St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. No. 24/23 Connecticut
Head Coach Mike Anderson and junior Julian Champagnie spoke with the media after falling to No. 24/23 Connecticut, 63-60, at Madison Square Garden
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement...
“First of all, it was a defensive game. I thought UConn had a little grit there at the end. They were able to get some rebounds and made some free throws. We had opportunities to make plays and we just came up short again. It wasn’t because of the lack of effort. Sometimes it’s a lack of execution. I told our guys that this one falls on me. Maybe I didn’t have the right people out there at the right time or I didn’t use my timeouts properly, but we were in position. It’s another game in the BIG EAST. I thought free throws could be the difference in this game going down the stretch. [Connecticut] came up with some offensive rebounds and stick-backs and there you have the game. We always talk about how the little things add up, and today they just had a little more grit going down the stretch than we did.”
On the struggles around the rim…
“That’s a mystery to me. It’s something we work on every single day. It kind of befuddles me that guys aren’t finishing. We’re getting the opportunities, we’re just not finishing.”
On Montez Mathis’ performance…
“I thought he played aggressively. He was more assertive. You could see it even on the first play. He attacked the basket. I’m looking for emotion. In order to win in the BIG EAST, you have to have that kind of grit. In the second half, he was a big part of that run we made. He was attacking the basket, and he was finishing and getting to the free throw line. He responded the right way.”
On Dylan Addae-Wusu’s versatility…
“He’s a guy that fills a lot of holes. He had to do a whole lot, played a lot of minutes. He’s a glue guy and now he’s one of our featured ball-handlers. On one hand, it’s good that he can do that, but I think it takes away some of the other things that he can do for our basketball team.”
On getting over the hump in close games…
“We just have to keep putting ourselves in position and eventually make plays to get over the hump. That’s the biggest key. We put ourselves in position, but that doesn’t get it done. We have to make those plays. We have to make those layups, we have to get to the free throw line. If we’re not scoring, we’re not letting the opponent score. That’s the mindset. We’re right there. In this conference, all teams are good. It’s just [a matter of] can you do enough of the little things to find ways to win. That’s the thing we haven’t done consistently.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On falling on the wrong end of so many close games…
“As a player, it’s frustrating. We go out every night and give it our all. If a game is decided by one or two possessions or a free throw, it’s frustrating. At the same time, we have a game on Wednesday, onto the next one.”
On the team’s mindset with a road contest at No. 25 Xavier on Wedneseday …
“The mindset doesn’t change game-to-game. When we play anybody we have to go in there with a tough mindset and tell ourselves we have to do what we have to do. Our mind is on winning the basketball game and doing whatever we can to win the basketball game. I think that’s going to be the same thing going into Wednesday.”
On the team’s shot-making difficulties…
“The amount of lay-ups we miss a game is unacceptable. We have to get better, that plays a big part. We have to make shots. When we have open opportunities, we have to knock them down. We take a lot of contested shots every game. … We have to get better at it, that goes for myself and everybody else.”
Opening statement...
“First of all, it was a defensive game. I thought UConn had a little grit there at the end. They were able to get some rebounds and made some free throws. We had opportunities to make plays and we just came up short again. It wasn’t because of the lack of effort. Sometimes it’s a lack of execution. I told our guys that this one falls on me. Maybe I didn’t have the right people out there at the right time or I didn’t use my timeouts properly, but we were in position. It’s another game in the BIG EAST. I thought free throws could be the difference in this game going down the stretch. [Connecticut] came up with some offensive rebounds and stick-backs and there you have the game. We always talk about how the little things add up, and today they just had a little more grit going down the stretch than we did.”
On the struggles around the rim…
“That’s a mystery to me. It’s something we work on every single day. It kind of befuddles me that guys aren’t finishing. We’re getting the opportunities, we’re just not finishing.”
On Montez Mathis’ performance…
“I thought he played aggressively. He was more assertive. You could see it even on the first play. He attacked the basket. I’m looking for emotion. In order to win in the BIG EAST, you have to have that kind of grit. In the second half, he was a big part of that run we made. He was attacking the basket, and he was finishing and getting to the free throw line. He responded the right way.”
On Dylan Addae-Wusu’s versatility…
“He’s a guy that fills a lot of holes. He had to do a whole lot, played a lot of minutes. He’s a glue guy and now he’s one of our featured ball-handlers. On one hand, it’s good that he can do that, but I think it takes away some of the other things that he can do for our basketball team.”
On getting over the hump in close games…
“We just have to keep putting ourselves in position and eventually make plays to get over the hump. That’s the biggest key. We put ourselves in position, but that doesn’t get it done. We have to make those plays. We have to make those layups, we have to get to the free throw line. If we’re not scoring, we’re not letting the opponent score. That’s the mindset. We’re right there. In this conference, all teams are good. It’s just [a matter of] can you do enough of the little things to find ways to win. That’s the thing we haven’t done consistently.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On falling on the wrong end of so many close games…
“As a player, it’s frustrating. We go out every night and give it our all. If a game is decided by one or two possessions or a free throw, it’s frustrating. At the same time, we have a game on Wednesday, onto the next one.”
On the team’s mindset with a road contest at No. 25 Xavier on Wedneseday …
“The mindset doesn’t change game-to-game. When we play anybody we have to go in there with a tough mindset and tell ourselves we have to do what we have to do. Our mind is on winning the basketball game and doing whatever we can to win the basketball game. I think that’s going to be the same thing going into Wednesday.”
On the team’s shot-making difficulties…
“The amount of lay-ups we miss a game is unacceptable. We have to get better, that plays a big part. We have to make shots. When we have open opportunities, we have to knock them down. We take a lot of contested shots every game. … We have to get better at it, that goes for myself and everybody else.”