basket and they did a good job of blocking shots.”
On his thoughts moving forward…
“We will look at the film and see what went on. We will get back and find out where we are and continue [to work]. One game doesn’t make the season, with that being said these guys are working hard and we will continue to improve every single day. … We have a lot of basketball left.”
Graduate student forward Aaron Wheeler…
On the team’s performance tonight…
“Overall, we have to be more disciplined. We allowed them to get on the break and find open shooters that were hitting [shots]. Like Coach [Mike Anderson] was saying, we have to be more physical on the glass. Me and all the guys have to slide in, especially when we are playing small like that. We have to find a way to get those rebounds. … Overall, this is definitely something we can learn from.”
On playing on the road in the BIG EAST…
“Coming out on the road, we have to be ten times better. We still have yet to get a road win, so we have to figure out how to win on the road. It’s a tough league, so we have to figure out how to get the win. We will learn from this.”