St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: No. 20/21 St. John’s Men's Basketball vs. Xavier
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, guard Kadary Richmond, forward Zuby Ejiofor and Xavier Head Coach Sean Miller spoke with the media after the Red Storm’s 79-71 overtime win against Xavier
Head Coach Rick Pitino
On Kadary Richmond’s performance…
“I liked his stamina. I think he's now in great shape. I thought the defense we played down 16, in overtime was magnificent.”
On coming back from down 16 to win…
“Tonight, this team, we got outplayed. Tonight, they (Xavier) were the better team for most of the game. They really needed the game. They're coming off three wins, a Marquette victory. We, for the first time this year, did not execute our defensive scouting. But we said at halftime, ‘Look, give them credit. They're playing great. They're executing. They're taking advantage of certain things.’ I said, ‘Just possession by possession. Let's come back and win this game.’ And our press bailed us out when it was very close; we went up one or two points. Our press bailed us out. That one spurt with our press gave us a big lift. Kadary [Richmond] was great the entire night without a turnover, playing that many minutes. He's getting better and better from a conditioning standpoint. But we got to give Xavier a lot of credit because they outplayed us most of the game.”
On the importance of winning tonight’s game…
“Well, we needed the win as much as Xavier. We had to have this win. You know, it's the most important thing for us, is to keep improving and keep winning. We cannot take losses. It's a non-negotiable thing for us, and that's the attitude we have, and that's where we come back. I think these guys have a great fear of losing, a great fear, and that's a good thing.”
On this team’s ability to come back in the second half…
“A lot of teams, when they get down 16, get down 14, really hang their heads. It's just the opposite with these guys, and that goes back to their fear of losing, and they just dig in and dig in and played magnificent when the game was on the line and we had to dig in. We made every great defensive play, which we didn't do in the first, first 28 minutes.”
On building a culture of winning…
“Anytime you beat a team, it's a psychological edge from the team that you beat. And we knew this. You know, Xavier was going to play this game with a great offense and defense. We knew that. But look, we just have a mindset that we're going into the game and winning. We don't think about anything except winning. We don't get distracted by anything. And I tell them, ‘Look, you may make nine of 10 threes in a given game, but that's not what this team is all about. This team is about defense and having a fear of losing.’”
On the crowd inside Madison Square Garden tonight…
“This was a crowd that marketing deserves a lot of credit. The Garden deserves a lot of credit, because they did a great job. It's five degrees out there, but we got it rolling right now and winning does that. Look, this is New York. It's all about winning. In New York, if you win, they're going to show up. And we know that. And we're winning right now. We're bringing St. John's back to where it needs to be. It's a shame Lou [Carnesecca] is not alive. He'd be very proud of this team, the way they fight.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond
On if it will be tougher playing opponents for a second time this season like Xavier…
“Yeah, especially this game, because they felt like we out-toughed them on the glass [in the previous meeting]. So, they came in with a motive to play harder than us and be more aggressive than us, and then we responded in the second half to match their physicality.”
On if he thinks this was his best performance with St. John’s…
“I try to approach every game the same, but tonight, I feel like I was more aggressive and took what the defense gave me. My teammates kept giving me confidence throughout the year. So, I feel this was one of my best games in St John's uniform.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On what makes this team so good…
“I would say it is our will win. The whole time we're preaching in the second half - do whatever it takes to win and just continue to play basketball. Get back to our you know what we do best, which is being aggressive and playing with grit. Offensive rebounds came and our shots didn't fall, but ultimately, we won this game on the defensive end.”
On what got him going in the second half…
“I'm a sore loser. I never want to lose any games … I feel like it’s a constant thing all year where I kind of start off slow in the first half, so I got to figure that out. I think my motor keeps me going, just having a really high motor, and, like I said, my will and desire to win and not let my teammates down and everybody played collective basketball.”
On if it will be tougher playing opponents for a second time this season like Xavier…
“Absolutely. Nobody wants to lose twice, especially in this league. Everybody's going to give you their best shot. Coach Pitino was emphasizing how tough of a game this is going to be with that team. It's anybody's game, but this game was going to come down to who wants it more and ultimately, we got the victory.”
On Kadary Richmond’s performance…
“He made every single right play, especially in the overtime period. Throughout the whole second half, everybody was picking each other up, which is what we've been emphasizing all year: just playing basketball, playing with each other. Like I said, he came out aggressive and he did a little bit of everything.”
Xavier’s Head Coach Sean Miller
On St. John’s tonight…
“When you play [St. John’s], their level of intensity, their level of physicality, their conditioning, their spirit, their will to win is something that whoever beats them, they have to be able to cross over that very tall mountain. They didn’t shoot the ball well, but they can make the game difficult defensively with their pressure, they're denying, they're rebounding, they're driving. You can guard them for a while and I thought for a large part of the game our togetherness on defense was good. We played without fouling. We really tried to protect the paint. But the reality of it is, as the game gets closer to the end of 40 minutes it's a relentless style, and their pressure broke us tonight.”
On St. John’s pressure late in the game…
“Well, [St. John’s] has the great blend of being a full-court pressure team and also a half-court pressure team. You know, a lot like Coach Pitino’s teams in the past, they're not as heavy in the full-court, trapping, taking risks, making it frenetic. They're just kind of like wearing you out… The other thing that makes them really unique is Aaron Scott and Zuby [Ejiofor]. It's hard to switch a center onto a guard. I mean, [Zuby Ejiofor] a five-man, you know, and he can do that. I thought their switching late in the game, pressure, deny, deny, It really took us out of a lot of things that we were able to do earlier in the game.”
On Kadary Richmond’s performance…
“I liked his stamina. I think he's now in great shape. I thought the defense we played down 16, in overtime was magnificent.”
On coming back from down 16 to win…
“Tonight, this team, we got outplayed. Tonight, they (Xavier) were the better team for most of the game. They really needed the game. They're coming off three wins, a Marquette victory. We, for the first time this year, did not execute our defensive scouting. But we said at halftime, ‘Look, give them credit. They're playing great. They're executing. They're taking advantage of certain things.’ I said, ‘Just possession by possession. Let's come back and win this game.’ And our press bailed us out when it was very close; we went up one or two points. Our press bailed us out. That one spurt with our press gave us a big lift. Kadary [Richmond] was great the entire night without a turnover, playing that many minutes. He's getting better and better from a conditioning standpoint. But we got to give Xavier a lot of credit because they outplayed us most of the game.”
On the importance of winning tonight’s game…
“Well, we needed the win as much as Xavier. We had to have this win. You know, it's the most important thing for us, is to keep improving and keep winning. We cannot take losses. It's a non-negotiable thing for us, and that's the attitude we have, and that's where we come back. I think these guys have a great fear of losing, a great fear, and that's a good thing.”
On this team’s ability to come back in the second half…
“A lot of teams, when they get down 16, get down 14, really hang their heads. It's just the opposite with these guys, and that goes back to their fear of losing, and they just dig in and dig in and played magnificent when the game was on the line and we had to dig in. We made every great defensive play, which we didn't do in the first, first 28 minutes.”
On building a culture of winning…
“Anytime you beat a team, it's a psychological edge from the team that you beat. And we knew this. You know, Xavier was going to play this game with a great offense and defense. We knew that. But look, we just have a mindset that we're going into the game and winning. We don't think about anything except winning. We don't get distracted by anything. And I tell them, ‘Look, you may make nine of 10 threes in a given game, but that's not what this team is all about. This team is about defense and having a fear of losing.’”
On the crowd inside Madison Square Garden tonight…
“This was a crowd that marketing deserves a lot of credit. The Garden deserves a lot of credit, because they did a great job. It's five degrees out there, but we got it rolling right now and winning does that. Look, this is New York. It's all about winning. In New York, if you win, they're going to show up. And we know that. And we're winning right now. We're bringing St. John's back to where it needs to be. It's a shame Lou [Carnesecca] is not alive. He'd be very proud of this team, the way they fight.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond
On if it will be tougher playing opponents for a second time this season like Xavier…
“Yeah, especially this game, because they felt like we out-toughed them on the glass [in the previous meeting]. So, they came in with a motive to play harder than us and be more aggressive than us, and then we responded in the second half to match their physicality.”
On if he thinks this was his best performance with St. John’s…
“I try to approach every game the same, but tonight, I feel like I was more aggressive and took what the defense gave me. My teammates kept giving me confidence throughout the year. So, I feel this was one of my best games in St John's uniform.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On what makes this team so good…
“I would say it is our will win. The whole time we're preaching in the second half - do whatever it takes to win and just continue to play basketball. Get back to our you know what we do best, which is being aggressive and playing with grit. Offensive rebounds came and our shots didn't fall, but ultimately, we won this game on the defensive end.”
On what got him going in the second half…
“I'm a sore loser. I never want to lose any games … I feel like it’s a constant thing all year where I kind of start off slow in the first half, so I got to figure that out. I think my motor keeps me going, just having a really high motor, and, like I said, my will and desire to win and not let my teammates down and everybody played collective basketball.”
On if it will be tougher playing opponents for a second time this season like Xavier…
“Absolutely. Nobody wants to lose twice, especially in this league. Everybody's going to give you their best shot. Coach Pitino was emphasizing how tough of a game this is going to be with that team. It's anybody's game, but this game was going to come down to who wants it more and ultimately, we got the victory.”
On Kadary Richmond’s performance…
“He made every single right play, especially in the overtime period. Throughout the whole second half, everybody was picking each other up, which is what we've been emphasizing all year: just playing basketball, playing with each other. Like I said, he came out aggressive and he did a little bit of everything.”
Xavier’s Head Coach Sean Miller
On St. John’s tonight…
“When you play [St. John’s], their level of intensity, their level of physicality, their conditioning, their spirit, their will to win is something that whoever beats them, they have to be able to cross over that very tall mountain. They didn’t shoot the ball well, but they can make the game difficult defensively with their pressure, they're denying, they're rebounding, they're driving. You can guard them for a while and I thought for a large part of the game our togetherness on defense was good. We played without fouling. We really tried to protect the paint. But the reality of it is, as the game gets closer to the end of 40 minutes it's a relentless style, and their pressure broke us tonight.”
On St. John’s pressure late in the game…
“Well, [St. John’s] has the great blend of being a full-court pressure team and also a half-court pressure team. You know, a lot like Coach Pitino’s teams in the past, they're not as heavy in the full-court, trapping, taking risks, making it frenetic. They're just kind of like wearing you out… The other thing that makes them really unique is Aaron Scott and Zuby [Ejiofor]. It's hard to switch a center onto a guard. I mean, [Zuby Ejiofor] a five-man, you know, and he can do that. I thought their switching late in the game, pressure, deny, deny, It really took us out of a lot of things that we were able to do earlier in the game.”