St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. Quinnipiac
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, RJ Luis Jr., Brady Dunlap and Quinnipiac Head Coach Tom Pecora spoke with the media after the Red Storm’s 96-73 win against Quinnipiac
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement…
“Sometimes you get what you deserve. We had two of the worst practices this week that we've had all season. I told them, it's going to bite you in the [behind] if you practice like that, and it did. Now I will say so many people say, ‘Well, they didn't play well’. Yeah, but Quinnipiac made us not play well. So, you got to give credit to them. They moved the ball. They shot the ball well. So good teams come out and win in the second half, make the adjustments and win. And [we] did that in the second half. [We] were a totally different basketball team. What we wanted to do more than anything else was take away the three-point shot and the young man [Ryan Mabrey] was five for [nine], so the three-point line is the great equalizer in basketball. The transition defense was extremely poor. You play a team like New Mexico in The Garden like that and they'll beat us by 25 or 30 because they are a fast team end to end, and if we play transition defense like that, we have no shot of beating them, so we got to make the adjustments this week.”
On Brady Dunlap and Deivon Smith…
“I think Brady is the reason we blew them out. I think Brady and Vince [Iwuchukwu] gave us a big lift. And I thought Deivon did a great job of finding Brady. He knew to penetrate and find Brady. Brady did a super job of moving without the basketball. But Deivon was the catalyst for that.”
On the team’s three-point shooting…
“We knew they were going to [play] zone. The first play of the game, Zuby [Ejiofor] pops out and shoots a three, and everybody's on the perimeter. You have no chance to rebound. Then RJ [Luis Jr.] shoots a three and nobody has a chance to rebound. You can't shoot the three unless you have player movement first to give yourself a chance of have an offensive rebound. The second half we did that. But they're still getting to know each other and I was very impressed with the second half and how they responded the way they responded. Didn't panic, did the right things from a defensive standpoint, did the right things from an offensive standpoint. But without question, Brady [Dunlap], Vince [Iwuchukwu] and [Deivon Smith] did a fabulous job of finding the open people.”
On the improvements Brady Dunlap has made in his sophomore season…
“I think Brady learned the game. He moved without the ball. All he did last year was hunt threes. Now he moves without the basketball and he was the catalyst that turned around the game. So, he's a veteran. Now he knows how to play the game. The one message I had for Brady and [Simeon Wilcher], I said last week, is ‘You guys don't have fun playing the game. You're worried about your stats too much. You're worried about whether you're doing well. Just have fun playing the game.’ And Brady did a great job tonight of having fun playing the game, and I was happy to see that.”
On Vince Iwuchukwu…
“I think Vince is going to be a great player. There's not a doubt in my mind he's going to be great. He runs well, he jumps well, but he hasn't grown up playing a lot of basketball, so he doesn't have a great feel for the game. Once he develops the feel for the game, how to catch and pass, how to move without the basketball, how to set a screen and pop out, he's going to be great, but it's going to take him a year to learn all that. I mean, think about it, the young man had cardiac arrest, and he's come back from that. So he's going to be terrific someday. We're hoping it's by the middle of the season, because he's seven foot, runs well, jumps well, has a great attitude, and we'll get Zuby [Ejiofor] to play a little bit more power forward and I think he'll even look better.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On the last game and feeling more comfortable after his injury last season…
“… I want to apologize for the last game [against Fordham], you know, that was very uncharacteristic of me. I was being childish. I let my emotions get the best of me. I mean no disrespect to nobody. I was just glad nobody got hurt. You know, the little kids were actually cheering when they got the ball, but I can't, can't do plays like that. That's not going to happen again. That's out of my character. I feel good. Body's healthy. I have no complaints. Just come out every game and play hard on both sides. And that's it.”
On what he learned from his actions against Fordham…
“Just to stay mature. There are always consequences for your actions. So, you know I have to take that on the chest. I just have to stay to mature. Don't let my emotions get the best of me and just really put the team first no matter how my night is going. Just stay cheerful on the bench and motivate my guys.”
On how important Brady Dunlap is to this team…
“It's very important. Brady's the best shooter on the team. So, you know, when we play against teams that play zone, it's good to have him on the court. He could space, space the floor around the arc. It is good to have him. I just know whenever he gets the ball, I feel like it's going in.”
St. John’s forward Brady Dunlap
On why the team looked like a different team in the second half…
“It was very positive at halftime. Going into today's game, we had a couple of rough practices, so [Coach Pitino] got into us at the start, but at the end, he was just like, we just got to bounce back. New half and just come out as a different team. He said, ‘Good teams, even when they come out bad, they're gonna finish great.’ So, we just tried to prove we were a good team today.”
On having a career day the second game into his sophomore season…
“Obviously feels good from an individual standpoint, but, you know, last year I had a couple of good games, and I got too high, and this year I just got to stay level-headed. That was a good team win out there today. We really bounced back in the second half, really showed our character, which I think that you know, for a team in November to show that type of character is pretty special of our group of guys, and is just a testament to how our leaders are leading this team. I'm just proud of the way, how we just worked out there in the second half and bounced back from that bad first half.”
On living up to the expectation of being a good three-point shooter…
“I appreciate what RJ [Luis Jr.] said. It's just my role on this team. We got a lot of insanely good playmakers, ranging from RJ, Kadary [Richmond], Simeon [Wilcher], Deivon [Smith], we have a bunch of guys that can beat whoever off the dribble and create. … With each game, I'm going have to fill out a different role. Each and every game, I just have to understand what that is, and space the floor. And knock down shots when they come to me and when they don't just be content with spacing the floor and let these guys rock. I'm just trying to fill that role for these guys and for the betterment of the team. Just do as much as I can for the team.”
Quinnipiac Head Coach Tom Pecora
On coaching in Carnesecca Arena…
“Yeah, it's great, man. I grew up three miles from here as a kid. I snuck in here. Ushers in the back used to let me in with a ticket from an old game. All me and my buddies, they would always let us watch right up top, and watch Coach Carnesecca’s teams and we saw some great games. So, it's great. St. John's is a historic basketball program and the place is close to my heart. So, I'm very close with the staff.”
Opening Statement…
“Sometimes you get what you deserve. We had two of the worst practices this week that we've had all season. I told them, it's going to bite you in the [behind] if you practice like that, and it did. Now I will say so many people say, ‘Well, they didn't play well’. Yeah, but Quinnipiac made us not play well. So, you got to give credit to them. They moved the ball. They shot the ball well. So good teams come out and win in the second half, make the adjustments and win. And [we] did that in the second half. [We] were a totally different basketball team. What we wanted to do more than anything else was take away the three-point shot and the young man [Ryan Mabrey] was five for [nine], so the three-point line is the great equalizer in basketball. The transition defense was extremely poor. You play a team like New Mexico in The Garden like that and they'll beat us by 25 or 30 because they are a fast team end to end, and if we play transition defense like that, we have no shot of beating them, so we got to make the adjustments this week.”
On Brady Dunlap and Deivon Smith…
“I think Brady is the reason we blew them out. I think Brady and Vince [Iwuchukwu] gave us a big lift. And I thought Deivon did a great job of finding Brady. He knew to penetrate and find Brady. Brady did a super job of moving without the basketball. But Deivon was the catalyst for that.”
On the team’s three-point shooting…
“We knew they were going to [play] zone. The first play of the game, Zuby [Ejiofor] pops out and shoots a three, and everybody's on the perimeter. You have no chance to rebound. Then RJ [Luis Jr.] shoots a three and nobody has a chance to rebound. You can't shoot the three unless you have player movement first to give yourself a chance of have an offensive rebound. The second half we did that. But they're still getting to know each other and I was very impressed with the second half and how they responded the way they responded. Didn't panic, did the right things from a defensive standpoint, did the right things from an offensive standpoint. But without question, Brady [Dunlap], Vince [Iwuchukwu] and [Deivon Smith] did a fabulous job of finding the open people.”
On the improvements Brady Dunlap has made in his sophomore season…
“I think Brady learned the game. He moved without the ball. All he did last year was hunt threes. Now he moves without the basketball and he was the catalyst that turned around the game. So, he's a veteran. Now he knows how to play the game. The one message I had for Brady and [Simeon Wilcher], I said last week, is ‘You guys don't have fun playing the game. You're worried about your stats too much. You're worried about whether you're doing well. Just have fun playing the game.’ And Brady did a great job tonight of having fun playing the game, and I was happy to see that.”
On Vince Iwuchukwu…
“I think Vince is going to be a great player. There's not a doubt in my mind he's going to be great. He runs well, he jumps well, but he hasn't grown up playing a lot of basketball, so he doesn't have a great feel for the game. Once he develops the feel for the game, how to catch and pass, how to move without the basketball, how to set a screen and pop out, he's going to be great, but it's going to take him a year to learn all that. I mean, think about it, the young man had cardiac arrest, and he's come back from that. So he's going to be terrific someday. We're hoping it's by the middle of the season, because he's seven foot, runs well, jumps well, has a great attitude, and we'll get Zuby [Ejiofor] to play a little bit more power forward and I think he'll even look better.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On the last game and feeling more comfortable after his injury last season…
“… I want to apologize for the last game [against Fordham], you know, that was very uncharacteristic of me. I was being childish. I let my emotions get the best of me. I mean no disrespect to nobody. I was just glad nobody got hurt. You know, the little kids were actually cheering when they got the ball, but I can't, can't do plays like that. That's not going to happen again. That's out of my character. I feel good. Body's healthy. I have no complaints. Just come out every game and play hard on both sides. And that's it.”
On what he learned from his actions against Fordham…
“Just to stay mature. There are always consequences for your actions. So, you know I have to take that on the chest. I just have to stay to mature. Don't let my emotions get the best of me and just really put the team first no matter how my night is going. Just stay cheerful on the bench and motivate my guys.”
On how important Brady Dunlap is to this team…
“It's very important. Brady's the best shooter on the team. So, you know, when we play against teams that play zone, it's good to have him on the court. He could space, space the floor around the arc. It is good to have him. I just know whenever he gets the ball, I feel like it's going in.”
St. John’s forward Brady Dunlap
On why the team looked like a different team in the second half…
“It was very positive at halftime. Going into today's game, we had a couple of rough practices, so [Coach Pitino] got into us at the start, but at the end, he was just like, we just got to bounce back. New half and just come out as a different team. He said, ‘Good teams, even when they come out bad, they're gonna finish great.’ So, we just tried to prove we were a good team today.”
On having a career day the second game into his sophomore season…
“Obviously feels good from an individual standpoint, but, you know, last year I had a couple of good games, and I got too high, and this year I just got to stay level-headed. That was a good team win out there today. We really bounced back in the second half, really showed our character, which I think that you know, for a team in November to show that type of character is pretty special of our group of guys, and is just a testament to how our leaders are leading this team. I'm just proud of the way, how we just worked out there in the second half and bounced back from that bad first half.”
On living up to the expectation of being a good three-point shooter…
“I appreciate what RJ [Luis Jr.] said. It's just my role on this team. We got a lot of insanely good playmakers, ranging from RJ, Kadary [Richmond], Simeon [Wilcher], Deivon [Smith], we have a bunch of guys that can beat whoever off the dribble and create. … With each game, I'm going have to fill out a different role. Each and every game, I just have to understand what that is, and space the floor. And knock down shots when they come to me and when they don't just be content with spacing the floor and let these guys rock. I'm just trying to fill that role for these guys and for the betterment of the team. Just do as much as I can for the team.”
Quinnipiac Head Coach Tom Pecora
On coaching in Carnesecca Arena…
“Yeah, it's great, man. I grew up three miles from here as a kid. I snuck in here. Ushers in the back used to let me in with a ticket from an old game. All me and my buddies, they would always let us watch right up top, and watch Coach Carnesecca’s teams and we saw some great games. So, it's great. St. John's is a historic basketball program and the place is close to my heart. So, I'm very close with the staff.”