St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball at Butler
Red Storm Head Coach Mike Anderson and junior wing Julian Champagnie spoke with the media after a 75-72 win at Butler, the program’s first win at Hinkle Fieldhouse since 2014
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening statement...
“[Butler] came out and that was probably one of their best shooting nights. Everybody was knocking shots down and we were fortunate to get into halftime with the score tied. [Give] credit to our guys. They’ve done a good job of taking ownership of the team. You’re seeing them huddle up and talk about what they want to get done. The biggest difference in this game was the free-throw line. We got there and we knocked them down. I thought that was a great equalizer. We only made two 3-pointers, but I thought we did a good job of attacking the basket and taking what their defense was giving us. We took care of the basketball. It was a great ball game, going back and forth. We were fortunate to come out with the win.”
On not shooting well from beyond-the-arc…
“We just didn’t make shots. We had open looks, we just didn’t make them. I think sometimes tempo can have something to do with it. ... Their defense right there and they guard the guys that can shoot it. [Butler is] a good defensive team. They’ve always been a good defensive team.”
On what changed in the last eight minutes…
“We took what they were giving us. They were guarding the three-point line. I thought our guys did a good job of getting ball movement. Guys were also cutting to the basket and finishing. I thought that was the biggest difference there. They did some switching on their defense, but our guys found the gaps, got to the lane and made shots. One thing about Julian [Champagnie] is that he gets a lot of attention, so that gives other guys an opportunity to score or get to the basket. I thought we did that. The difference, also, was that we made free throws. You look at the games we’ve come up short, it’s because [we were] not making free throws.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie
On winning a close game…
“We always talk about pulling games out and finding a way to win. Today, the message before the game was by any means necessary. We’re taking that into consideration and making that our thing. [We’re trying] to pull games out on the road and at home. I think it’s coming together. We’re doing what we have to do. We’re looking to stack good days.”
Opening statement...
“[Butler] came out and that was probably one of their best shooting nights. Everybody was knocking shots down and we were fortunate to get into halftime with the score tied. [Give] credit to our guys. They’ve done a good job of taking ownership of the team. You’re seeing them huddle up and talk about what they want to get done. The biggest difference in this game was the free-throw line. We got there and we knocked them down. I thought that was a great equalizer. We only made two 3-pointers, but I thought we did a good job of attacking the basket and taking what their defense was giving us. We took care of the basketball. It was a great ball game, going back and forth. We were fortunate to come out with the win.”
On not shooting well from beyond-the-arc…
“We just didn’t make shots. We had open looks, we just didn’t make them. I think sometimes tempo can have something to do with it. ... Their defense right there and they guard the guys that can shoot it. [Butler is] a good defensive team. They’ve always been a good defensive team.”
On what changed in the last eight minutes…
“We took what they were giving us. They were guarding the three-point line. I thought our guys did a good job of getting ball movement. Guys were also cutting to the basket and finishing. I thought that was the biggest difference there. They did some switching on their defense, but our guys found the gaps, got to the lane and made shots. One thing about Julian [Champagnie] is that he gets a lot of attention, so that gives other guys an opportunity to score or get to the basket. I thought we did that. The difference, also, was that we made free throws. You look at the games we’ve come up short, it’s because [we were] not making free throws.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie
On winning a close game…
“We always talk about pulling games out and finding a way to win. Today, the message before the game was by any means necessary. We’re taking that into consideration and making that our thing. [We’re trying] to pull games out on the road and at home. I think it’s coming together. We’re doing what we have to do. We’re looking to stack good days.”