St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Villanova
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, forward Aaron Scott and forward Zuby Ejiofor spoke with the media ahead of the Red Storm matchup against the Wildcats on Saturday at Madison Square Garden
Head Coach Rick Pitino
On the BIG EAST…
“Every team that we're going to face from this point on, and that's the thing about the BIG EAST, we can beat anybody in the BIG EAST and we can lose to anybody in the BIG EAST. We could lose to the bottom team and beat the top team. You just have to prepare differently for every opponent. Every opponent brings a different challenge to your scouting.”
On the team’s mindset…
“I got very upset at them in the Butler game at home. I said [to the team], ‘You guys are going to let a team beat you because you're worried about your missed shots. You're counting your misses and you're not preparing to win the game.’ I got very vocal with them in timeouts and I said, ‘This has to stop. If you want to concern yourself with missed shots, then you're going to lose. If you want to do something about your missed shots, offensive rebound,’ and they got the message.”
On the team’s work ethic…
“I keep saying it gets better and better with each practice and with each game. Kadary [Richmond’s] work ethic has gotten better every week of the season. I think that there was a one-man club, and then Sadiku [Ibine Ayo] joined Zuby [Ejiofor]. Then Deivon [Smith] joined those two. Then [Simeon Wilcher] joined and everybody's joining Zuby’s club of incredible work ethic. It started out with a one-man band, and now they have a very large band.”
On how to improve the team’s defense…
“You have to add things [to the defense] because the people I coach against every single game are just as good as us. Their staffs are just as good. They work just as hard and they're just as passionate. They're great coaches and they prepare just like we prepare. So, if it's not broken and you're winning, you must break it because they're going to see what you're doing well. If you don't break it, innovate and give them things that the opposition doesn't know, then it's going to be based on a last-second shot”
St. John’s forward Aaron Scott
On where he learned to be a defensive player first…
“Definitely at North Texas, the coaches really preach that, just like they preach that here. I'm glad I got a chance to get that early in my career as a freshman and ever since then that's what I've been about”
On if the team’s mindset has evolved around missed shots…
“Yeah, definitely. My shot hasn't been falling, I just have to find other ways to impact the game. Like you said, getting offensive rebounds, steals and blocks. I just want to impact the game in a winning way and I felt like that's what I did [at Xavier] and I want to continue to do that.”
On the team winning despite not being successful in some areas…
“I just think we have a lot of dogs on the team and we just find ways to win. It doesn't matter how - just come together and find ways. We got a lot of older players on the team, a lot of people who have won a lot of games… We have just been coming together and doing the little things and just finding ways to win.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On what impresses him about Villanova…
“It's just the way they play together. Obviously, they shoot the three ball really well with a high percentage. So, we're going to be looking to limit that. They will play at a slow pace, as we've watched on film, they play at probably one of the slowest paces in the country. So, we'll be looking to speed them up a little bit.”
On what he expects Saturday night to be like inside of Madison Square Garden…
“There's a lot of hype coming into this game, two hot teams in the BIG EAST right now, at this moment. So, we're looking for it to be rocking, obviously. We're looking for the crowd to give us a lot of energy and it's going to be a really exciting game. It's going to be a full 40-minute game that both teams, two great teams, are going to have to play.”
On how Coach Pitino has changed the team’s mindset when shots are not falling…
“You want to play for a coach like that. Obviously, [Coach Pitino] says a lot about not caring about missed shots. He doesn't care about guys missing shots, but he does care about the defensive end - if guys are talking, if guys are going to block out for a rebound, little things like that. That really impact winning. So, if your shot's not falling, you have to find opportunities to get another chance at it, like an offensive rebound and that's what [Aaron] Scott did last game and that's what I've been doing pretty much all year. So, that's what we look to keep doing.”
On if he believes the team’s three-point shooting will come around…
“Absolutely. We're going through a slump right now and it's basketball. It's going to happen. We have a whole lot of excellent three-point shooters on this team, and [Aaron] Scott included. He's one of the best shooters on his team. Simeon Wilcher, Deivon [Smith], like all those guys can really shoot the ball and I see it in the player development sessions every single day. So, I have no doubt that we're going to find our shot back.”
On the team’s emphasis on getting offensive rebounds on missed shots…
“I think we've always been our offensive rebounding team. I think that's kind of our identity at the moment. Just playing hard, playing tough, and playing with a lot of grit and getting second opportunities. That's what we've kind of done all year. Like I said, we're going through a slump right now, so it's going to be really imperative that we do that.”
On the BIG EAST…
“Every team that we're going to face from this point on, and that's the thing about the BIG EAST, we can beat anybody in the BIG EAST and we can lose to anybody in the BIG EAST. We could lose to the bottom team and beat the top team. You just have to prepare differently for every opponent. Every opponent brings a different challenge to your scouting.”
On the team’s mindset…
“I got very upset at them in the Butler game at home. I said [to the team], ‘You guys are going to let a team beat you because you're worried about your missed shots. You're counting your misses and you're not preparing to win the game.’ I got very vocal with them in timeouts and I said, ‘This has to stop. If you want to concern yourself with missed shots, then you're going to lose. If you want to do something about your missed shots, offensive rebound,’ and they got the message.”
On the team’s work ethic…
“I keep saying it gets better and better with each practice and with each game. Kadary [Richmond’s] work ethic has gotten better every week of the season. I think that there was a one-man club, and then Sadiku [Ibine Ayo] joined Zuby [Ejiofor]. Then Deivon [Smith] joined those two. Then [Simeon Wilcher] joined and everybody's joining Zuby’s club of incredible work ethic. It started out with a one-man band, and now they have a very large band.”
On how to improve the team’s defense…
“You have to add things [to the defense] because the people I coach against every single game are just as good as us. Their staffs are just as good. They work just as hard and they're just as passionate. They're great coaches and they prepare just like we prepare. So, if it's not broken and you're winning, you must break it because they're going to see what you're doing well. If you don't break it, innovate and give them things that the opposition doesn't know, then it's going to be based on a last-second shot”
St. John’s forward Aaron Scott
On where he learned to be a defensive player first…
“Definitely at North Texas, the coaches really preach that, just like they preach that here. I'm glad I got a chance to get that early in my career as a freshman and ever since then that's what I've been about”
On if the team’s mindset has evolved around missed shots…
“Yeah, definitely. My shot hasn't been falling, I just have to find other ways to impact the game. Like you said, getting offensive rebounds, steals and blocks. I just want to impact the game in a winning way and I felt like that's what I did [at Xavier] and I want to continue to do that.”
On the team winning despite not being successful in some areas…
“I just think we have a lot of dogs on the team and we just find ways to win. It doesn't matter how - just come together and find ways. We got a lot of older players on the team, a lot of people who have won a lot of games… We have just been coming together and doing the little things and just finding ways to win.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On what impresses him about Villanova…
“It's just the way they play together. Obviously, they shoot the three ball really well with a high percentage. So, we're going to be looking to limit that. They will play at a slow pace, as we've watched on film, they play at probably one of the slowest paces in the country. So, we'll be looking to speed them up a little bit.”
On what he expects Saturday night to be like inside of Madison Square Garden…
“There's a lot of hype coming into this game, two hot teams in the BIG EAST right now, at this moment. So, we're looking for it to be rocking, obviously. We're looking for the crowd to give us a lot of energy and it's going to be a really exciting game. It's going to be a full 40-minute game that both teams, two great teams, are going to have to play.”
On how Coach Pitino has changed the team’s mindset when shots are not falling…
“You want to play for a coach like that. Obviously, [Coach Pitino] says a lot about not caring about missed shots. He doesn't care about guys missing shots, but he does care about the defensive end - if guys are talking, if guys are going to block out for a rebound, little things like that. That really impact winning. So, if your shot's not falling, you have to find opportunities to get another chance at it, like an offensive rebound and that's what [Aaron] Scott did last game and that's what I've been doing pretty much all year. So, that's what we look to keep doing.”
On if he believes the team’s three-point shooting will come around…
“Absolutely. We're going through a slump right now and it's basketball. It's going to happen. We have a whole lot of excellent three-point shooters on this team, and [Aaron] Scott included. He's one of the best shooters on his team. Simeon Wilcher, Deivon [Smith], like all those guys can really shoot the ball and I see it in the player development sessions every single day. So, I have no doubt that we're going to find our shot back.”
On the team’s emphasis on getting offensive rebounds on missed shots…
“I think we've always been our offensive rebounding team. I think that's kind of our identity at the moment. Just playing hard, playing tough, and playing with a lot of grit and getting second opportunities. That's what we've kind of done all year. Like I said, we're going through a slump right now, so it's going to be really imperative that we do that.”