St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. DePaul
Red Storm junior forward Julian Champagnie, sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu, and Head Coach Mike Anderson spoke with the media after a BIG EAST opening victory, 89-84, over DePaul on Wednesday
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement...
“I’m proud of our guys and of the effort coming off of a pause, not having practiced together in about 18 or 19 days. We found a way to win in conference play. ... Defensively, we did some good things. Of course, offensively, you get the kind of night that Julian [Champagnie] had. It was like he refused to let us go down. Guys did a really good job of getting him the ball, he made some tough shots and rebounded the basketball. I thought on defense he was spectacular. [It is] a good team win. I can’t say enough about Posh [Alexander] who went down and came back. Winning is important to him. He didn’t want to let his team down. We’re a team that has a lot of different parts and we just want to continue to get more parts that are working.”
On Julian Champagnie...
“Nothing surprises me with this kid because he is one of the hardest working kids. I’ve had some pretty good kids that worked hard, Joe Johnson, [who] played for us at Arkansas, and Bobby Portis. He’s in that mold in terms of putting time in on his game. It’s good to see it pay off for him. Each year, he keeps making that next-level improvement, even tonight. It says a lot about him and what kind of player he is.”
On battling back from a five-point second half deficit...
“I thought we had some timeouts and got our composure [back]. I thought we got some other guys in there to give us some energy. O’Mar [Stanley] was one of those guys out there. I thought our energy was good going down the stretch. We dug deep and made stops. We did a good job of making some plays, getting to the basket and the free throw line going down the stretch.”
On what he learned about his team after an 18-day pause...
“Adversity. You rise to the occasion. I thought, tonight, they rose to the occasion. There’s a lot that has been thrown at this team. You think about last year, we didn’t have any COVID situations. This year was a little different. It’s something that nobody has dealt with before. I’m proud [that] they came out and played as a team.”
On what he saw from Dylan Addae-Wusu on the clutch three-pointer...
“I saw a guy that was still in control of himself and wanting to make a play. That play for Dylan sometimes is not even shooting the basketball. He’s put time in on his game. He’s a capable shooter. It was a big shot.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On starting BIG EAST play with a win…
“It was a big win. You always want to start off on a good note and put your best foot forward. I thought we did that tonight. We faced some adversity, but I’m super proud of my teammates for how we fought for that win.”
On a strong return after 24 elapsed days since he’s played in a game…
“I jumped right into workouts my first day out. I was in the gym for four hours. … Getting in the gym, getting my rhythm back, my shot back is what helped me pushed forward. Also, my teammates, none of this is possible without them believing in me. Those were the two main factors in my performance.”
Sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu
On netting a career-high 17 points…
“Everything was in a flow, scoring, lay-ups and back cuts. Shoutout to my teammates for finding me [for open shots] and keeping me motivated after a bad first half. They kept praising me to keep going.”
On draining a deep three to put the Red Storm up six with 28.4 seconds to go...
“My teammates and coaches believe in me to make plays. That’s what I did at the end [of the game] when I had the ball in my hands.”
On teammate Julian Champagnie scoring a game-high 34 points…
“That’s the player he is. I sat back and thought I was inside of a video game. … It was amazing. It shows his work-ethic and how hungry he was to play.”
Opening statement...
“I’m proud of our guys and of the effort coming off of a pause, not having practiced together in about 18 or 19 days. We found a way to win in conference play. ... Defensively, we did some good things. Of course, offensively, you get the kind of night that Julian [Champagnie] had. It was like he refused to let us go down. Guys did a really good job of getting him the ball, he made some tough shots and rebounded the basketball. I thought on defense he was spectacular. [It is] a good team win. I can’t say enough about Posh [Alexander] who went down and came back. Winning is important to him. He didn’t want to let his team down. We’re a team that has a lot of different parts and we just want to continue to get more parts that are working.”
On Julian Champagnie...
“Nothing surprises me with this kid because he is one of the hardest working kids. I’ve had some pretty good kids that worked hard, Joe Johnson, [who] played for us at Arkansas, and Bobby Portis. He’s in that mold in terms of putting time in on his game. It’s good to see it pay off for him. Each year, he keeps making that next-level improvement, even tonight. It says a lot about him and what kind of player he is.”
On battling back from a five-point second half deficit...
“I thought we had some timeouts and got our composure [back]. I thought we got some other guys in there to give us some energy. O’Mar [Stanley] was one of those guys out there. I thought our energy was good going down the stretch. We dug deep and made stops. We did a good job of making some plays, getting to the basket and the free throw line going down the stretch.”
On what he learned about his team after an 18-day pause...
“Adversity. You rise to the occasion. I thought, tonight, they rose to the occasion. There’s a lot that has been thrown at this team. You think about last year, we didn’t have any COVID situations. This year was a little different. It’s something that nobody has dealt with before. I’m proud [that] they came out and played as a team.”
On what he saw from Dylan Addae-Wusu on the clutch three-pointer...
“I saw a guy that was still in control of himself and wanting to make a play. That play for Dylan sometimes is not even shooting the basketball. He’s put time in on his game. He’s a capable shooter. It was a big shot.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On starting BIG EAST play with a win…
“It was a big win. You always want to start off on a good note and put your best foot forward. I thought we did that tonight. We faced some adversity, but I’m super proud of my teammates for how we fought for that win.”
On a strong return after 24 elapsed days since he’s played in a game…
“I jumped right into workouts my first day out. I was in the gym for four hours. … Getting in the gym, getting my rhythm back, my shot back is what helped me pushed forward. Also, my teammates, none of this is possible without them believing in me. Those were the two main factors in my performance.”
Sophomore guard Dylan Addae-Wusu
On netting a career-high 17 points…
“Everything was in a flow, scoring, lay-ups and back cuts. Shoutout to my teammates for finding me [for open shots] and keeping me motivated after a bad first half. They kept praising me to keep going.”
On draining a deep three to put the Red Storm up six with 28.4 seconds to go...
“My teammates and coaches believe in me to make plays. That’s what I did at the end [of the game] when I had the ball in my hands.”
On teammate Julian Champagnie scoring a game-high 34 points…
“That’s the player he is. I sat back and thought I was inside of a video game. … It was amazing. It shows his work-ethic and how hungry he was to play.”