St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. Utah
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino forward Chris Ledlum, guard Jordan Dingle and guard Nahiem Alleyne spoke with the media after St. John’s 91-82 win against Utah
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“ Before the game, I was just speaking about Houston and how they struggled the first year to put in an incredible culture. And I said, ‘We don’t want to be Houston, but we want to take the dynamics of Houston and be the eastern version of them.’ Their toughness, the way they play with reckless abandonment. … Our guys were very tough and aggressive on offense tonight. The end of the game, we made some mistakes, but these guys were flat-out exhausted. I had to call that timeout just to get them some rest. I’m proud of Chris [Ledlum] because I’ve been trying to get him to shoot the open shot because he’s a very good shooter and it’s going to set up the drives for him. I’m proud of Jordan [Dingle] because he’s getting better and better, except for catching the ball with one hand. Outside of that, he played a great game and he’s showing what he is because he’s getting used to the rest of the guys. I’m proud of both of these guys. …They really helped us get a great victory. We beat a tremendous team tonight. This tournament, I want to thank ESPN, Charleston, Shriners for giving us this type of competition this early in the season. It’s flat-out great. … We are a little disappointed we didn’t win it, but elated to come out of it 2-1.”
On team’s outlook…
“ I just want them playing fast with offensive confidence, taking open shots, moving the ball. We had 19 assists tonight, we shot a great percentage. The great thing about it is our defense is now 50% of what it was. We want to press intelligently. I’m going to try to form where these guys don’t have to press as much.”
On tonight’s performance…
“I think they all took good shots. They pushed the pace, they didn’t let the pace get away. Utah could have beaten Houston. It was very close with a minute to go in the game. We knew they could come back. You see the way they shoot the basketball, you see the size. I think Joel [Soriano] played about as intelligent as a pivot man can play by walling up and not fouling. It was tremendous to see that.”
St. John’s forward Chris Ledlum
On tonight’s performance being a success…
“Absolutely, we have a lot of great guys that work really hard, so we just played together and shared the ball and played great.”
On getting out of the Charleston Classic with a win…
“It's very significant, we wish we were going out to play again right now. But like coach said, we are 2-1 [in Charleston], we are going home with some momentum and I think it will carry over and get us going.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On the team’s performance tonight…
“I think the best thing about tonight is we finally played closer to a complete game. Now, we made a bunch of mistakes down the stretch and we need to be better there, myself included, I made some mistakes down the line, but we had energy the entire time. I have to give credit to our fans, who took time out of their lives to come down here and support us. Their energy was amazing the entire time. The energy with everyone on the team, both players and the coaching staff was amazing and we really picked each other up.”
On returning from injury…
“I think I'm in a pretty good rhythm. I'm definitely starting to get my wind back in, getting used to the system. I just thank god I play with so many talented teammates that they allow me to get my feet back under me again and get used to playing again.”
St. John’s guard Nahiem Alleyne
On a conversation with Coach Pitino…
“I just know I’m not playing at the level he wants me to play at, and he knows that as well. I just went up to him and apologized and I told him that I’m ready whenever he calls my name.”
On how it felt to be a contributor today…
“It felt really good, especially on the defensive end. I know I’m a really good defender. On the offensive end, it felt good to contribute, dishing some dimes to Joel. It felt good to do a good job.”
Opening statement…
“ Before the game, I was just speaking about Houston and how they struggled the first year to put in an incredible culture. And I said, ‘We don’t want to be Houston, but we want to take the dynamics of Houston and be the eastern version of them.’ Their toughness, the way they play with reckless abandonment. … Our guys were very tough and aggressive on offense tonight. The end of the game, we made some mistakes, but these guys were flat-out exhausted. I had to call that timeout just to get them some rest. I’m proud of Chris [Ledlum] because I’ve been trying to get him to shoot the open shot because he’s a very good shooter and it’s going to set up the drives for him. I’m proud of Jordan [Dingle] because he’s getting better and better, except for catching the ball with one hand. Outside of that, he played a great game and he’s showing what he is because he’s getting used to the rest of the guys. I’m proud of both of these guys. …They really helped us get a great victory. We beat a tremendous team tonight. This tournament, I want to thank ESPN, Charleston, Shriners for giving us this type of competition this early in the season. It’s flat-out great. … We are a little disappointed we didn’t win it, but elated to come out of it 2-1.”
On team’s outlook…
“ I just want them playing fast with offensive confidence, taking open shots, moving the ball. We had 19 assists tonight, we shot a great percentage. The great thing about it is our defense is now 50% of what it was. We want to press intelligently. I’m going to try to form where these guys don’t have to press as much.”
On tonight’s performance…
“I think they all took good shots. They pushed the pace, they didn’t let the pace get away. Utah could have beaten Houston. It was very close with a minute to go in the game. We knew they could come back. You see the way they shoot the basketball, you see the size. I think Joel [Soriano] played about as intelligent as a pivot man can play by walling up and not fouling. It was tremendous to see that.”
St. John’s forward Chris Ledlum
On tonight’s performance being a success…
“Absolutely, we have a lot of great guys that work really hard, so we just played together and shared the ball and played great.”
On getting out of the Charleston Classic with a win…
“It's very significant, we wish we were going out to play again right now. But like coach said, we are 2-1 [in Charleston], we are going home with some momentum and I think it will carry over and get us going.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On the team’s performance tonight…
“I think the best thing about tonight is we finally played closer to a complete game. Now, we made a bunch of mistakes down the stretch and we need to be better there, myself included, I made some mistakes down the line, but we had energy the entire time. I have to give credit to our fans, who took time out of their lives to come down here and support us. Their energy was amazing the entire time. The energy with everyone on the team, both players and the coaching staff was amazing and we really picked each other up.”
On returning from injury…
“I think I'm in a pretty good rhythm. I'm definitely starting to get my wind back in, getting used to the system. I just thank god I play with so many talented teammates that they allow me to get my feet back under me again and get used to playing again.”
St. John’s guard Nahiem Alleyne
On a conversation with Coach Pitino…
“I just know I’m not playing at the level he wants me to play at, and he knows that as well. I just went up to him and apologized and I told him that I’m ready whenever he calls my name.”
On how it felt to be a contributor today…
“It felt really good, especially on the defensive end. I know I’m a really good defender. On the offensive end, it felt good to contribute, dishing some dimes to Joel. It felt good to do a good job.”