St. John's University Athletics
QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball Media Day
Red Storm Head Coach Mike Anderson and St. John’s Student-Athletes Participate in 2022-23 Media Day inside Carnesecca Arena on Thursday
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement…
“[It’s] good to see everybody here. It’s basketball season. It just feels like basketball season is right around the corner. There is a lot of excitement and we have a chance to get a sneak preview of our basketball team. I’m even more excited because we have an idea of what we’re working with. Our job as coaches and as a staff is to mesh this team and make it become a team. We have a lot of talent, probably the most talent I’ve had since I’ve been here. [We] have more guys who fit what we’re doing. We have eight guys that are coming back that we brought in and fit what we’re doing in our system. My last picture of this team was the Villanova game [in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals] where I saw the hurt and the feeling that our guys had at the end of that game was something we built on throughout this summer. The biggest key is the core guys that are coming back. We have an opportunity to play in the BIG EAST which is a league that is going to be wide open this year. [There are] a lot of teams [in this conference] that are really good, and we’re one of those teams.”
On which returners have taken the biggest jump in the offseason…
“It’s amazing. I was just having a conversation with Posh [Alexander], and my question with him was, ‘From your first year here to where you are right now, do you think you have improved and developed?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Coach. The game has slowed down for me a little bit.’ I think he is changing his body and taking all of the things that happened and try to come back, be a better player and be a leader for our basketball team. Joel [Soriano] continues to play at a level that he with before the season ended. He has to take that same mindset and same swagger into the season.”
On the pressure to win…
“I feel like this team [last year] only had eight or nine games where they made plays down the stretch. That changed the fortunes of our season. Did we learn from that? Did we bring in guys that can add to that? I think so. That being said, the pressure is on for each and every day, trying to get better and become the best team we can be. We have size, we have guard play, we have versatile parts. We got a jump start this summer [with our foreign tour]. I think we’re going to see a big difference with this team.”
On how the team is coming together…
“I think it’s going to be a process. We saw glimpses of it in the Dominican Republic. I played everybody over there. They had some bonding time together. Now that we’ve gotten into practice in the fall, I think they are getting to the point where they want to play somebody other than themselves and find out more. I think there is a big upside to this basketball team as more guys figure out what we are trying to do.”
On having experienced guards…
“I think guard play is very important with any team, but especially with the way we play. I think we have enough of them that if one guy goes down, somebody can jump right in. I think having guys like Andre Curbelo is going to be big for our basketball team. Without a doubt, my successful teams [have had] really good guard play. The depth has been a problem for us here, but I believe we’ve answered that. We’ll see if those guys can go out and perform.”
Junior Guard Posh Alexander
On improving his three-point shooting over the summer...
“That was my main focus the whole summer is to try and shoot the three-ball better. I tried to build confidence and work on my weakness. I felt like that was something I was weak at and I feel like I got better over the summer.”
On playing with fellow point guard Andre Curbelo…
“I like it. It’s fun [having] a guy like that, who is a good point guard and he sees the floor well. He’s smart, having someone who is a pest on defense just like me. It’s just a blessing to have him on this roster. We appreciate him for bringing his talent to St. John’s.”
Senior Center Joel Soriano
On how he plans to continue to improve his game…
“I want to improve every day. One thing I want to do is keep playing hard, coach [Mike Anderson] emphasizes that and be unselfish, be a vocal leader and do whatever I can to help the team win.”
On what the team got out of the foreign tour to the Dominican Republic…
“It was a great experience for me to be back in my motherland. It was a great experience for our team [as well], I feel like we needed it as a team with our newcomers. It was great to bond off-the-court and build chemistry on the court.”
On freshman Kolby King…
“He brings it every day and plays hard. He knows what he has to do to get on the floor. As a player he can really play defense, he plays in the passing lanes and can really pressure on-ball.”
Junior Guard Andre Curbelo
On what he can bring to the team…
“I can bring a lot on defense, by putting a lot of pressure [on opponents]. [Offensively], I get my teammates the ball whenever they need it and be there to lift my teammates up and just be there for them.”
On what it means to return to New York…
“It’s good knowing that you have the right support system and the right people around you, because when things go bad those people will be there for me in regardless. I am happy with the decision I made, I don’t regret anything at all and I am just happy to be a Johnnie.”
Junior Forward David Jones
On his longstanding friendship with teammate Joel Soriano…
“As soon as I entered the transfer portal, Joel [Soriano] called me and said ‘I won’t say too much but you know what to do.’ He reminded me of 2018 when we played together on the [Dominican Republic] national team. It brought back a lot of memories, I feel like Joel is my brother.”
On what he can add to this Red Storm roster…
“[By doing] the little things to get guys going and bring energy to the team, that’s going to be my role for this season.”
Opening statement…
“[It’s] good to see everybody here. It’s basketball season. It just feels like basketball season is right around the corner. There is a lot of excitement and we have a chance to get a sneak preview of our basketball team. I’m even more excited because we have an idea of what we’re working with. Our job as coaches and as a staff is to mesh this team and make it become a team. We have a lot of talent, probably the most talent I’ve had since I’ve been here. [We] have more guys who fit what we’re doing. We have eight guys that are coming back that we brought in and fit what we’re doing in our system. My last picture of this team was the Villanova game [in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals] where I saw the hurt and the feeling that our guys had at the end of that game was something we built on throughout this summer. The biggest key is the core guys that are coming back. We have an opportunity to play in the BIG EAST which is a league that is going to be wide open this year. [There are] a lot of teams [in this conference] that are really good, and we’re one of those teams.”
On which returners have taken the biggest jump in the offseason…
“It’s amazing. I was just having a conversation with Posh [Alexander], and my question with him was, ‘From your first year here to where you are right now, do you think you have improved and developed?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Coach. The game has slowed down for me a little bit.’ I think he is changing his body and taking all of the things that happened and try to come back, be a better player and be a leader for our basketball team. Joel [Soriano] continues to play at a level that he with before the season ended. He has to take that same mindset and same swagger into the season.”
On the pressure to win…
“I feel like this team [last year] only had eight or nine games where they made plays down the stretch. That changed the fortunes of our season. Did we learn from that? Did we bring in guys that can add to that? I think so. That being said, the pressure is on for each and every day, trying to get better and become the best team we can be. We have size, we have guard play, we have versatile parts. We got a jump start this summer [with our foreign tour]. I think we’re going to see a big difference with this team.”
On how the team is coming together…
“I think it’s going to be a process. We saw glimpses of it in the Dominican Republic. I played everybody over there. They had some bonding time together. Now that we’ve gotten into practice in the fall, I think they are getting to the point where they want to play somebody other than themselves and find out more. I think there is a big upside to this basketball team as more guys figure out what we are trying to do.”
On having experienced guards…
“I think guard play is very important with any team, but especially with the way we play. I think we have enough of them that if one guy goes down, somebody can jump right in. I think having guys like Andre Curbelo is going to be big for our basketball team. Without a doubt, my successful teams [have had] really good guard play. The depth has been a problem for us here, but I believe we’ve answered that. We’ll see if those guys can go out and perform.”
Junior Guard Posh Alexander
On improving his three-point shooting over the summer...
“That was my main focus the whole summer is to try and shoot the three-ball better. I tried to build confidence and work on my weakness. I felt like that was something I was weak at and I feel like I got better over the summer.”
On playing with fellow point guard Andre Curbelo…
“I like it. It’s fun [having] a guy like that, who is a good point guard and he sees the floor well. He’s smart, having someone who is a pest on defense just like me. It’s just a blessing to have him on this roster. We appreciate him for bringing his talent to St. John’s.”
Senior Center Joel Soriano
On how he plans to continue to improve his game…
“I want to improve every day. One thing I want to do is keep playing hard, coach [Mike Anderson] emphasizes that and be unselfish, be a vocal leader and do whatever I can to help the team win.”
On what the team got out of the foreign tour to the Dominican Republic…
“It was a great experience for me to be back in my motherland. It was a great experience for our team [as well], I feel like we needed it as a team with our newcomers. It was great to bond off-the-court and build chemistry on the court.”
On freshman Kolby King…
“He brings it every day and plays hard. He knows what he has to do to get on the floor. As a player he can really play defense, he plays in the passing lanes and can really pressure on-ball.”
Junior Guard Andre Curbelo
On what he can bring to the team…
“I can bring a lot on defense, by putting a lot of pressure [on opponents]. [Offensively], I get my teammates the ball whenever they need it and be there to lift my teammates up and just be there for them.”
On what it means to return to New York…
“It’s good knowing that you have the right support system and the right people around you, because when things go bad those people will be there for me in regardless. I am happy with the decision I made, I don’t regret anything at all and I am just happy to be a Johnnie.”
Junior Forward David Jones
On his longstanding friendship with teammate Joel Soriano…
“As soon as I entered the transfer portal, Joel [Soriano] called me and said ‘I won’t say too much but you know what to do.’ He reminded me of 2018 when we played together on the [Dominican Republic] national team. It brought back a lot of memories, I feel like Joel is my brother.”
On what he can add to this Red Storm roster…
“[By doing] the little things to get guys going and bring energy to the team, that’s going to be my role for this season.”