St. John's University Athletics
MEDIA AVAILIABILITY QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Villanova
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson, senior center Joel Soriano and sophomore guard Rafael Pinzon spoke with the media ahead of Friday night’s matchup with Villanova at Madison Square Garden
St. John’s Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement…
“We move on to the next game in the BIG EAST. We get a chance to play at our other home, Madison Square Garden. I think our guys are looking forward to playing. Hopefully, we’ll play a lot better than the last time we played against Villanova. We’re looking forward to building on what has taken place with our team. I think we’re getting more in sync defensively, and I think that translates to our offense as well. The development of our bench has been big. We have balance now between guys starting and guys coming off the bench. The key is consistency, and it starts with our defense.”
On the direction of the team…
“I think we’re moving in the right direction. You saw some of that in the Providence [game even though] we came up short. We did a lot of good things and I thought we took that to the next game. It was good to see us go from start to finish in the Connecticut game. Our defense was good and we shared the ball, offensively. I thought we had great energy and played with physicality. That’s where the bench comes into play. They played efficient basketball.”
On Villanova…
“I think the freshman [Cam Whitmore] is playing much better and they still have [Caleb] Daniels over there. They still play a certain way and when they’re good, they’re good at it. They are going to shoot threes; they can get to the basket. If they get to the free-throw line, it’s automatic. They pack the paint on defense. Their DNA hasn’t changed.”
On Joel Soriano’s offensive production…
“I think it’s been great for us. It’s given us something we haven’t had. We haven’t had a guy that can give us that presence inside, not just offensively but defensively as well. I thought against [Adama] Sanogo, who was the preseason player of the year in our league, he went head-to-head [with him] and did an unbelievable job. His confidence grows each and every game. He’s been big for us and he opens up the floor for other guys because they have to pay attention to him.”
On playing Villanova at Madison Square Garden…
“I think we have to keep building. I still don’t think we’re at where we are going to be when it’s all said done. We’re still building and trending in the right direction. It’s our other home court. I’m sure our guys are looking forward to the opportunity to get better. All we want to do is get better. We’re playing a team that beat us at their place, so we have to take care of our home court.”
Senior center Joel Soriano
On Rafael Pinzon and AJ Storr…
“They both space out the floor and are very good shooters. Pinzon has always had it in him since he first got here. AJ is stepping into who he needs to be and getting more comfortable with the speed of how we play and how the BIG EAST is played. With both of them on the floor, they help us space out the floor and shoot the ball well. They create shots for themselves and it’s great to have them playing with us. “
On Sunday’s game against UConn…
“Our first emphasis is always to play with speed at an up-tempo pace. We always execute plays and know what we can do in the half-court style game. In the game there were a lot of fouls being called, so we knew that we just had to come to the free throw line and knock down shots and execute possessions.”
On the Madison Square Garden atmosphere…
“The atmosphere is going to be amazing. It’s going to be a packed crowd. It’s Villanova vs. St. John’s. We know the feeling that we have towards games like this, especially in the Garden. It’s our home turf and we are trying to prove ourselves and build off of the last few games. It’s going to be a great game and I can’t wait.“
Sophomore guard Rafael Pinzon
On battling through injuries…
“It’s been a little bit tough at the beginning for me. My teammates and coaches have been giving me confidence and I am working on my game. “
On playing with Andre Curbelo…
“We played together on the national team and then high school. The connection is there, definitely. I like his pace and I really enjoy playing together with him.”
Opening Statement…
“We move on to the next game in the BIG EAST. We get a chance to play at our other home, Madison Square Garden. I think our guys are looking forward to playing. Hopefully, we’ll play a lot better than the last time we played against Villanova. We’re looking forward to building on what has taken place with our team. I think we’re getting more in sync defensively, and I think that translates to our offense as well. The development of our bench has been big. We have balance now between guys starting and guys coming off the bench. The key is consistency, and it starts with our defense.”
On the direction of the team…
“I think we’re moving in the right direction. You saw some of that in the Providence [game even though] we came up short. We did a lot of good things and I thought we took that to the next game. It was good to see us go from start to finish in the Connecticut game. Our defense was good and we shared the ball, offensively. I thought we had great energy and played with physicality. That’s where the bench comes into play. They played efficient basketball.”
On Villanova…
“I think the freshman [Cam Whitmore] is playing much better and they still have [Caleb] Daniels over there. They still play a certain way and when they’re good, they’re good at it. They are going to shoot threes; they can get to the basket. If they get to the free-throw line, it’s automatic. They pack the paint on defense. Their DNA hasn’t changed.”
On Joel Soriano’s offensive production…
“I think it’s been great for us. It’s given us something we haven’t had. We haven’t had a guy that can give us that presence inside, not just offensively but defensively as well. I thought against [Adama] Sanogo, who was the preseason player of the year in our league, he went head-to-head [with him] and did an unbelievable job. His confidence grows each and every game. He’s been big for us and he opens up the floor for other guys because they have to pay attention to him.”
On playing Villanova at Madison Square Garden…
“I think we have to keep building. I still don’t think we’re at where we are going to be when it’s all said done. We’re still building and trending in the right direction. It’s our other home court. I’m sure our guys are looking forward to the opportunity to get better. All we want to do is get better. We’re playing a team that beat us at their place, so we have to take care of our home court.”
Senior center Joel Soriano
On Rafael Pinzon and AJ Storr…
“They both space out the floor and are very good shooters. Pinzon has always had it in him since he first got here. AJ is stepping into who he needs to be and getting more comfortable with the speed of how we play and how the BIG EAST is played. With both of them on the floor, they help us space out the floor and shoot the ball well. They create shots for themselves and it’s great to have them playing with us. “
On Sunday’s game against UConn…
“Our first emphasis is always to play with speed at an up-tempo pace. We always execute plays and know what we can do in the half-court style game. In the game there were a lot of fouls being called, so we knew that we just had to come to the free throw line and knock down shots and execute possessions.”
On the Madison Square Garden atmosphere…
“The atmosphere is going to be amazing. It’s going to be a packed crowd. It’s Villanova vs. St. John’s. We know the feeling that we have towards games like this, especially in the Garden. It’s our home turf and we are trying to prove ourselves and build off of the last few games. It’s going to be a great game and I can’t wait.“
Sophomore guard Rafael Pinzon
On battling through injuries…
“It’s been a little bit tough at the beginning for me. My teammates and coaches have been giving me confidence and I am working on my game. “
On playing with Andre Curbelo…
“We played together on the national team and then high school. The connection is there, definitely. I like his pace and I really enjoy playing together with him.”