St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs Fordham
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, Simeon Wilcher and Aaron Scott spoke with the media following the team’s 92-60 season-opening victory over Fordham on Monday night at Carnesecca Arena
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“We did some good things, offensively and defensively; defensively in the first half, offensively in the second half. For the first game, I was very pleased. We made a lot of mistakes that we will correct, but you expect to make a lot of mistakes in the first game.”
On the defensive work the team has done in the preseason…
“I would say normally we work 60/40 on defense. This year has been 80/20. All we've been doing is working on defense. We haven't focused on pressing, haven't focused on the 2-2-1 back to the zone. All we've been doing is working on our man defense, our switching defense, and we knew we had to be ready early in the season because of Quinnipiac, New Mexico and then the Bahamas. We're getting better. We got a long way to go, but we're getting better.”
On Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap…
“I told [Simeon Wilcher] and Brady [Dunlap] the other day, the thing I want to see you guys do is smile more, have more fun and don't apply stress to yourself. I think both of the guys tonight had that; they had fun. Playing in the game, playing hard, and that's what I want out of Sim. There's no doubt about his abilities. I just want to see him have fun.”
On the depth of his team…
“They all can play. We're going to have a lot of lineups. The starting lineup tonight will not be the starting lineup next game. We will play a lot of different matchups based on defense. They all can play. They're all very good and they're all going to get a lot of minutes.”
St John’s guard Simeon Wilcher:
On what it felt like to be out there tonight…
“It feels great. It's a blessing, for sure, truly grateful for everything that went on tonight, but I got to give it up to my teammates. They were the ones that kept their confidence in me every day. I applaud them and I’m happy that they were able to put me in the right spot to have a good night.”
On how the defense tonight compared to last year…
“Last year we had 14 new guys, so getting a whole defensive scheme was a little rough for us in the beginning, but we started to get it as the season went on. Now, with us having returners and people who knew the system from last year, it's kind of easy to get into our defensive stuff. We have guys like Aaron [Scott], Kadary [Richmond] and Deivon [Smith] coming from places where they were very defensive. It's just a completely different year and I’m excited.”
On how his shooting has progressed this season…
“I would say a lot of hours [n the gym] and just having that confidence in myself. Sometimes I do struggle with getting in my head in the case of a missed shot, but Coach [Pitino] always tells me I can't do that, just look forward to the next shot and that's just how I played tonight.”
On the difference between last year and this year…
“Especially in the beginning of the season last year, coming in, trying to figure out how everything is. From the pace to the physicality of everything, with a year under my belt and having the team I had last year so I can grow and become a better player. Everything just feels like I'm just playing, just going with the game and not really thinking too much.”
On first season at St. John’s…
“I put a lot of pressure on myself, like every day. The pressure thing isn't really a problem. Last year I was just thinking too much, just so excited to get out there. You got too much energy and you don't really know what to do with it, so you're a little anxious. So last year, that kind of held me back a little bit. And now I’m just finding that, the peace between my ears is just what has helped me a lot.”
St. John’s forward Aaron Scott:
On how he fits here after coming from a defensive-minded program…
“Defense wins championships and at any college, the coaches just like defensive players, so me fitting in here is excellent. I'm a good piece for this team, a defensive-minded team; I just fit right in. I think we are just going to get much better because this is the first game. We got a lot of room for improvement, and it’s just getting better every day.”
On how he thought the defense played tonight…
“We got some dawgs on our team, but we made a lot of mistakes. We just got to watch film and correct it. But we're a defense-minded team. You know, we got a lot of offensive guys, so offense is never going to be the problem. We just got to keep bringing the defense from game in and game out.”
On how much more diverse the defense will get…
“Well, our one through four can guard one through four. We can switch anything one through four, you know, I can switch anything one through five, if need be. So, we got a very diverse team, very versatile team, and I think that's the best success for defense; guys who can guard multiple positions, and that's what we got.”
Opening statement…
“We did some good things, offensively and defensively; defensively in the first half, offensively in the second half. For the first game, I was very pleased. We made a lot of mistakes that we will correct, but you expect to make a lot of mistakes in the first game.”
On the defensive work the team has done in the preseason…
“I would say normally we work 60/40 on defense. This year has been 80/20. All we've been doing is working on defense. We haven't focused on pressing, haven't focused on the 2-2-1 back to the zone. All we've been doing is working on our man defense, our switching defense, and we knew we had to be ready early in the season because of Quinnipiac, New Mexico and then the Bahamas. We're getting better. We got a long way to go, but we're getting better.”
On Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap…
“I told [Simeon Wilcher] and Brady [Dunlap] the other day, the thing I want to see you guys do is smile more, have more fun and don't apply stress to yourself. I think both of the guys tonight had that; they had fun. Playing in the game, playing hard, and that's what I want out of Sim. There's no doubt about his abilities. I just want to see him have fun.”
On the depth of his team…
“They all can play. We're going to have a lot of lineups. The starting lineup tonight will not be the starting lineup next game. We will play a lot of different matchups based on defense. They all can play. They're all very good and they're all going to get a lot of minutes.”
St John’s guard Simeon Wilcher:
On what it felt like to be out there tonight…
“It feels great. It's a blessing, for sure, truly grateful for everything that went on tonight, but I got to give it up to my teammates. They were the ones that kept their confidence in me every day. I applaud them and I’m happy that they were able to put me in the right spot to have a good night.”
On how the defense tonight compared to last year…
“Last year we had 14 new guys, so getting a whole defensive scheme was a little rough for us in the beginning, but we started to get it as the season went on. Now, with us having returners and people who knew the system from last year, it's kind of easy to get into our defensive stuff. We have guys like Aaron [Scott], Kadary [Richmond] and Deivon [Smith] coming from places where they were very defensive. It's just a completely different year and I’m excited.”
On how his shooting has progressed this season…
“I would say a lot of hours [n the gym] and just having that confidence in myself. Sometimes I do struggle with getting in my head in the case of a missed shot, but Coach [Pitino] always tells me I can't do that, just look forward to the next shot and that's just how I played tonight.”
On the difference between last year and this year…
“Especially in the beginning of the season last year, coming in, trying to figure out how everything is. From the pace to the physicality of everything, with a year under my belt and having the team I had last year so I can grow and become a better player. Everything just feels like I'm just playing, just going with the game and not really thinking too much.”
On first season at St. John’s…
“I put a lot of pressure on myself, like every day. The pressure thing isn't really a problem. Last year I was just thinking too much, just so excited to get out there. You got too much energy and you don't really know what to do with it, so you're a little anxious. So last year, that kind of held me back a little bit. And now I’m just finding that, the peace between my ears is just what has helped me a lot.”
St. John’s forward Aaron Scott:
On how he fits here after coming from a defensive-minded program…
“Defense wins championships and at any college, the coaches just like defensive players, so me fitting in here is excellent. I'm a good piece for this team, a defensive-minded team; I just fit right in. I think we are just going to get much better because this is the first game. We got a lot of room for improvement, and it’s just getting better every day.”
On how he thought the defense played tonight…
“We got some dawgs on our team, but we made a lot of mistakes. We just got to watch film and correct it. But we're a defense-minded team. You know, we got a lot of offensive guys, so offense is never going to be the problem. We just got to keep bringing the defense from game in and game out.”
On how much more diverse the defense will get…
“Well, our one through four can guard one through four. We can switch anything one through four, you know, I can switch anything one through five, if need be. So, we got a very diverse team, very versatile team, and I think that's the best success for defense; guys who can guard multiple positions, and that's what we got.”