St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball at Seton Hall
Red Storm Head Coach Mike Anderson, graduate student Aaron Wheeler and sophomore Posh Alexander spoke with the media after an 84-63 victory over Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement...
“… Give credit to these guys, coming over in a different environment and they played one of our most complete games. It started off with the starters and then the guys that came off the bench. Our energy level was totally different from when we played [Seton Hall] a couple days ago. That’s all we talked about. We were playing hard and we need to play smarter to play the basketball we’re capable of playing. I thought guys played with a mindset, they trusted each other. In the first half we had 15 [made] field goals, we had 13 assists on that, that’s sharing the basketball. If you think back to the last time we played them, they had 12 blocked shots, but it was totally different this time. We were active on the glass. It was the tale of two games. We were fortunate we made shots, especially on the road. That’s very important. Our guys came with it and I thought they played well.”
On Posh Alexander’s performance after the sophomore guard netted a game-high 19 points…
“[Posh Alexander] played his butt off. He is a general out on the floor, rebounding and assists. We’ve seen this before. I told him he’s got to do that every game. He and I were just talking that it just felt right tonight, for the whole team. We played instinctively, we trusted one another, our defense was intact and we shared the basketball. We know what he’s made of. He responded well [tonight].”
On counting on his bench…
“Tonight, our different recipe was the guys coming off the bench. O’Mar Stanley, Esahia [Nywie], Stef Smith and Tareq Coburn. When those guys [play well] now all the sudden they have to worry about more than just Posh [Alexander], Julian [Champagnie], Dylan [Addae-Wusu] and Aaron [Wheeler]. The key is continuing to get those guys to give us positive and efficient minutes. That’s what those guys gave us [tonight].”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On the aggressive style of play tonight…
“We love it. We practice playing [aggressive] every day. ... Last game, we were not really playing defense. When we got home we talked about defense. Defense and rebounding is what we did today. That was a big part of the outcome of the game.”
On a rebounding from a loss to Seton Hall just two days ago …
“We came together and watched the game as a team. We talked about how we weren’t rebounding, we weren’t playing defense and we talked about being on top of each other on offense. We came out today, we played better basketball, we rebounded and did what we were supposed to do.”
Graduate student forward Aaron Wheeler…
On being part of a St. John’s game inside Walsh Gymnasium for the first time since 1985…
“I thought it was fun in there. It felt like everybody was on top of you. ... I thought it was a great environment overall.”
On the importance of quality play from the bench…
“It definitely helps when guys are coming off the bench and providing great minutes. It’s uplifting. Our bench had a lot of energy of tonight. It gives us a different element to our team when everyone is playing well.”
Opening statement...
“… Give credit to these guys, coming over in a different environment and they played one of our most complete games. It started off with the starters and then the guys that came off the bench. Our energy level was totally different from when we played [Seton Hall] a couple days ago. That’s all we talked about. We were playing hard and we need to play smarter to play the basketball we’re capable of playing. I thought guys played with a mindset, they trusted each other. In the first half we had 15 [made] field goals, we had 13 assists on that, that’s sharing the basketball. If you think back to the last time we played them, they had 12 blocked shots, but it was totally different this time. We were active on the glass. It was the tale of two games. We were fortunate we made shots, especially on the road. That’s very important. Our guys came with it and I thought they played well.”
On Posh Alexander’s performance after the sophomore guard netted a game-high 19 points…
“[Posh Alexander] played his butt off. He is a general out on the floor, rebounding and assists. We’ve seen this before. I told him he’s got to do that every game. He and I were just talking that it just felt right tonight, for the whole team. We played instinctively, we trusted one another, our defense was intact and we shared the basketball. We know what he’s made of. He responded well [tonight].”
On counting on his bench…
“Tonight, our different recipe was the guys coming off the bench. O’Mar Stanley, Esahia [Nywie], Stef Smith and Tareq Coburn. When those guys [play well] now all the sudden they have to worry about more than just Posh [Alexander], Julian [Champagnie], Dylan [Addae-Wusu] and Aaron [Wheeler]. The key is continuing to get those guys to give us positive and efficient minutes. That’s what those guys gave us [tonight].”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On the aggressive style of play tonight…
“We love it. We practice playing [aggressive] every day. ... Last game, we were not really playing defense. When we got home we talked about defense. Defense and rebounding is what we did today. That was a big part of the outcome of the game.”
On a rebounding from a loss to Seton Hall just two days ago …
“We came together and watched the game as a team. We talked about how we weren’t rebounding, we weren’t playing defense and we talked about being on top of each other on offense. We came out today, we played better basketball, we rebounded and did what we were supposed to do.”
Graduate student forward Aaron Wheeler…
On being part of a St. John’s game inside Walsh Gymnasium for the first time since 1985…
“I thought it was fun in there. It felt like everybody was on top of you. ... I thought it was a great environment overall.”
On the importance of quality play from the bench…
“It definitely helps when guys are coming off the bench and providing great minutes. It’s uplifting. Our bench had a lot of energy of tonight. It gives us a different element to our team when everyone is playing well.”