St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. Sacred Heart
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, Jordan Dingle and Joel Soriano met with the media following the Red Storm’s 85-50 win over Sacred Heart at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement …
“They are getting better. Jordan [Dingle], we all know can score, but his passing and his defense are getting so much better, where he is becoming one of the better players on the team. The passing tonight didn’t show it in terms of assists, but he made a lot of hockey passes and that makes him lethal because everybody worries about his scoring. I can’t say much about Joel [Soriano] except that he only played 24 minutes and had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Van Macon told me this year that the only thing about Joel is he’s not a really good passer, and he had been working really hard to prove that wrong. I’m real proud of both [Joel and Jordan], to improve at their age is great, and it’s going to bode well for our future.”
On the improvement of Joel Soriano…
“Well, he has gotten a lot better. He has always been good, but he goes from 14% [body fat] to 9%. ... He looks like a different person. ... I knew he was a great person, everyone bragged on that, and I knew he was going to be the captain, but he has improved dramatically in every phase of the game and takes coaching extremely well. He always just says ‘I got you’ and digs in. He is the anchor of our team, he is the captain and is doing a fabulous job.”
On the bench performance …
“I think the more time we get Simeon [Wilcher], the better he will perform. I think Drissa [Traore] played very well. I just think they need time in game situations, reading defenses. On the defensive end, I thought Sean Conway played excellent. I think Drissa did a lot of really good things and Zuby [Ejiofor] always gives you 100%. They just need some minutes and some time, but overall, I thought they were good. Brady [Dunlap] was sick and he played through that.”
On the team’s improvement…
“I think we are improving, taking baby steps, getting better and better each game we play. Tonight, we didn’t want to let up in the way we defend. You see the improvement individually. I thought Daniss [Jenkins] was terrific tonight. I thought our backcourt was great. I thought Joel [Soriano] wasn’t only great tonight, but highly intelligent with his ball faking, not panicking. … He does everything a great player should do and his game is starting to match the person he is. … I think his game is rising to that level. Both of these guys [Soriano and Dingle] deserve a lot of credit because they want to win badly, they want to improve and they’re both terrific young men.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On Joel Soriano as the team leader…
“Joel has played a big role for this team, but I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for his job off the court, making sure we are together, spending time with one another, building relationships, especially early on. He was open and very friendly with everyone. I think our comradery really took a big boost because of that.”
On what Joel Soriano did early on for new members of the team…
“For all of us, he was just making sure we were spending time together off the court. … He’s telling us, ‘Let’s meet up and go out to eat.’ We are always hanging out with each other. We all went bowling. Just doing a lot of things outside of basketball to get to know one another.”
St John’s center Joel Soriano
On career-high six assists against Sacred Heart…
“When we were preparing for this team, we knew they double [team] a lot, both inside and outside. I knew my teammates were going to be open most of the time. A lot of cuts were there. I just try to find the open man whenever I can, especially if I’m going to be doubled a lot this year. Credit to my teammates for making their shots tonight.”
On level of play this season…
“I think I’ve been playing decent. I still have a lot to improve, especially on the defensive end. Each day is another day to get one percent better. That’s how I take it. There’s always room for improvement so I will never feel satisfied with what I have done. Always want to get better.”
Opening Statement …
“They are getting better. Jordan [Dingle], we all know can score, but his passing and his defense are getting so much better, where he is becoming one of the better players on the team. The passing tonight didn’t show it in terms of assists, but he made a lot of hockey passes and that makes him lethal because everybody worries about his scoring. I can’t say much about Joel [Soriano] except that he only played 24 minutes and had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Van Macon told me this year that the only thing about Joel is he’s not a really good passer, and he had been working really hard to prove that wrong. I’m real proud of both [Joel and Jordan], to improve at their age is great, and it’s going to bode well for our future.”
On the improvement of Joel Soriano…
“Well, he has gotten a lot better. He has always been good, but he goes from 14% [body fat] to 9%. ... He looks like a different person. ... I knew he was a great person, everyone bragged on that, and I knew he was going to be the captain, but he has improved dramatically in every phase of the game and takes coaching extremely well. He always just says ‘I got you’ and digs in. He is the anchor of our team, he is the captain and is doing a fabulous job.”
On the bench performance …
“I think the more time we get Simeon [Wilcher], the better he will perform. I think Drissa [Traore] played very well. I just think they need time in game situations, reading defenses. On the defensive end, I thought Sean Conway played excellent. I think Drissa did a lot of really good things and Zuby [Ejiofor] always gives you 100%. They just need some minutes and some time, but overall, I thought they were good. Brady [Dunlap] was sick and he played through that.”
On the team’s improvement…
“I think we are improving, taking baby steps, getting better and better each game we play. Tonight, we didn’t want to let up in the way we defend. You see the improvement individually. I thought Daniss [Jenkins] was terrific tonight. I thought our backcourt was great. I thought Joel [Soriano] wasn’t only great tonight, but highly intelligent with his ball faking, not panicking. … He does everything a great player should do and his game is starting to match the person he is. … I think his game is rising to that level. Both of these guys [Soriano and Dingle] deserve a lot of credit because they want to win badly, they want to improve and they’re both terrific young men.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On Joel Soriano as the team leader…
“Joel has played a big role for this team, but I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for his job off the court, making sure we are together, spending time with one another, building relationships, especially early on. He was open and very friendly with everyone. I think our comradery really took a big boost because of that.”
On what Joel Soriano did early on for new members of the team…
“For all of us, he was just making sure we were spending time together off the court. … He’s telling us, ‘Let’s meet up and go out to eat.’ We are always hanging out with each other. We all went bowling. Just doing a lot of things outside of basketball to get to know one another.”
St John’s center Joel Soriano
On career-high six assists against Sacred Heart…
“When we were preparing for this team, we knew they double [team] a lot, both inside and outside. I knew my teammates were going to be open most of the time. A lot of cuts were there. I just try to find the open man whenever I can, especially if I’m going to be doubled a lot this year. Credit to my teammates for making their shots tonight.”
On level of play this season…
“I think I’ve been playing decent. I still have a lot to improve, especially on the defensive end. Each day is another day to get one percent better. That’s how I take it. There’s always room for improvement so I will never feel satisfied with what I have done. Always want to get better.”