St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. Fordham
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, Jordan Dingle and Daniss Jenkins met with the media on Friday ahead of the Red Storm’s matchup with Fordham on Saturday at Madison Square Garden
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
On building the roster…
“We put together this basketball team abruptly and we tried to get as many good offensive basketball players as possible. The first year I’ve coached at every place it has taken time to put in all the defenses. No matter if it was Boston University, whether it was Providence, the Knicks, Kentucky or Louisville, it takes time, especially when you have all offensive basketball players. I knew that it would take time so I tried to do away with that theory by recruiting six fifth-year seniors, thinking it would alleviate the problem of taking time. Unfortunately, it didn’t because four of the six need a lot of time to improve defensively in order for us to mature as a basketball team.”
On a surprise visit he received following the Boston College game…
“I had something really nice happen to me and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. [The players] knew I was really down after the Boston College game and I had a neighbor come over after the game to try and cheer me up, so my son Ryan and I ordered a pizza. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang and I went there, Joel [Soriano], Chris Ledlum and Daniss [Jenkins] came with the pizza and came in to try and cheer me up. They drove 45 minutes from Queens to do that and that is unheard of in my almost 50 years of coaching. They didn’t eat any of the pizza either. I really appreciated that. Rather than the coach thinking the players were down and thinking we have to build them up, they went the other way. You don’t see guys drive 45 minutes to try and cheer a coach up.”
On playing at Madison Square Garden…
“What I’ve tried to relay to the guys is every single team that comes to play in Madison Square Garden this is their most famous moment. You take Fordham, in the old days, they used to play in The Garden all the time, but they don’t get a chance to do that anymore. Michigan has not played as well since our game. … You hear it all the time, from Kobe [Bryant] to LeBron [James] to [Michael Jordan] to [Larry] Bird, everybody thinks it's “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” so you get everyone’s best game. That's the message I’ve relayed to the guys. It's not about your excitement to play in The Garden, that’s “The World’s Most Famous Arena” that they get a chance to perform in.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On loss to Boston College…
“I think it was a good wake-up call for us. Coach [Pitino] has been talking about our emotional preparedness to play a game and locking in on the intricate details that go into playing a game – making sure we lock in on scouting and remembering to execute during the game. It was really just locking down on some of the fundamentals that go into being a great team.”
On the takeaway from setback against Boston College…
“I think that the biggest thing is we know that we are better than that. The performance that we put on against Boston College really wasn’t who we are. We had been preparing to guard their stuff all week long. There were things we defended well, and we just didn’t on that day. [Coach Pitino] was really frustrated about that.”
On urgency as upcoming BIG EAST season approaches…
“I think in terms of our awareness, yes. Coach P’s always been saying it’s going to take time to get to where we need to be as a team and that time is approaching. But our practices have been intense since day one. I don’t think that there is a more physical exertion part, but definitely mentally.”
On playing at The Garden…
“I think that the excitement did play into it a little bit [against Michigan], but I think the biggest thing on our minds is really trying to put on a good performance for all the fans who are taking the time out of our lives to come out. Madison Square Garden put on a great game for us. Our pre-game routine was amazing. All our fans showed up and were showing so much great support, then obviously we disappointed them with our performance. I think that’s the biggest thing on our minds. Remembering all the hard work that went into making that possible and the great opportunity that we gave and making sure we make the most of it.”
On that hardest element to learn of Coach Pitino’s defense…
“Well, I would say the most difficult part for me personally is the intensity that we play with and picking up full court. That’s just something I haven’t had to do since I was like 16 playing AAU. For me, it was the physical part and getting in good enough shape to play at the pace he wants us to play at.”
St John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On takeaways from setback to Boston College…
“In the beginning, I think we did a pretty good job in the press. I think we also gave easy catches at times. In the press, we were good. In the half-court, we let them run their offense. I think that’s why that game went the way that it went. We knew we needed to take them out of their offense to beat them and we didn’t do that. The takeaway was we need to focus on scouting more as players. We need to lock in on the scouting and take it into the game.“
On making changes either physically or mentally importance…
“It’s both, but more mental like Jordan was saying. The game is really mental. Whatever you are thinking in your mind, your body is going to follow and do. If you know what they are trying to do, then you will know how to play a play or what they are looking for when they set up.”
On building the roster…
“We put together this basketball team abruptly and we tried to get as many good offensive basketball players as possible. The first year I’ve coached at every place it has taken time to put in all the defenses. No matter if it was Boston University, whether it was Providence, the Knicks, Kentucky or Louisville, it takes time, especially when you have all offensive basketball players. I knew that it would take time so I tried to do away with that theory by recruiting six fifth-year seniors, thinking it would alleviate the problem of taking time. Unfortunately, it didn’t because four of the six need a lot of time to improve defensively in order for us to mature as a basketball team.”
On a surprise visit he received following the Boston College game…
“I had something really nice happen to me and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. [The players] knew I was really down after the Boston College game and I had a neighbor come over after the game to try and cheer me up, so my son Ryan and I ordered a pizza. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang and I went there, Joel [Soriano], Chris Ledlum and Daniss [Jenkins] came with the pizza and came in to try and cheer me up. They drove 45 minutes from Queens to do that and that is unheard of in my almost 50 years of coaching. They didn’t eat any of the pizza either. I really appreciated that. Rather than the coach thinking the players were down and thinking we have to build them up, they went the other way. You don’t see guys drive 45 minutes to try and cheer a coach up.”
On playing at Madison Square Garden…
“What I’ve tried to relay to the guys is every single team that comes to play in Madison Square Garden this is their most famous moment. You take Fordham, in the old days, they used to play in The Garden all the time, but they don’t get a chance to do that anymore. Michigan has not played as well since our game. … You hear it all the time, from Kobe [Bryant] to LeBron [James] to [Michael Jordan] to [Larry] Bird, everybody thinks it's “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” so you get everyone’s best game. That's the message I’ve relayed to the guys. It's not about your excitement to play in The Garden, that’s “The World’s Most Famous Arena” that they get a chance to perform in.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On loss to Boston College…
“I think it was a good wake-up call for us. Coach [Pitino] has been talking about our emotional preparedness to play a game and locking in on the intricate details that go into playing a game – making sure we lock in on scouting and remembering to execute during the game. It was really just locking down on some of the fundamentals that go into being a great team.”
On the takeaway from setback against Boston College…
“I think that the biggest thing is we know that we are better than that. The performance that we put on against Boston College really wasn’t who we are. We had been preparing to guard their stuff all week long. There were things we defended well, and we just didn’t on that day. [Coach Pitino] was really frustrated about that.”
On urgency as upcoming BIG EAST season approaches…
“I think in terms of our awareness, yes. Coach P’s always been saying it’s going to take time to get to where we need to be as a team and that time is approaching. But our practices have been intense since day one. I don’t think that there is a more physical exertion part, but definitely mentally.”
On playing at The Garden…
“I think that the excitement did play into it a little bit [against Michigan], but I think the biggest thing on our minds is really trying to put on a good performance for all the fans who are taking the time out of our lives to come out. Madison Square Garden put on a great game for us. Our pre-game routine was amazing. All our fans showed up and were showing so much great support, then obviously we disappointed them with our performance. I think that’s the biggest thing on our minds. Remembering all the hard work that went into making that possible and the great opportunity that we gave and making sure we make the most of it.”
On that hardest element to learn of Coach Pitino’s defense…
“Well, I would say the most difficult part for me personally is the intensity that we play with and picking up full court. That’s just something I haven’t had to do since I was like 16 playing AAU. For me, it was the physical part and getting in good enough shape to play at the pace he wants us to play at.”
St John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On takeaways from setback to Boston College…
“In the beginning, I think we did a pretty good job in the press. I think we also gave easy catches at times. In the press, we were good. In the half-court, we let them run their offense. I think that’s why that game went the way that it went. We knew we needed to take them out of their offense to beat them and we didn’t do that. The takeaway was we need to focus on scouting more as players. We need to lock in on the scouting and take it into the game.“
On making changes either physically or mentally importance…
“It’s both, but more mental like Jordan was saying. The game is really mental. Whatever you are thinking in your mind, your body is going to follow and do. If you know what they are trying to do, then you will know how to play a play or what they are looking for when they set up.”