St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Quinnipiac
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, senior forward Dillon Mitchell and Quinnipiac Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Pecora spoke to the media following the Red Storm’s season-opening win over Quinnipiac
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“The one thing that stood out from an ultra-positive standpoint was our mentality going into the game. From when the ball was thrown up to the end, we had an intense, aggressive mindset. We made our mistakes, as you always do in a first game, but overall, I couldn’t be more pleased. Now we’re going to play a completely different type of team, one that takes only about eight or nine seconds to shoot every possession, so we’ll need to be ready for that. But for now, we’ll enjoy this win.”
On his message to the team moving forward…
“My message was that you don’t look at a national championship. You look at every day as a gift to get better. If you do that, someday you might earn the right to wear a ring. I tell them all the time: play this game as it’s your last second, your last possession, your last game and you’ll get the rewards. Right now, they’re doing that.”
On the team’s defensive intensity…
“I thought the two exhibition games helped us a lot. [They were] two excellent teams that prepared us with different styles of play. Sometimes you look at a stat sheet and it doesn’t tell the story. Dylan Darling had six points, but he gave a dominating performance on both ends of the floor. Our first-half defense was outstanding. The second half wasn’t as sharp, but overall, I thought our intensity and readiness to play were terrific.”
Senior forward Dillon Mitchell
On his defensive mindset…
“My game always starts with defense. I don’t even think about offense. We have so many guys that can score. For me, it’s about locking in on the scouting report, knowing what the other team does well and setting the tone on the defensive end. That’s where we’ll win games.”
On halftime adjustments…
“At halftime, we just said: ‘it’s 0-0.’ No matter the score, you have to come out like it’s a new game. We focused on cleaning up the little mistakes from the first half, and we did a better job of rebounding, communicating and defending in the second.”
On building team chemistry…
“I think over time we’ll continue to understand each other better, just getting in motion, cutting and making plays off the ball. That’s something we’ve definitely improved on over the past couple of practices.”
Head Coach Tom Pecora
On St. John’s…
“They came out and played like a top-10 team in the country. They did a great job defending us, not letting us get into our actions and their effort on the glass was relentless. You can see how well-coached they are and how connected they play.”
Opening statement…
“The one thing that stood out from an ultra-positive standpoint was our mentality going into the game. From when the ball was thrown up to the end, we had an intense, aggressive mindset. We made our mistakes, as you always do in a first game, but overall, I couldn’t be more pleased. Now we’re going to play a completely different type of team, one that takes only about eight or nine seconds to shoot every possession, so we’ll need to be ready for that. But for now, we’ll enjoy this win.”
On his message to the team moving forward…
“My message was that you don’t look at a national championship. You look at every day as a gift to get better. If you do that, someday you might earn the right to wear a ring. I tell them all the time: play this game as it’s your last second, your last possession, your last game and you’ll get the rewards. Right now, they’re doing that.”
On the team’s defensive intensity…
“I thought the two exhibition games helped us a lot. [They were] two excellent teams that prepared us with different styles of play. Sometimes you look at a stat sheet and it doesn’t tell the story. Dylan Darling had six points, but he gave a dominating performance on both ends of the floor. Our first-half defense was outstanding. The second half wasn’t as sharp, but overall, I thought our intensity and readiness to play were terrific.”
Senior forward Dillon Mitchell
On his defensive mindset…
“My game always starts with defense. I don’t even think about offense. We have so many guys that can score. For me, it’s about locking in on the scouting report, knowing what the other team does well and setting the tone on the defensive end. That’s where we’ll win games.”
On halftime adjustments…
“At halftime, we just said: ‘it’s 0-0.’ No matter the score, you have to come out like it’s a new game. We focused on cleaning up the little mistakes from the first half, and we did a better job of rebounding, communicating and defending in the second.”
On building team chemistry…
“I think over time we’ll continue to understand each other better, just getting in motion, cutting and making plays off the ball. That’s something we’ve definitely improved on over the past couple of practices.”
Head Coach Tom Pecora
On St. John’s…
“They came out and played like a top-10 team in the country. They did a great job defending us, not letting us get into our actions and their effort on the glass was relentless. You can see how well-coached they are and how connected they play.”