St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: RV/RV St. John’s vs Butler
St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino
On the matchup against Butler…
“Going into this game, I look at the BIG EAST right now, and this Butler team that we're playing is one of the best teams talent wise, experience, defensively, and they're on a six-game losing streak. They were up 11 … and let Villanova go on a 21-1 run to end game. They've played seven quad one games and they're 3-4. Outside of Houston, they played Connecticut to a four-point game, they were up at Marquette in the second half, and they obviously have three quad one wins. This is a very experienced basketball team. This will be a very tough game. They play everybody tough and we expect a very difficult game.”
On the competition level of the BIG EAST…
“We're going to have a lot of nail-biters this year, whether it's Butler, whether it's Xavier on the road, we're at Providence fighting to get a comeback victory, whether it's Marquette. Whoever we're playing, we're going to have a lot of nail-biters. This league is very close top to bottom. It's very close.”
On the team’s improvement so far this season..
“Deivon (Smith) is new, Kadary (Richmond) is new, Aaron (Scott) is new, so you got three guys in the starting lineup that are new. We are a better basketball team at this time than our team was last year. Our team last year at the end would beat this team by 15 points. We're hoping to get to that because they were so improved.”
On his mentality with the team right now…
“As long as we play as hard as we're playing with our desire to win, we'll get there as long as we play with that, because we are in a fight, we have a group of fighters. So I'm okay, they'll get it.”
St John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On what the mentality is after the loss at Creighton…
“We look on to the next game now. What happens in the past stays in the past. Obviously, we have to learn from our mistakes, but now we're looking on to playing a really good and well-coached Butler team and focusing on the little details it takes to win the game.”
On losing close games…
“We're still trying to figure out ways to close out the games. Obviously, the three games we lost have been really close. It comes down to scouting report, and everybody really honing in on the little details that it takes to win these matchups. That's something that we’ve really got to really focus on.”
On Tuesday’s game against Creighton…
“Our pace throughout the entire game was pretty much as bad as it gets, and that's something that we worked on in practice yesterday. Just moving the ball a lot quicker than we've been doing in these past few games, and we challenged [Ryan Kalkbrenner] a lot more than we would have liked, and obviously, it didn't turn out our way. But that's something that we got to learn for the next game, the next time we play them. We watched the film and we see the mistakes we did, and we saw some of the good things that we did as well. We're just looking to improve on that.”
On Coach Pitino’s emphasis on absorbing the scouting report…
“We have to hone in on that. We always speak of two halves as well and sometimes we don't exactly play two halves of basketball as well. It's just something that we really just got to work on. And yeah, that's been our fault. That's what he's basically told us every single game is to know how important the scouting report is, and the countless amount of hours that the coaches have put into the film sessions. We as well, watch a lot of film. It's really important honing in on the little things that it takes and those scouting reports to win these essential games.”
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith
On what he made of the offensive struggles against Creighton…
“I think we started off really well. A couple of turnovers and stuff like that throughout the game in the first half, and they made a run. We didn't respond well. I mean, the game was pretty much balanced, it was a low-scoring game for both teams, but we were just pretty stagnant on offense. Guys didn't get to their spots. That's pretty much it. We watched a lot of film and I think we'll be prepared for Saturday.”
On Tuesday’s game against Creighton…
“I think it was a good defensive game on both ends. Low scoring. We challenged their shots. They challenged ours. Just came down to who wanted it more at the end.”
On close games this season…
“We have a lot of talent. We have older guys. We have guys that want to win. I think it's still early. Guys are still feeling each other out. We have a lot of lineup changes and just stuff like that. So, I think guys are just still figuring it all out. I think now it's time to put it all together, really focus in and make a big stretch so we can be where we want to be at the end of the season.”
On looking ahead at the next month of BIG EAST competition…
“Yeah, I don't really look ahead, but I look at each game as an opportunity to take off and just build momentum for the next game. I think each and every team in this conference is good. I think we're a great team once we put it all together. I think that's just the main focus right now.”
On if the losses so far will benefit the team in the long run…
“I think so. We're going to be in situations again. We have a couple of teams that we play down the stretch that are really good. I know those games could probably go down to the wire. I think it's a challenge for the next game that we play to come out victorious, whether it's by one point or 20, whatever it is. I think we're a good team. I just think we got to lock in and just focus up.”
On the matchup against Butler…
“Going into this game, I look at the BIG EAST right now, and this Butler team that we're playing is one of the best teams talent wise, experience, defensively, and they're on a six-game losing streak. They were up 11 … and let Villanova go on a 21-1 run to end game. They've played seven quad one games and they're 3-4. Outside of Houston, they played Connecticut to a four-point game, they were up at Marquette in the second half, and they obviously have three quad one wins. This is a very experienced basketball team. This will be a very tough game. They play everybody tough and we expect a very difficult game.”
On the competition level of the BIG EAST…
“We're going to have a lot of nail-biters this year, whether it's Butler, whether it's Xavier on the road, we're at Providence fighting to get a comeback victory, whether it's Marquette. Whoever we're playing, we're going to have a lot of nail-biters. This league is very close top to bottom. It's very close.”
On the team’s improvement so far this season..
“Deivon (Smith) is new, Kadary (Richmond) is new, Aaron (Scott) is new, so you got three guys in the starting lineup that are new. We are a better basketball team at this time than our team was last year. Our team last year at the end would beat this team by 15 points. We're hoping to get to that because they were so improved.”
On his mentality with the team right now…
“As long as we play as hard as we're playing with our desire to win, we'll get there as long as we play with that, because we are in a fight, we have a group of fighters. So I'm okay, they'll get it.”
St John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On what the mentality is after the loss at Creighton…
“We look on to the next game now. What happens in the past stays in the past. Obviously, we have to learn from our mistakes, but now we're looking on to playing a really good and well-coached Butler team and focusing on the little details it takes to win the game.”
On losing close games…
“We're still trying to figure out ways to close out the games. Obviously, the three games we lost have been really close. It comes down to scouting report, and everybody really honing in on the little details that it takes to win these matchups. That's something that we’ve really got to really focus on.”
On Tuesday’s game against Creighton…
“Our pace throughout the entire game was pretty much as bad as it gets, and that's something that we worked on in practice yesterday. Just moving the ball a lot quicker than we've been doing in these past few games, and we challenged [Ryan Kalkbrenner] a lot more than we would have liked, and obviously, it didn't turn out our way. But that's something that we got to learn for the next game, the next time we play them. We watched the film and we see the mistakes we did, and we saw some of the good things that we did as well. We're just looking to improve on that.”
On Coach Pitino’s emphasis on absorbing the scouting report…
“We have to hone in on that. We always speak of two halves as well and sometimes we don't exactly play two halves of basketball as well. It's just something that we really just got to work on. And yeah, that's been our fault. That's what he's basically told us every single game is to know how important the scouting report is, and the countless amount of hours that the coaches have put into the film sessions. We as well, watch a lot of film. It's really important honing in on the little things that it takes and those scouting reports to win these essential games.”
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith
On what he made of the offensive struggles against Creighton…
“I think we started off really well. A couple of turnovers and stuff like that throughout the game in the first half, and they made a run. We didn't respond well. I mean, the game was pretty much balanced, it was a low-scoring game for both teams, but we were just pretty stagnant on offense. Guys didn't get to their spots. That's pretty much it. We watched a lot of film and I think we'll be prepared for Saturday.”
On Tuesday’s game against Creighton…
“I think it was a good defensive game on both ends. Low scoring. We challenged their shots. They challenged ours. Just came down to who wanted it more at the end.”
On close games this season…
“We have a lot of talent. We have older guys. We have guys that want to win. I think it's still early. Guys are still feeling each other out. We have a lot of lineup changes and just stuff like that. So, I think guys are just still figuring it all out. I think now it's time to put it all together, really focus in and make a big stretch so we can be where we want to be at the end of the season.”
On looking ahead at the next month of BIG EAST competition…
“Yeah, I don't really look ahead, but I look at each game as an opportunity to take off and just build momentum for the next game. I think each and every team in this conference is good. I think we're a great team once we put it all together. I think that's just the main focus right now.”
On if the losses so far will benefit the team in the long run…
“I think so. We're going to be in situations again. We have a couple of teams that we play down the stretch that are really good. I know those games could probably go down to the wire. I think it's a challenge for the next game that we play to come out victorious, whether it's by one point or 20, whatever it is. I think we're a good team. I just think we got to lock in and just focus up.”