St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. Butler
Red Storm Head Coach Mike Anderson, junior forward Julian Champagnie and sophomore guard Posh Alexander spoke with the media following a 91-57 win over Butler
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement…
“It was a really good team effort. ... Julian [Champagnie] was outstanding, Posh [Alexander] was outstanding, and our defense was outstanding. To hold them under 60 points, that was one of the goals we talked about. At the same time, we made shots. Our defense really ignited that. At the first timeout, I think we had two deflections, and over the course of the game, I think ended up at 30. That told me the energy that our guys were playing with was not there in the first four or five minutes, but it picked up. It’s next game up. We’ve got to enjoy it until midnight and then move on.”
On the state of the team…
“We’re getting more guys contributing. I think that’s the biggest key. I think they understand their roles. They understand defensively what we’re trying to do. It’s coming together at the right time. I’ve said that it’s a process. We’re getting more contributions. There are guys that are more consistent. You look at Joel [Soriano] in that first half, he was fantastic. I thought he was active, rebounding and finishing off plays. Guys continue to share the basketball. With Julian [Champagnie] in that zone, that makes an even more dangerous team.”
On Posh Alexander as a catalyst…
“He can have an effect defensively as well as offensively. I think that’s what you’re seeing. I thought we were speeding [Butler] up during the [last 10 minutes of the first half]. When teams come, they’re prepared. They’re prepared for our pressure defense. They come in and they try to execute, but through the course of a game, fatigue creeps in there. He had a chance to go get some rest and I thought he brought a certain energy level. He was making some unbelievable passes and guys were finishing. Guys were finishing off plays. He’s an igniter. That’s what he did for our team last year and that’s what he does for our team this year.”
On playing at Carnesecca Arena…
“I think that was one of our better performances this year. I thought our fans had fun tonight. Our guys brought it. It started off with a little lull, but once we picked it up, I think our fans got into it. It injected a lot of energy with our players. You can see our students and our fans, the band and the cheerleaders. When you get that in the place we practice every day, then you’re familiar with that. You have to protect the home court. We always talk about that. There’s still work to be done.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On the team’s momentum…
“We put it all together as a team. It’s another game we can take and bring into the next game with confidence, that’s what we did today. At Xavier we played pretty well and we took that over to today. The biggest takeaway is to continue to bring that energy.”
On the team’s energy when playing inside Carnesecca Arena…
“We practice here, we play here every day, the shots fall a little different here. I think all of us can attest to that. This is our building.”
On the team’s cohesiveness on the floor tonight…
“It was a good win. We played well, we played together, we played the way coach wanted us to play and it gave us a boost in confidence that we can do it. It felt good, it wasn’t forced. The win at Xavier gave us a little nudge and today [against Butler] was a good win too. … Hopefully it carries over into [Creighton].”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On the state of the team heading into the final stretch…
“We have faith in our team, we have faith in our coaches. We went down a couple games, but we didn’t beat ourselves up. We just moved onto the next. I’m glad to be back to help my team out.”
On the fan support…
“A big shoutout to the fans, they give us that energy and we appreciate them for that.”
Opening Statement…
“It was a really good team effort. ... Julian [Champagnie] was outstanding, Posh [Alexander] was outstanding, and our defense was outstanding. To hold them under 60 points, that was one of the goals we talked about. At the same time, we made shots. Our defense really ignited that. At the first timeout, I think we had two deflections, and over the course of the game, I think ended up at 30. That told me the energy that our guys were playing with was not there in the first four or five minutes, but it picked up. It’s next game up. We’ve got to enjoy it until midnight and then move on.”
On the state of the team…
“We’re getting more guys contributing. I think that’s the biggest key. I think they understand their roles. They understand defensively what we’re trying to do. It’s coming together at the right time. I’ve said that it’s a process. We’re getting more contributions. There are guys that are more consistent. You look at Joel [Soriano] in that first half, he was fantastic. I thought he was active, rebounding and finishing off plays. Guys continue to share the basketball. With Julian [Champagnie] in that zone, that makes an even more dangerous team.”
On Posh Alexander as a catalyst…
“He can have an effect defensively as well as offensively. I think that’s what you’re seeing. I thought we were speeding [Butler] up during the [last 10 minutes of the first half]. When teams come, they’re prepared. They’re prepared for our pressure defense. They come in and they try to execute, but through the course of a game, fatigue creeps in there. He had a chance to go get some rest and I thought he brought a certain energy level. He was making some unbelievable passes and guys were finishing. Guys were finishing off plays. He’s an igniter. That’s what he did for our team last year and that’s what he does for our team this year.”
On playing at Carnesecca Arena…
“I think that was one of our better performances this year. I thought our fans had fun tonight. Our guys brought it. It started off with a little lull, but once we picked it up, I think our fans got into it. It injected a lot of energy with our players. You can see our students and our fans, the band and the cheerleaders. When you get that in the place we practice every day, then you’re familiar with that. You have to protect the home court. We always talk about that. There’s still work to be done.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On the team’s momentum…
“We put it all together as a team. It’s another game we can take and bring into the next game with confidence, that’s what we did today. At Xavier we played pretty well and we took that over to today. The biggest takeaway is to continue to bring that energy.”
On the team’s energy when playing inside Carnesecca Arena…
“We practice here, we play here every day, the shots fall a little different here. I think all of us can attest to that. This is our building.”
On the team’s cohesiveness on the floor tonight…
“It was a good win. We played well, we played together, we played the way coach wanted us to play and it gave us a boost in confidence that we can do it. It felt good, it wasn’t forced. The win at Xavier gave us a little nudge and today [against Butler] was a good win too. … Hopefully it carries over into [Creighton].”
Sophomore guard Posh Alexander…
On the state of the team heading into the final stretch…
“We have faith in our team, we have faith in our coaches. We went down a couple games, but we didn’t beat ourselves up. We just moved onto the next. I’m glad to be back to help my team out.”
On the fan support…
“A big shoutout to the fans, they give us that energy and we appreciate them for that.”