St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: RV/RV St. John's Men's Basketball vs Georgetown
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino, guard Simeon Wilcher, guard Kadary Richmond and Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley speak to the media after St. John’s 63-58 win against Georgetown
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“My message to the guys during every timeout was, ‘Let's just get it to single digits, regroup at halftime and we win it in the second half.’ When I talked to them at halftime, I said, ‘Look, these other guys are terrific coaches and they scout us as well. What they said to their team was, you have no chance of winning if you let this team kill you on the offensive glass.’ And they just annihilated us on the backboard, and they knew how to beat us with the backboard. In the second half, we just really, really picked it up.”
On Simeon Wilcher’s development…
“A year ago, Simeon Wilcher, if he's not playing well, he would get distracted. Tonight, he's not scoring, but he's not getting distracted in key plays. He missed those threes, I said, ‘Sim, you got to keep taking it, man, you got to keep taking it.’ Next one, he makes it, and then he gets the key back tip, and then we get the great block shot.”
On his team’s resilience…
“So, some nights, if you don't have it and you could still win, the word that sticks out more than anything else is fortitude. We had the fortitude to win the game, and they made big plays. It wasn't RJ [Luis Jr.’s] best night, it wasn't Zuby [Ejiofor’s] best night, but they all had the fortitude. They refused to lose the game.”
On the level his team is playing at right now…
“Look, I've been in this business a long, long time. The staff is doing a fabulous job of preparing them. The players are doing a fabulous job of giving me every ounce of perspiration they have, but they're the ones doing the work. I always say this, players make coaches look good, or players can make coaches look bad, and they're making us as a coaching staff look good.”
On how his team pulled out a win tonight…
“I just thought we got every loose ball, we made every tough shot down the stretch. I think Kadary [Richmond] had his best practice of the season yesterday. He had eight assists and three steals (tonight). He's a little underappreciated. He owns up to every mistake he makes. But it wasn't our best night, but they have a strong desire to win, and as a coach, I can't appreciate anything more than that.”
On how his team handled Georgetown’s zone…
“We told them they were going to zone us most of the game. I thought we handled it well. We just need to move to open spots better. We've got to get Simeon Wilcher open shots, we've got to get Aaron [Scott] open looks. I thought [Lefteris Liotopoulos] made a big three for us. We just got to get open a little bit better in the zone.”
St. John’s guard Simeon Wilcher
On his mentality on his three-pointer late in the game…
“Everybody just continues to tell me to keep shooting. As we all know, I haven’t been shooting it well these last few games, but they just keep their confidence in me. I just stepped into it the right way, and I hit the shot.”
On if he can sense the excitement around the team after starting 6-1 in BIG EAST play…
“Yeah, for sure. Being in New York City and playing well and winning, you get the whole city to back you and that’s what's happening right now. We're extremely excited for the rest of the season, just to see the things that we could do. I feel like we have a really good, tough and talented group of guys, and I feel like throughout the year we're just going to continue to get better.”
On the team rallying after the first half…
“We all want to win, and when we have a collective of guys who just want to win or do whatever just to win, a lot of great things can happen. We came out in the second half and just did that. We took what we've been working on all year and just put it into fruition.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond
On the team’s desire to win…
“We all know what the big goal is - to get on Broadway. That's the message preached every day. So, just having that will to go out there down 10 [points], just come back and win and keep playing hard and stay together.”
On how he is able to perform when the intensity is high late in games…
“I would say that comes from being around for a while. Just knowing that there's going to be highs and lows throughout the game. They're going to go on a run. We just have the desire to win and the will to win.”
On his biggest takeaway from tonight’s win…
“Being able to stick together. We know we're down a man [Deivon Smith]. We know we went down big and we fought back and got a win. So, I would say staying together is a big thing.”
Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley
On St. John’s…
“That's one of the best teams we played all year. I don't know if there's a close second; this team is really, really good. They have some dynamite players. They defend at an elite level. They try to speed you up. Very, very good.”
On RJ Luis Jr….
“He’s a great player. I mean, Coach [Pitino] has done a great job with his player development. He's athletic, he's long, he's a triple threat. He's an elite defender. The block late in the game there, that was big time. He plays as a next-level player.”
On Kadary Richmond…
“The unsung hero of that second half is Kadary [Richmond]. Kadary made some big-time shots late, and that's why they bought him here.”