St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: 2024 BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals vs. Seton Hall
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, Joel Soriano and RJ Luis Jr. met with the media following the Red Storm’s 91-72 win over Seton Hall in the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday at Madison Square Garden
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement…
“First, we are extremely happy for St. John’s fans and the University. About three weeks ago, I don’t know the exact date, the administration and I were talking and said ‘Look coach everybody is behind you. …You started so well, and we think everyone’s expectations were a little too high. It’s a good season and let’s finish up. …it was a good season.’ I could sense in their minds that it was over and in our minds, it was just beginning because March is what it’s all about in college basketball. We told the guys, ‘You got to play your best basketball going into March.’ We knew we had [six] elimination games and these guys rose to the occasion in all [six]. They knew if they lost to Creighton, lost to Butler, lost to DePaul, lost to Georgetown it could be over. We decided to change our whole offensive scheme in terms of pace in three days because we thought Seton Hall was better from a top-of-the-key to backboard game. We knew we had to outrebound them and get into the gaps like they do because they really are an outstanding basketball team. We thought they would play their guys a lot of minutes and I told our guys we were going to substitute right away and run the floor, run the floor, run the floor and they did a beautiful job. So, I’m real proud of them, real happy for St. John’s. They’re a terrific team. We beat an outstanding team tonight and we scored 91 points, which leads to what we want to do. Real proud of them. Big fella here [Joel Soriano] did an outstanding job. RJ [Luis Jr.] is getting better and better. Now he’s practicing, for the first time every day. So that’s really, really good.”
On if he had any idea on what the deflection total was…
“Yeah, we were close to 30 but it was in key moments. That’s what they did to us in two games. They were the ones in the gaps making the steals. Guys were really, really locked in. At the beginning of the game, they made some threes, and all I kept saying was pace, pace, pace. And I believe [Al-Amir] Dawes played all 20 minutes. I think [Dre] Davis, who has been on a great run, played 19 or 20. So we felt if we could sub, the pace would be great.”
On what he saw in his team that led him to believe they could make a run…
“It’s not necessarily what I thought in that moment. I just said there’s so many games to be played. I remember one time I was at Louisville, looked like we were down and out, and we had to beat Pitt on the road, another great road game. And we won I think seven out of nine or seven out of ten games to make it. It was never over if you keep getting better, keep improving, and we were playing really good basketball. We were losing to outstanding teams by one, two, three. All close games. So, you know I wasn’t, I told the guys, March is what it’s all about. Going into March in the last two weeks of the season, if you get better, then you’re going to be a March team. And they kept getting better and it’s a credit to them.”
On Naheim Alleyne’s play today…
“He had zero turnovers, two assists, 5-for-5 [from the floor], 3-for-3 from three. So, I think you’re right on that. I think he’s a veteran basketball player and we need him. But I thought all the guys made great plays tonight. You know it’s very difficult us to play without [Daniss Jenkins], but [Naheim Alleyne] and Jordan [Dingle] did a fabulous job and we’ve got a third point guard and that’s RJ [Luis Jr.]. RJ is a man, he plays power forward for us, he plays the wings. RJ can play all four positions and it’s not easy to do and he does it very well.”
On the progress of his team with six players finishing in double figures today…
“Well, we had three tough practices and the message I had for them, I gave them two messages. I said, ‘This time of year some teams get really, really tight and they rely on their half-court basketball.’ And I said, ‘I want you to do the opposite. I want you to go out and try and score 100 points tonight. I want you to play racehorse basketball, get a high number of assists and get in the gaps and beat them.’ But we’ve got to play a different style come March. It’s got to be racehorse basketball because I feel that takes the pressures off teams. When you are in the open court and you are running and you are having to move the ball, pass the ball and cut, you are not overthinking in the half court. And we did that tonight.”
St. John’s center Joel Soriano
On the feeling of advancing to the semifinals…
“It feels amazing. We knew today was going to be a hard-fought game. We knew if we wanted to beat this team that we had to play our style of basketball and play a full 40 minutes. I just kept telling the guys when we get the lead to keep our foot on their neck and stay locked in. I mean it’s an unbelievable feeling man, man. We play on Friday night. Everybody that I’ve known from St. John’s and coaches, Coach [Pitino] even said it, he said playing Friday night at Madison Square Garden, there’s no other feeling, there’s no other tournament bigger than the BIG EAST Tournament. Just blessed. Thank God.”
On the team’s mindset going into Thursday’s game…
“I think, to be honest, this whole week in practice we’ve been very locked in. Not to say that we haven’t been the whole season, but guys know what’s at stake. Like Coach [Pitino] said, we’re pressured. We knew that if we didn’t come out here and win this game, then we wouldn’t be hearing anything on Sunday. We’d be going home. So, I think a lot of guys, we just bought into what we needed to do. We found certain things that they do well, we tried to exploit them. They are a great team, a very well-coached team. We just tried to come out and play our style of basketball.
On the BIG EAST Tournament…
“This tournament is amazing, man. It gives you a different type of feeling playing here. All the greats have played here, how many times has [Coach Pitino] coached here. This is the best tournament in the United States. So, we just tried to come out here and play our style of basketball.”
On what the win means for the program…
“It just feels good, man. At the end of the day, we haven’t made it to the semifinals in 20-plus years. So, being able to say you are a part of history is amazing, my performance or not. If I had come out there and had two and two and Zuby [Ejiofor] had a good game, I would have been ecstatic just because we got the win and my teammate played well. We just have to keep building. We have to keep being ourselves.”
St. John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On tomorrow’s matchup against UConn…
“I definitely think we can [win]. We go into every game with the mindset that we can win any game. It’s just about us wanting to come in and compete as hard as we can and playing for each other to keep this streak we got going.”
On Joel Soriano’s performance…
“I think Joel was exactly what we needed. He stepped up to the challenge. He knew what we needed him to play like today. We have been talking about it all week, we have been talking about it all year. I think last time we had a meeting, he knew he needed to prove something and I said there is going to be a time where he will show what he is made of. I’m so proud of him.”
On why it took longer for the team to play at its peak…
“You can’t speed up trust and you can't rush greatness. It’s just about how badly we want to come together and play for each other. You can’t put a time limit on that, you just don’t know when that is going to come.”
On if it was an adjustment to focus on scoring as the season went on…
“The offense is designed for me to be aggressive and if it's my shot I will shoot it. I have no problem shooting it, but I love to pass. For me, I love the offense, I love playing for Coach Pitino and I love playing with my teammates. They know that and they know I’m paint touching to pass it. But, if they open the lane, I will take it.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On the feeling of today’s wins…
“I mean, it was just an amazing feeling. I just give everything to God for allowing me to have a positive mindset going through the season. You know, Coach [Pitino] believing in me, even though I was only practicing once a week, basically. But it felt great.”
On his halftime buzzer-beater…
“It was nice to get a buzzer-beater. I don’t think I’ve done that in college. So that was amazing. It was just wild. Very surreal. The crowd, the atmosphere, the energy. Credit to Seton Hall. They played really hard but we had to get them back, we couldn’t let them sweep us.”
On the team’s mindset going into Thursday’s game…
“Guys were really locked in, have been. [We] have six seniors, nobody wants to end the season on a bad note. I feel like we want to keep the season alive. So it was really just coming together, sticking it out. [Just like Coach Pitino] said, [over the last six games], just not letting the pressure get to us and just looking on to the next game.”
St. John’s forward Chris Ledlum
On the win against Seton Hall…
“I mean we played hard, came out and did exactly what the game plan was and we won the game. I know how hard we work every day so, it’s not shocking we [played this well] at all.”
On the environment at Madison Square Garden…
“It’s surreal. I mean, just the atmosphere, the environment, my niece was on the big screen dancing. It was like a movie to be honest. It was crazy.”
On if he expected this type of performance from the team…
“Absolutely. We had a great walkthrough today, we had great practices leading up [to this game]. I expected everything out of everyone. I knew everyone was going to bring everything that they had.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On today’s win over Seton Hall…
“We were well aware of what [Seton Hall] was capable of. I think they are really well coached, and it was important for us to go out there and play our best game. We locked in on the game plan. I feel like we know them well because of the local rivalry and we had a great crowd that I’m really thankful for. So, it was a really good day.”
On Coach Pitino’s style of basketball…
“It’s a whole lot of fun. I think when we play fast like that, we just let our natural talents take over instead of always trying to always run a play. When we play free like that it really shows that we are a really good team.”
Opening Statement…
“First, we are extremely happy for St. John’s fans and the University. About three weeks ago, I don’t know the exact date, the administration and I were talking and said ‘Look coach everybody is behind you. …You started so well, and we think everyone’s expectations were a little too high. It’s a good season and let’s finish up. …it was a good season.’ I could sense in their minds that it was over and in our minds, it was just beginning because March is what it’s all about in college basketball. We told the guys, ‘You got to play your best basketball going into March.’ We knew we had [six] elimination games and these guys rose to the occasion in all [six]. They knew if they lost to Creighton, lost to Butler, lost to DePaul, lost to Georgetown it could be over. We decided to change our whole offensive scheme in terms of pace in three days because we thought Seton Hall was better from a top-of-the-key to backboard game. We knew we had to outrebound them and get into the gaps like they do because they really are an outstanding basketball team. We thought they would play their guys a lot of minutes and I told our guys we were going to substitute right away and run the floor, run the floor, run the floor and they did a beautiful job. So, I’m real proud of them, real happy for St. John’s. They’re a terrific team. We beat an outstanding team tonight and we scored 91 points, which leads to what we want to do. Real proud of them. Big fella here [Joel Soriano] did an outstanding job. RJ [Luis Jr.] is getting better and better. Now he’s practicing, for the first time every day. So that’s really, really good.”
On if he had any idea on what the deflection total was…
“Yeah, we were close to 30 but it was in key moments. That’s what they did to us in two games. They were the ones in the gaps making the steals. Guys were really, really locked in. At the beginning of the game, they made some threes, and all I kept saying was pace, pace, pace. And I believe [Al-Amir] Dawes played all 20 minutes. I think [Dre] Davis, who has been on a great run, played 19 or 20. So we felt if we could sub, the pace would be great.”
On what he saw in his team that led him to believe they could make a run…
“It’s not necessarily what I thought in that moment. I just said there’s so many games to be played. I remember one time I was at Louisville, looked like we were down and out, and we had to beat Pitt on the road, another great road game. And we won I think seven out of nine or seven out of ten games to make it. It was never over if you keep getting better, keep improving, and we were playing really good basketball. We were losing to outstanding teams by one, two, three. All close games. So, you know I wasn’t, I told the guys, March is what it’s all about. Going into March in the last two weeks of the season, if you get better, then you’re going to be a March team. And they kept getting better and it’s a credit to them.”
On Naheim Alleyne’s play today…
“He had zero turnovers, two assists, 5-for-5 [from the floor], 3-for-3 from three. So, I think you’re right on that. I think he’s a veteran basketball player and we need him. But I thought all the guys made great plays tonight. You know it’s very difficult us to play without [Daniss Jenkins], but [Naheim Alleyne] and Jordan [Dingle] did a fabulous job and we’ve got a third point guard and that’s RJ [Luis Jr.]. RJ is a man, he plays power forward for us, he plays the wings. RJ can play all four positions and it’s not easy to do and he does it very well.”
On the progress of his team with six players finishing in double figures today…
“Well, we had three tough practices and the message I had for them, I gave them two messages. I said, ‘This time of year some teams get really, really tight and they rely on their half-court basketball.’ And I said, ‘I want you to do the opposite. I want you to go out and try and score 100 points tonight. I want you to play racehorse basketball, get a high number of assists and get in the gaps and beat them.’ But we’ve got to play a different style come March. It’s got to be racehorse basketball because I feel that takes the pressures off teams. When you are in the open court and you are running and you are having to move the ball, pass the ball and cut, you are not overthinking in the half court. And we did that tonight.”
St. John’s center Joel Soriano
On the feeling of advancing to the semifinals…
“It feels amazing. We knew today was going to be a hard-fought game. We knew if we wanted to beat this team that we had to play our style of basketball and play a full 40 minutes. I just kept telling the guys when we get the lead to keep our foot on their neck and stay locked in. I mean it’s an unbelievable feeling man, man. We play on Friday night. Everybody that I’ve known from St. John’s and coaches, Coach [Pitino] even said it, he said playing Friday night at Madison Square Garden, there’s no other feeling, there’s no other tournament bigger than the BIG EAST Tournament. Just blessed. Thank God.”
On the team’s mindset going into Thursday’s game…
“I think, to be honest, this whole week in practice we’ve been very locked in. Not to say that we haven’t been the whole season, but guys know what’s at stake. Like Coach [Pitino] said, we’re pressured. We knew that if we didn’t come out here and win this game, then we wouldn’t be hearing anything on Sunday. We’d be going home. So, I think a lot of guys, we just bought into what we needed to do. We found certain things that they do well, we tried to exploit them. They are a great team, a very well-coached team. We just tried to come out and play our style of basketball.
On the BIG EAST Tournament…
“This tournament is amazing, man. It gives you a different type of feeling playing here. All the greats have played here, how many times has [Coach Pitino] coached here. This is the best tournament in the United States. So, we just tried to come out here and play our style of basketball.”
On what the win means for the program…
“It just feels good, man. At the end of the day, we haven’t made it to the semifinals in 20-plus years. So, being able to say you are a part of history is amazing, my performance or not. If I had come out there and had two and two and Zuby [Ejiofor] had a good game, I would have been ecstatic just because we got the win and my teammate played well. We just have to keep building. We have to keep being ourselves.”
St. John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On tomorrow’s matchup against UConn…
“I definitely think we can [win]. We go into every game with the mindset that we can win any game. It’s just about us wanting to come in and compete as hard as we can and playing for each other to keep this streak we got going.”
On Joel Soriano’s performance…
“I think Joel was exactly what we needed. He stepped up to the challenge. He knew what we needed him to play like today. We have been talking about it all week, we have been talking about it all year. I think last time we had a meeting, he knew he needed to prove something and I said there is going to be a time where he will show what he is made of. I’m so proud of him.”
On why it took longer for the team to play at its peak…
“You can’t speed up trust and you can't rush greatness. It’s just about how badly we want to come together and play for each other. You can’t put a time limit on that, you just don’t know when that is going to come.”
On if it was an adjustment to focus on scoring as the season went on…
“The offense is designed for me to be aggressive and if it's my shot I will shoot it. I have no problem shooting it, but I love to pass. For me, I love the offense, I love playing for Coach Pitino and I love playing with my teammates. They know that and they know I’m paint touching to pass it. But, if they open the lane, I will take it.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On the feeling of today’s wins…
“I mean, it was just an amazing feeling. I just give everything to God for allowing me to have a positive mindset going through the season. You know, Coach [Pitino] believing in me, even though I was only practicing once a week, basically. But it felt great.”
On his halftime buzzer-beater…
“It was nice to get a buzzer-beater. I don’t think I’ve done that in college. So that was amazing. It was just wild. Very surreal. The crowd, the atmosphere, the energy. Credit to Seton Hall. They played really hard but we had to get them back, we couldn’t let them sweep us.”
On the team’s mindset going into Thursday’s game…
“Guys were really locked in, have been. [We] have six seniors, nobody wants to end the season on a bad note. I feel like we want to keep the season alive. So it was really just coming together, sticking it out. [Just like Coach Pitino] said, [over the last six games], just not letting the pressure get to us and just looking on to the next game.”
St. John’s forward Chris Ledlum
On the win against Seton Hall…
“I mean we played hard, came out and did exactly what the game plan was and we won the game. I know how hard we work every day so, it’s not shocking we [played this well] at all.”
On the environment at Madison Square Garden…
“It’s surreal. I mean, just the atmosphere, the environment, my niece was on the big screen dancing. It was like a movie to be honest. It was crazy.”
On if he expected this type of performance from the team…
“Absolutely. We had a great walkthrough today, we had great practices leading up [to this game]. I expected everything out of everyone. I knew everyone was going to bring everything that they had.”
St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle
On today’s win over Seton Hall…
“We were well aware of what [Seton Hall] was capable of. I think they are really well coached, and it was important for us to go out there and play our best game. We locked in on the game plan. I feel like we know them well because of the local rivalry and we had a great crowd that I’m really thankful for. So, it was a really good day.”
On Coach Pitino’s style of basketball…
“It’s a whole lot of fun. I think when we play fast like that, we just let our natural talents take over instead of always trying to always run a play. When we play free like that it really shows that we are a really good team.”