St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's Women's Basketball vs. 11/10 UConn
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella speaks to the media after 78-63 loss at No. 11/10 UConn on Sunday afternoon
St. John’s Head Coach Joe Tartamella
On how UConn defended Unique Drake tonight…
“ They just make it hard. I thought Unique [Drake] played great tonight. I was really happy with her effort. She didn’t stand around, she played hard. But they throw bodies at her, they are physical with her. I thought we did a better job though. I thought we played as well as we could at times. But they are locked in on what they do and because they are smaller they can switch a lot too. So, even when you are trying to do other things they have the ability to take it away. I thought she played well tonight regardless.”
On Geno Auriemma being a win away from 1,200 and what he means to the game…
“ I probably couldn’t say enough about him in general…The impact he has had on not only every player he has ever coached, the increase in popularity of the game is because of what UConn did especially back in the 90s – created so many fans in place that really appreciated what the game was. As a coach and as a person, who I was able to have access to as a younger coach, and as a mentor and someone who has been important in my growth, he has been an incredible person to speak to about coaching in general. Just his experiences and he has been incredible to me as a coach in opening that door and having access to him. And him actually caring about getting better and people getting better as coaches. I think you see it in his players. I have long said this I worked the camp here in 2002 and that’s when I saw the greatness these guys were about – everything from open gym to their summer workouts were precise. Everything mattered. I don’t think you can put a price tag on it, but in terms of coaching, he is one of the best of the generation if not the best in the generation.”
On how the team closed the gap in the second half…
“We just battled. I have to be honest, I am really proud of that part of the game. In terms of we just never backed down, we played harder and we didn’t really show much insecurity and hesitation. I thought we were more aggressive, we attacked their pressure with pressure on the rim being able to attack downhill. You know we played a solid game, however too many mistakes and against a team of this caliber it’s just not going to work…We had to be perfect and we were not.”
On how UConn defended Unique Drake tonight…
“ They just make it hard. I thought Unique [Drake] played great tonight. I was really happy with her effort. She didn’t stand around, she played hard. But they throw bodies at her, they are physical with her. I thought we did a better job though. I thought we played as well as we could at times. But they are locked in on what they do and because they are smaller they can switch a lot too. So, even when you are trying to do other things they have the ability to take it away. I thought she played well tonight regardless.”
On Geno Auriemma being a win away from 1,200 and what he means to the game…
“ I probably couldn’t say enough about him in general…The impact he has had on not only every player he has ever coached, the increase in popularity of the game is because of what UConn did especially back in the 90s – created so many fans in place that really appreciated what the game was. As a coach and as a person, who I was able to have access to as a younger coach, and as a mentor and someone who has been important in my growth, he has been an incredible person to speak to about coaching in general. Just his experiences and he has been incredible to me as a coach in opening that door and having access to him. And him actually caring about getting better and people getting better as coaches. I think you see it in his players. I have long said this I worked the camp here in 2002 and that’s when I saw the greatness these guys were about – everything from open gym to their summer workouts were precise. Everything mattered. I don’t think you can put a price tag on it, but in terms of coaching, he is one of the best of the generation if not the best in the generation.”
On how the team closed the gap in the second half…
“We just battled. I have to be honest, I am really proud of that part of the game. In terms of we just never backed down, we played harder and we didn’t really show much insecurity and hesitation. I thought we were more aggressive, we attacked their pressure with pressure on the rim being able to attack downhill. You know we played a solid game, however too many mistakes and against a team of this caliber it’s just not going to work…We had to be perfect and we were not.”