St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: ST. JOHN’S VS. WILLIAM & MARY
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, Dylan Darling and Oziyah Sellers met with the media on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena following the Red Storm’s 93-60 win over William & Mary
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“We were practicing really well all week and then I put in [William & Mary’s] full-court pressure on every shot. We were planning on starting Oziyah [Sellers] and [Lefteris Liotopolous] and when we put in their full-court press, we were turning the ball over constantly. The white team was destroying the red team simulating their pressure. So, I walked upstairs and told the staff: ‘It’s not going to work. We’re going to start Dylan [Darling] against this pressure.”
On Dylan Darling…
“He’s 5-foot-11 and tough as nails. His heart is a lot bigger than his size. He thinks he’s the best player on the court. He has no fear at all of who he’s playing against.”
On the Dylan Darling-Oziyah Sellers backcourt…
“Oh, I loved it. I thought they did a great job.”
On the importance of physicality when facing top programs…
“I think we are a finesse team. Unless we get physical, we’re going to have a difficult time with teams like Iowa State, Georgetown or Houston. There’s nothing wrong with being a finesse team, but we’ve got to get a little tougher with the scouting reports.”
On team chemistry…
“They’re new to each other and they’re learning each other. We’re just going to take Zuby [Ejiofor’s] philosophy: one practice at a time. Just try to get better each day. Don’t look ahead to a big opponent, don’t look ahead to the NCAA Tournament, just get better.
Senior guard Oziyah Sellers
On playing in the backcourt with Dylan Darling…
“Dylan, he's a great point guard. He has a great vision. Whenever I'm playing with him, he definitely finds ways to get me open. And I'm also used to playing off ball, so I felt natural playing that as well.”
On Coach Pitino’s confidence for him in shooting the three…
“Coach [Pitino] has a lot of confidence in me. So, when you have a head coach with that confidence, it makes you go out there and just play free. That’s what I'll try to.”
On playing with resilience in the second half…
“We try to not let how we play in the first half waver us or bring us down or anything like that. We try to come out with the same mindset that we have in practice, which is just be aggressive defensively. It starts on the defensive end. We just stayed locked in on that and then everything else just unfolded itself really cool.”
Redshirt junior guard Dylan Darling
On the emphasis at practice last week after Alabama…
“[Coach Pitino] has just been on this really hard about just defending and rebounding. Those have been two main points of emphasis in practice. That's just something we're trying to get better at every single day, guarding the ball, one on one. And honestly, I think for me, in the Michigan game I kind of got burned a little bit towards the end with my ball screen coverage. And I think I've really improved in that area since that game, watching that film.”
Opening statement…
“We were practicing really well all week and then I put in [William & Mary’s] full-court pressure on every shot. We were planning on starting Oziyah [Sellers] and [Lefteris Liotopolous] and when we put in their full-court press, we were turning the ball over constantly. The white team was destroying the red team simulating their pressure. So, I walked upstairs and told the staff: ‘It’s not going to work. We’re going to start Dylan [Darling] against this pressure.”
On Dylan Darling…
“He’s 5-foot-11 and tough as nails. His heart is a lot bigger than his size. He thinks he’s the best player on the court. He has no fear at all of who he’s playing against.”
On the Dylan Darling-Oziyah Sellers backcourt…
“Oh, I loved it. I thought they did a great job.”
On the importance of physicality when facing top programs…
“I think we are a finesse team. Unless we get physical, we’re going to have a difficult time with teams like Iowa State, Georgetown or Houston. There’s nothing wrong with being a finesse team, but we’ve got to get a little tougher with the scouting reports.”
On team chemistry…
“They’re new to each other and they’re learning each other. We’re just going to take Zuby [Ejiofor’s] philosophy: one practice at a time. Just try to get better each day. Don’t look ahead to a big opponent, don’t look ahead to the NCAA Tournament, just get better.
Senior guard Oziyah Sellers
On playing in the backcourt with Dylan Darling…
“Dylan, he's a great point guard. He has a great vision. Whenever I'm playing with him, he definitely finds ways to get me open. And I'm also used to playing off ball, so I felt natural playing that as well.”
On Coach Pitino’s confidence for him in shooting the three…
“Coach [Pitino] has a lot of confidence in me. So, when you have a head coach with that confidence, it makes you go out there and just play free. That’s what I'll try to.”
On playing with resilience in the second half…
“We try to not let how we play in the first half waver us or bring us down or anything like that. We try to come out with the same mindset that we have in practice, which is just be aggressive defensively. It starts on the defensive end. We just stayed locked in on that and then everything else just unfolded itself really cool.”
Redshirt junior guard Dylan Darling
On the emphasis at practice last week after Alabama…
“[Coach Pitino] has just been on this really hard about just defending and rebounding. Those have been two main points of emphasis in practice. That's just something we're trying to get better at every single day, guarding the ball, one on one. And honestly, I think for me, in the Michigan game I kind of got burned a little bit towards the end with my ball screen coverage. And I think I've really improved in that area since that game, watching that film.”