St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: No. 20/21 St. John’s Men's Basketball vs. Xavier
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, guard Deivon Smith and forward Zuby Ejiofor spoke with the media ahead of the team’s matchup against Xavier on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden
Head Coach Rick Pitino
On getting extra practices at Madison Square Garden…
“Well, we don't get them very often. This is the second one of the year. So, although we're a home tenant of the Garden, this is our home, we don't get chances of shooting practice here. So, we practiced this morning, and we just want to get a lot of shots up.”
On the importance of tomorrow’s game against Xavier…
“This is the biggest game of the year for us, the biggest game of the year for them, because they're on the threshold of making it, getting back. They're 4-4. They can become 5-4. They got a good quad one schedule. For both of us, it's our Super Bowl right now.”
On Xavier…
“They had a big meeting after that game (against St. John’s on Jan. 7), and they came out, they've won three in a row, and we know how good they are. They were picked third for a reason in our conference, and we got them on the offensive glass. We know how [Xavier Head Coach] Sean Miller is. They're going to be blocking out from the moment that game ended to now. It's going to it's a big game for both of us, and we've got to come away with a victory, or it's not going to be the pendulum we want.”
On what makes Xavier so dangerous…
“They beat Marquette, playing Marquette basketball. Getting into gaps, creating the steals, getting an up-tempo style. So, they played like Marquette, and Xavier is one of the fastest tempos in the league. They got great talent, great coaching, and we realized that we got them on a given night, but if we don't bring it a second night, they'll beat us.”
On the team’s mentality after reentering the top 25…
“Well, we've had a lot of emotional games. And you know, it's like I said, this team doesn't embrace being in the top 20. Doesn't look at the rankings. We know how tough February is for us. We haven't played Connecticut twice. We haven't played Marquette twice. So, we know how important this game is. If you want to compete in February, you better take care of January.”
On the way Kadary Richmond handled his return to Seton Hall last week…
“He wasn't any different with Seton Hall coming up, and he wasn't any different (in the game). He's just a different guy. He reminds me of Clyde Frazier, because I know Clyde very well. Clyde doesn't get too excited, doesn't get too down, too up. I hope he plays like Clyde Frazier come Wednesday night.”
On if he expected this productivity from RJ Luis Jr…
“I expected that of RJ. He still has a lot of improvement left in this game. He still dribbles into pressure too much, and he's got to learn to get away from that. But he's having a great year,
and I'm very, very proud of him. This is what I expected of him. He's a great basketball
player.”
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith:
On how it felt to play against Seton Hall…
“It was good, from a mental standpoint, just to get out there and see how I felt, just playing throughout the game and getting shots up and stuff like that and keeping the chemistry going with the guys.”
On the team re-entering the top 25…
“It’s super exciting. Our work is paying off. We didn't expect to come in here (Madison Square Garden) and practice and have a shootaround today. So, I mean, we're working. We're doing a lot of work, getting a lot of shots up in the gym constantly, and spending time with each other. I think that's the most important part. So, I think it's paying off.”
On if being ranked makes the team excited…
Yeah, I think it does. I think we want to knock it down. We're at 20, and we have some teams in front of us in our conference, of course. So, I mean, we're still chasing goals. Still want to win our conference and beat those teams that are in front of us. So, I think it keeps us going.”
On Coach Pitino calling Wednesday’s game against Xavier the biggest game of the year…
I agree. I mean, they just beat Marquette. They beat the number one team for us. So, I mean, it is a pretty big game just holding that number one crown. And I mean, we have a target on our back. So, every game is the biggest game.”
St John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor:
On being ranked…
“It shows, a testament to the amount of work that we've put in this whole season and we've been playing collective basketball as of late. Now we're ranked, and the nation now knows St. John's basketball, so we just look to keep it going.”
On Xavier’s improvement over the past two weeks…
“I have seen that they're a lot more aggressive, especially on the defensive end, they're starting to play a lot more with each other, so there's nothing really too much of a difference to them, but they know what's at stake for their season, and obviously, everybody wants to win. So their will to win is a lot stronger now. We just got to come up, come out.”
On Deivon Smith…
“Obviously, he's a tremendous player, and you know, he pushes the pace as well as anyone on the team. He's our leading defensive rebounder, but everybody has a next-man-up mentality, and that's how it's got to be for this season. We're just going to keep playing with each other, keep playing with the same mindset, and just do whatever it takes to win, and that's what has been keeping us going so far.”
On getting extra practices at Madison Square Garden…
“Well, we don't get them very often. This is the second one of the year. So, although we're a home tenant of the Garden, this is our home, we don't get chances of shooting practice here. So, we practiced this morning, and we just want to get a lot of shots up.”
On the importance of tomorrow’s game against Xavier…
“This is the biggest game of the year for us, the biggest game of the year for them, because they're on the threshold of making it, getting back. They're 4-4. They can become 5-4. They got a good quad one schedule. For both of us, it's our Super Bowl right now.”
On Xavier…
“They had a big meeting after that game (against St. John’s on Jan. 7), and they came out, they've won three in a row, and we know how good they are. They were picked third for a reason in our conference, and we got them on the offensive glass. We know how [Xavier Head Coach] Sean Miller is. They're going to be blocking out from the moment that game ended to now. It's going to it's a big game for both of us, and we've got to come away with a victory, or it's not going to be the pendulum we want.”
On what makes Xavier so dangerous…
“They beat Marquette, playing Marquette basketball. Getting into gaps, creating the steals, getting an up-tempo style. So, they played like Marquette, and Xavier is one of the fastest tempos in the league. They got great talent, great coaching, and we realized that we got them on a given night, but if we don't bring it a second night, they'll beat us.”
On the team’s mentality after reentering the top 25…
“Well, we've had a lot of emotional games. And you know, it's like I said, this team doesn't embrace being in the top 20. Doesn't look at the rankings. We know how tough February is for us. We haven't played Connecticut twice. We haven't played Marquette twice. So, we know how important this game is. If you want to compete in February, you better take care of January.”
On the way Kadary Richmond handled his return to Seton Hall last week…
“He wasn't any different with Seton Hall coming up, and he wasn't any different (in the game). He's just a different guy. He reminds me of Clyde Frazier, because I know Clyde very well. Clyde doesn't get too excited, doesn't get too down, too up. I hope he plays like Clyde Frazier come Wednesday night.”
On if he expected this productivity from RJ Luis Jr…
“I expected that of RJ. He still has a lot of improvement left in this game. He still dribbles into pressure too much, and he's got to learn to get away from that. But he's having a great year,
and I'm very, very proud of him. This is what I expected of him. He's a great basketball
player.”
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith:
On how it felt to play against Seton Hall…
“It was good, from a mental standpoint, just to get out there and see how I felt, just playing throughout the game and getting shots up and stuff like that and keeping the chemistry going with the guys.”
On the team re-entering the top 25…
“It’s super exciting. Our work is paying off. We didn't expect to come in here (Madison Square Garden) and practice and have a shootaround today. So, I mean, we're working. We're doing a lot of work, getting a lot of shots up in the gym constantly, and spending time with each other. I think that's the most important part. So, I think it's paying off.”
On if being ranked makes the team excited…
Yeah, I think it does. I think we want to knock it down. We're at 20, and we have some teams in front of us in our conference, of course. So, I mean, we're still chasing goals. Still want to win our conference and beat those teams that are in front of us. So, I think it keeps us going.”
On Coach Pitino calling Wednesday’s game against Xavier the biggest game of the year…
I agree. I mean, they just beat Marquette. They beat the number one team for us. So, I mean, it is a pretty big game just holding that number one crown. And I mean, we have a target on our back. So, every game is the biggest game.”
St John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor:
On being ranked…
“It shows, a testament to the amount of work that we've put in this whole season and we've been playing collective basketball as of late. Now we're ranked, and the nation now knows St. John's basketball, so we just look to keep it going.”
On Xavier’s improvement over the past two weeks…
“I have seen that they're a lot more aggressive, especially on the defensive end, they're starting to play a lot more with each other, so there's nothing really too much of a difference to them, but they know what's at stake for their season, and obviously, everybody wants to win. So their will to win is a lot stronger now. We just got to come up, come out.”
On Deivon Smith…
“Obviously, he's a tremendous player, and you know, he pushes the pace as well as anyone on the team. He's our leading defensive rebounder, but everybody has a next-man-up mentality, and that's how it's got to be for this season. We're just going to keep playing with each other, keep playing with the same mindset, and just do whatever it takes to win, and that's what has been keeping us going so far.”