St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. DePaul
Head Coach Mike Anderson, junior forward Julian Champagnie and graduate student forward Aaron Wheeler spoke with the media prior to their BIG EAST Tournament first round contest with DePaul on Wednesday
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
On playing DePaul in the BIG EAST tournament...
“Well, it’s a new season. Everyone is 0-0. We’re looking forward to playing in the BIG EAST Tournament. Obviously, the winner of that tournament gets the automatic bid to NCAA [Tournament]. That’s our goal, that’s our quest. In tournament play, they always say the first game is the most important game. You survive and you advance. That’s our mindset. [We are] just getting ready to play against a very good DePaul team that’s been playing well – a blue collar, scrappy team that gets at it. This is the rubber match. We played them at our place, our first conference game and then we played them two weeks ago and they got us [in Chicago]. I thought in the game there, we were trying to win with offense. This has got to be a game where we play defense for 40 minutes.”
On Julian Champagnie…
“His story is just unbelievable. From a guy getting ready to go to prep school to a two-time All-BIG EAST [First Team selection], I don’t know if there are many players who have done that here. You’re talking about [doing it] during a pandemic, when the league was really good. You’re talking about one of the guys who in one sense was one of the core three guys that we had coming back, so you know the target is on him. For him to do the things [he has done the last two years] in order for us to continue to play and play at a high level. ... It says a lot about the kid.”
On the team’s mentality entering postseason play…
“Everybody is 0-0. Our guys really feel that way going into [the BIG EAST Tournament]. … [Madison Square Garden] is a place that we have played. We just have to play basketball for 40 minutes. We have to learn from all the games in the past. If you were to go back and look over the season, you would see the missed opportunities. Even our last game, the layups, the free throws stop when you need them. There comes a time when it all comes together and this would be the perfect time.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On playing at the BIG EAST Tournament with fans in the stands…
“I feel like it’s going to be a super fun atmosphere. It’ll be packed, a lot of fans yelling and screaming.”
On the team’s expectations heading into the tournament…
“We have a goal in mind to win the tournament, like every team in the BIG EAST is trying to do. It’s going to be super in-detail for us. We’re going to have to really lock in to get what we want. … We don’t have a choice but to go out and play hard.”
On Posh Alexander earning All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention…
“I’m proud of Posh [Alexander], very proud of him. He came in last year as a freshman, no fans in the stands and he produced for us. He gave us his all. This year he came in and did the same thing over again. … I commend him for playing so hard this year.”
Graduate student Aaron Wheeler…
On what it’s been like playing at St. John’s…
“I’ve been able to play in front of my family almost every game, so that’s been a good experience. … They’re my biggest support system.”
On how he has developed on and off the court …
“I’ve been able to find myself. Coach [Mike] Anderson has really let me just go and I appreciate him for that. I’ve stepped into a different role as a person and became more of a leader. I’ve learned from that and passed my experiences to the younger guys. It’s molded me into a better person.”
On playing DePaul in the BIG EAST tournament...
“Well, it’s a new season. Everyone is 0-0. We’re looking forward to playing in the BIG EAST Tournament. Obviously, the winner of that tournament gets the automatic bid to NCAA [Tournament]. That’s our goal, that’s our quest. In tournament play, they always say the first game is the most important game. You survive and you advance. That’s our mindset. [We are] just getting ready to play against a very good DePaul team that’s been playing well – a blue collar, scrappy team that gets at it. This is the rubber match. We played them at our place, our first conference game and then we played them two weeks ago and they got us [in Chicago]. I thought in the game there, we were trying to win with offense. This has got to be a game where we play defense for 40 minutes.”
On Julian Champagnie…
“His story is just unbelievable. From a guy getting ready to go to prep school to a two-time All-BIG EAST [First Team selection], I don’t know if there are many players who have done that here. You’re talking about [doing it] during a pandemic, when the league was really good. You’re talking about one of the guys who in one sense was one of the core three guys that we had coming back, so you know the target is on him. For him to do the things [he has done the last two years] in order for us to continue to play and play at a high level. ... It says a lot about the kid.”
On the team’s mentality entering postseason play…
“Everybody is 0-0. Our guys really feel that way going into [the BIG EAST Tournament]. … [Madison Square Garden] is a place that we have played. We just have to play basketball for 40 minutes. We have to learn from all the games in the past. If you were to go back and look over the season, you would see the missed opportunities. Even our last game, the layups, the free throws stop when you need them. There comes a time when it all comes together and this would be the perfect time.”
Junior forward Julian Champagnie…
On playing at the BIG EAST Tournament with fans in the stands…
“I feel like it’s going to be a super fun atmosphere. It’ll be packed, a lot of fans yelling and screaming.”
On the team’s expectations heading into the tournament…
“We have a goal in mind to win the tournament, like every team in the BIG EAST is trying to do. It’s going to be super in-detail for us. We’re going to have to really lock in to get what we want. … We don’t have a choice but to go out and play hard.”
On Posh Alexander earning All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention…
“I’m proud of Posh [Alexander], very proud of him. He came in last year as a freshman, no fans in the stands and he produced for us. He gave us his all. This year he came in and did the same thing over again. … I commend him for playing so hard this year.”
Graduate student Aaron Wheeler…
On what it’s been like playing at St. John’s…
“I’ve been able to play in front of my family almost every game, so that’s been a good experience. … They’re my biggest support system.”
On how he has developed on and off the court …
“I’ve been able to find myself. Coach [Mike] Anderson has really let me just go and I appreciate him for that. I’ve stepped into a different role as a person and became more of a leader. I’ve learned from that and passed my experiences to the younger guys. It’s molded me into a better person.”