St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. Hofstra
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, Daniss Jenkins and Nahiem Alleyne met with the media following the Red Storm’s 84-79 win over Hofstra on Saturday at UBS Arena
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement …
“Well, I will say two things. We played well and they played great. We knew this was coming for two reasons. We told the guys before the game they were going to try and mismatch us every single play because we played them two times while I was at Iona. We lost at the buzzer last year because we struggled with the pick and roll at Iona. … [Darlinstone Dubar] killed us last year. He makes tough shots and we were in his face for almost all of them. Joel [Soriano] got taught a valuable lesson because he realizes now he has to sit down and guard backcourt players. The second thing is, look, I’ve shaken hands with Dean Smith, Frank McGuire, Lou Carnesecca, you name it from Bill Self to every great coach there has been in this country, and I was close friends with John Wooden, so don’t exaggerate this, [Hofstra Head Coach] Speedy Claxton is one of the best coaches I’ve coached against in my lifetime. He takes advantage of every mismatch that’s out there and he will sub accordingly. I said that at Iona last year. He is a rising star in our game. Now, I don’t want him to leave Hofstra, but he was a great player and now he is a great coach. I’m real proud of what he does on the sidelines. I’m thrilled we came away with a win and these two guys [Daniss Jenkins and Nahiem Alleyne] had a lot to do with our victory.”
On Daniss Jenkins’ performance…
“He had nine rebounds, eight assists and zero turnovers. He carried us on his back to win the game. Every time we had to have a score so [Hofstra] wouldn’t take the lead, he did it. He is a great guard, a great competitor, he fouls too much but we are going to correct that. ... He carried us on his back tonight, he really did.”
On RJ Luis Jr. …
“Chris Ledlum was out so he was our three-man and had to learn all the plays in two days, which is not easy to do. I will say this about RJ, he did a lot of things that would drive a coach crazy tonight, but he is as good of a talent as I’ve had, and that includes Kentucky, Louisville, Iona. He is as good a talent as I’ve ever coached. Now, he has to learn not to throw one-handed passes and what he has to learn most is about scouting. He is always searching for a steal. He comes off his man and they make a three. He just has to learn the discipline parts of defense. We haven’t been able to work with him in player development at all because of his shins, he practices just 20% of the time, so I thought he did great. You all can see the talent and he has no fear in what to do, but he has to learn certain fundamentals which will make him much better. He is as good as I’ve ever coached, potentially, but he has a lot of room for improvement.”
On RJ Luis Jr.’s potential.…
“Think of it this way. He comes back the last eight days, maybe, hasn’t practiced. He sat out seven weeks. Look at the athleticism, look at the rebounding, look at what he can do and by the way, he is one of the smartest guys on the team. He learns a different position, 25 different sets, but look at how intelligent he is. He isn’t anywhere near his potential yet. I think you can see the way he can jump and he can pass the ball.”
St. John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On his scoring in the second half…
“That’s my goal every night, to get in the lane and make plays for my teammates. It just so happens that tonight the lane opened up and I had a layup. I stay aggressive every night. That’s my goal every night to get in the paint and make plays for my teammates. … It just so happens tonight that it was my turn to make a layup.”
On RJ Luis Jr.’s play…
“He brings a different type of dynamic to us when he can play. Like Coach said, what I love about R.J. is he has no fear, he just plays. He doesn’t think, he doesn’t worry about messing up. Obviously, we have to correct the things he did mess up on, but I like to play with a guy like that. ... He’s easy to play with that way.”
St. John’s guard Nahiem Alleyne
On BIG EAST Conference play…
“We are just going to have to stay tough, stay ready. Anybody can go out there and beat us. This conference is tough. We have to be willing to accept that. [Opponents] are going to go on runs and we just have to battle and keep our heads straight and just go on a run. … Every team is a tough team.”
Opening Statement …
“Well, I will say two things. We played well and they played great. We knew this was coming for two reasons. We told the guys before the game they were going to try and mismatch us every single play because we played them two times while I was at Iona. We lost at the buzzer last year because we struggled with the pick and roll at Iona. … [Darlinstone Dubar] killed us last year. He makes tough shots and we were in his face for almost all of them. Joel [Soriano] got taught a valuable lesson because he realizes now he has to sit down and guard backcourt players. The second thing is, look, I’ve shaken hands with Dean Smith, Frank McGuire, Lou Carnesecca, you name it from Bill Self to every great coach there has been in this country, and I was close friends with John Wooden, so don’t exaggerate this, [Hofstra Head Coach] Speedy Claxton is one of the best coaches I’ve coached against in my lifetime. He takes advantage of every mismatch that’s out there and he will sub accordingly. I said that at Iona last year. He is a rising star in our game. Now, I don’t want him to leave Hofstra, but he was a great player and now he is a great coach. I’m real proud of what he does on the sidelines. I’m thrilled we came away with a win and these two guys [Daniss Jenkins and Nahiem Alleyne] had a lot to do with our victory.”
On Daniss Jenkins’ performance…
“He had nine rebounds, eight assists and zero turnovers. He carried us on his back to win the game. Every time we had to have a score so [Hofstra] wouldn’t take the lead, he did it. He is a great guard, a great competitor, he fouls too much but we are going to correct that. ... He carried us on his back tonight, he really did.”
On RJ Luis Jr. …
“Chris Ledlum was out so he was our three-man and had to learn all the plays in two days, which is not easy to do. I will say this about RJ, he did a lot of things that would drive a coach crazy tonight, but he is as good of a talent as I’ve had, and that includes Kentucky, Louisville, Iona. He is as good a talent as I’ve ever coached. Now, he has to learn not to throw one-handed passes and what he has to learn most is about scouting. He is always searching for a steal. He comes off his man and they make a three. He just has to learn the discipline parts of defense. We haven’t been able to work with him in player development at all because of his shins, he practices just 20% of the time, so I thought he did great. You all can see the talent and he has no fear in what to do, but he has to learn certain fundamentals which will make him much better. He is as good as I’ve ever coached, potentially, but he has a lot of room for improvement.”
On RJ Luis Jr.’s potential.…
“Think of it this way. He comes back the last eight days, maybe, hasn’t practiced. He sat out seven weeks. Look at the athleticism, look at the rebounding, look at what he can do and by the way, he is one of the smartest guys on the team. He learns a different position, 25 different sets, but look at how intelligent he is. He isn’t anywhere near his potential yet. I think you can see the way he can jump and he can pass the ball.”
St. John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On his scoring in the second half…
“That’s my goal every night, to get in the lane and make plays for my teammates. It just so happens that tonight the lane opened up and I had a layup. I stay aggressive every night. That’s my goal every night to get in the paint and make plays for my teammates. … It just so happens tonight that it was my turn to make a layup.”
On RJ Luis Jr.’s play…
“He brings a different type of dynamic to us when he can play. Like Coach said, what I love about R.J. is he has no fear, he just plays. He doesn’t think, he doesn’t worry about messing up. Obviously, we have to correct the things he did mess up on, but I like to play with a guy like that. ... He’s easy to play with that way.”
St. John’s guard Nahiem Alleyne
On BIG EAST Conference play…
“We are just going to have to stay tough, stay ready. Anybody can go out there and beat us. This conference is tough. We have to be willing to accept that. [Opponents] are going to go on runs and we just have to battle and keep our heads straight and just go on a run. … Every team is a tough team.”