St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John’s Men’s Basketball vs. Georgetown
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, Daniss Jenkins and Joel Soriano met with the media on Thursday ahead of the Red Storm’s matchup with Georgetown on Saturday
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
On Joel Soriano…
“Joel is a wonderful person. I would say he is a wonderful person in a group that is filled with incredible young men. You don’t usually get this. You don’t get all 13 players who are all really nice people on a basketball team. This team has been 13 gentlemen. Joel is the leader. He has great manners, has been raised terrific, is incredibly loyal to St. John’s. It means a lot to him to be a St. John’s basketball player.”
On the team’s play since the Seton Hall game on Feb. 18…
“I think the last three games we have been brilliant on offense. You know, six turnovers, six turnovers, three turnovers, high assists. I think that’s outstanding for any basketball team. I think we are taking high-percentage shots, sharing the basketball, not turning the ball over. I think it’s been three great games.”
On Daniss Jenkins…
“If you get a guy who loves the game, has a high motor, is a very good athlete and wants to really get better, you have the perfect recruit. That’s Daniss Jenkins. He has the size and athleticism. He wanted to become better at everything on the basketball court. There are very few people as athletes who bring it every single practice, every single film session, every single game. They may have a poor night, but they bring it every single day. I’ve coached a long, long time, and I could count on both of my hands the players who bring it every single time. … Daniss brings it every single day for me.”
St. John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On why the offense has been very efficient of late…
“I want to say the practices. At practice, if you see how fast we play and the way we guard each other – it’s almost like we have to play that way in the game. We had to start playing good in the game because practice is the time you get prepared for a game. … Every game we go into, we try to attack with a different type of style, but at the same time, play our style. We play fast and the playing style we play with, we need to get stops, which will help our offense look a lot better. We just started getting stops that was the key for me. We played a little better defense and got a lot more easy buckets. When we get out in transition we are a great team. … We never wavered on what practice would look like and that’s a testament to our character, to our coaches and everyone involved because it’s easy to go another way when you’re losing. It’s easy to just lay down when you lose, but we came in here every day just trying to practice as hard as we can because that’s the standard. That doesn’t waver win or lose. Obviously, we want to come out and win every game, but it starts at practice. We all took on the challenge of raising our level to be the best we can be. It’s evident, you see people like Glenn [Taylor Jr.]. He went from having DNPs to going out and playing the way he’s playing. We are all taking on the challenge of being a great team because in March you need your team to win games and go far. You need everyone to play at an all-time high and that’s what we are seeing right now.”
St John’s center Joel Soriano
Joel Soriano:
On reflecting on his St. John’s career…
“It hasn’t really hit me yet. I’m still focused on Georgetown, I’m still focused on the BIG EAST Tournament. As you are saying it now, it is starting to hit me a little bit. It’s been a long three years. There’s been a lot of ups and downs. It's definitely been a rollercoaster ride. I’m just grateful for it. I’m grateful for the connections that I’ve made and for being part of this university. I give a lot of thanks to St. John’s for taking me in.”
On what it would mean to make the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean for me it would be a dream come true. As a Division I college basketball player, that’s your dream. That’s your goal every season, to make the NCAA Tournament. This would be my first time and it would be a dream come true in my last season to make it to the Tournament. Hopefully making some noise when you get in there. I’m just eager to get there.”
On the change in direction of the season…
“The six seniors on the team knew that if we didn’t change this around and do something fast, it was going to be over. If we don’t win the BIG EAST Tournament, we are not going to go to the [NCAA] Tournament. We knew that we had to do something drastic to change the direction of our team. I would say [Coach Pitino’s] words definitely had a play in them because we listened to it and knew that was just our coach trying to bring the most out of us. I know some people outside probably took it negatively, but as a team, we know Coach [Pitino] loves us and he wants the best for us. We know he’s trying to drive us to be great and that’s what we asked from him when he was recruiting us and when we got here. I feel like we each responded well to it.”
On the Georgetown rivalry and game on Saturday…
“Since I’ve been here and since I’ve watched St. John’s, I know The Garden will be very strong. I know [the rivalry] has kind of died out as the years went by, but I know through fans and alumni that have been through the program, they still have that feeling when they come to the game. At The Garden last year, I felt the energy through the building when we played Georgetown. I know it’s a rivalry, the last game we played them was a pretty tough game and a pretty close game. I know they are going to bring their all. Ed Cooley is a good coach and they have a great team over there. So, I’m up for the challenge.
On anticipation of Senior Day…
“It definitely will be a little more emotional for me because I know it’s going to be my last game here. Just trying to take it all in. Soak it all in. Cherish the memories I’ve made here. We’re still not done here. This is not going to be my last game in a St. John’s uniform, we’ve still got a lot more to go, so I’m going to take it all in.”
On Joel Soriano…
“Joel is a wonderful person. I would say he is a wonderful person in a group that is filled with incredible young men. You don’t usually get this. You don’t get all 13 players who are all really nice people on a basketball team. This team has been 13 gentlemen. Joel is the leader. He has great manners, has been raised terrific, is incredibly loyal to St. John’s. It means a lot to him to be a St. John’s basketball player.”
On the team’s play since the Seton Hall game on Feb. 18…
“I think the last three games we have been brilliant on offense. You know, six turnovers, six turnovers, three turnovers, high assists. I think that’s outstanding for any basketball team. I think we are taking high-percentage shots, sharing the basketball, not turning the ball over. I think it’s been three great games.”
On Daniss Jenkins…
“If you get a guy who loves the game, has a high motor, is a very good athlete and wants to really get better, you have the perfect recruit. That’s Daniss Jenkins. He has the size and athleticism. He wanted to become better at everything on the basketball court. There are very few people as athletes who bring it every single practice, every single film session, every single game. They may have a poor night, but they bring it every single day. I’ve coached a long, long time, and I could count on both of my hands the players who bring it every single time. … Daniss brings it every single day for me.”
St. John’s guard Daniss Jenkins
On why the offense has been very efficient of late…
“I want to say the practices. At practice, if you see how fast we play and the way we guard each other – it’s almost like we have to play that way in the game. We had to start playing good in the game because practice is the time you get prepared for a game. … Every game we go into, we try to attack with a different type of style, but at the same time, play our style. We play fast and the playing style we play with, we need to get stops, which will help our offense look a lot better. We just started getting stops that was the key for me. We played a little better defense and got a lot more easy buckets. When we get out in transition we are a great team. … We never wavered on what practice would look like and that’s a testament to our character, to our coaches and everyone involved because it’s easy to go another way when you’re losing. It’s easy to just lay down when you lose, but we came in here every day just trying to practice as hard as we can because that’s the standard. That doesn’t waver win or lose. Obviously, we want to come out and win every game, but it starts at practice. We all took on the challenge of raising our level to be the best we can be. It’s evident, you see people like Glenn [Taylor Jr.]. He went from having DNPs to going out and playing the way he’s playing. We are all taking on the challenge of being a great team because in March you need your team to win games and go far. You need everyone to play at an all-time high and that’s what we are seeing right now.”
St John’s center Joel Soriano
Joel Soriano:
On reflecting on his St. John’s career…
“It hasn’t really hit me yet. I’m still focused on Georgetown, I’m still focused on the BIG EAST Tournament. As you are saying it now, it is starting to hit me a little bit. It’s been a long three years. There’s been a lot of ups and downs. It's definitely been a rollercoaster ride. I’m just grateful for it. I’m grateful for the connections that I’ve made and for being part of this university. I give a lot of thanks to St. John’s for taking me in.”
On what it would mean to make the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean for me it would be a dream come true. As a Division I college basketball player, that’s your dream. That’s your goal every season, to make the NCAA Tournament. This would be my first time and it would be a dream come true in my last season to make it to the Tournament. Hopefully making some noise when you get in there. I’m just eager to get there.”
On the change in direction of the season…
“The six seniors on the team knew that if we didn’t change this around and do something fast, it was going to be over. If we don’t win the BIG EAST Tournament, we are not going to go to the [NCAA] Tournament. We knew that we had to do something drastic to change the direction of our team. I would say [Coach Pitino’s] words definitely had a play in them because we listened to it and knew that was just our coach trying to bring the most out of us. I know some people outside probably took it negatively, but as a team, we know Coach [Pitino] loves us and he wants the best for us. We know he’s trying to drive us to be great and that’s what we asked from him when he was recruiting us and when we got here. I feel like we each responded well to it.”
On the Georgetown rivalry and game on Saturday…
“Since I’ve been here and since I’ve watched St. John’s, I know The Garden will be very strong. I know [the rivalry] has kind of died out as the years went by, but I know through fans and alumni that have been through the program, they still have that feeling when they come to the game. At The Garden last year, I felt the energy through the building when we played Georgetown. I know it’s a rivalry, the last game we played them was a pretty tough game and a pretty close game. I know they are going to bring their all. Ed Cooley is a good coach and they have a great team over there. So, I’m up for the challenge.
On anticipation of Senior Day…
“It definitely will be a little more emotional for me because I know it’s going to be my last game here. Just trying to take it all in. Soak it all in. Cherish the memories I’ve made here. We’re still not done here. This is not going to be my last game in a St. John’s uniform, we’ve still got a lot more to go, so I’m going to take it all in.”