St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: No. 5/6 St. John’s vs. No. 15/16 Alabama
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, redshirt junior Dylan Darling and sophomore Ian Jackson met with the media on Friday at Madison Square Garden ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Alabama
Head Coach Rick Pitino
On playing in Madison Square Garden…
“Anytime you get a chance to play in The Garden, it’s a wonderful experience. We’re excited about it.”
On comparing the BIG EAST to the SEC…
“The BIG EAST is toughness. The SEC has length and athleticism. The BIG EAST doesn’t have 6-foot-10 guys with long wingspans; it’s more tough backcourt players and physical frontcourt players.”
On scheduling SEC teams…
“I wanted to see more length and athleticism, and the SEC has that more than anyone in the country. Two of the coaches, three actually, are very good friends of mine. Nate [Oats] wanted to play in The Garden.”
On game tempo…
“We’re going to play at our pace. They’re going to play at their pace. We don’t shoot the ball within 15 seconds, but we play fast. It’s going to come down to keeping [Alabama] off the foul line because they don’t believe in the mid-range shot. We do.”
On facing Alabama’s backcourt…
“They have four really good players in the backcourt. It’s really difficult keeping them out of the lane and from shooting threes. They shoot the ball, on average, within 15 seconds. We’ve not seen anything like that in the three years I’ve been here.”
Redshirt Junior Guard Dylan Darling
On facing Alabama at Madison Square Garden…
“This is the type of team you see in the [NCAA] Tournament. To be able to get them in The Garden this season, it should be fun, electric and I’m excited for it. Watching them on TV, the SEC has all the best athletes, but we’ve got a couple of athletes on this team too. We should be able to match up well.”
On guarding Alabama…
“Being a team that plays super fast, you’ve got to find everybody early, get your matchups, don’t give up easy layups and then get the rebound.”
On practice preparation…
“We do a lot of different things in practice. Getting off shooters, closing out, being down on the catch, things like that. We try to simulate what [Alabama] does and prepare for it.”
On defensive priorities…
“[Alabama] is a team that shoots a lot of threes. They don’t shoot much in the mid-range, so we’ve got to take away the three and the drive.”
Sophomore guard Ian Jackson
On the challenge Alabama’s backcourt presents…
“It’s going to be fun. We’re not going to shy away from that challenge. I can guarantee you all of us are looking forward to it. We feel like we’ve got some pretty good ones here too. We want to showcase that tomorrow.”
On playing in Madison Square Garden…
“Anytime you get a chance to play in The Garden, it’s a wonderful experience. We’re excited about it.”
On comparing the BIG EAST to the SEC…
“The BIG EAST is toughness. The SEC has length and athleticism. The BIG EAST doesn’t have 6-foot-10 guys with long wingspans; it’s more tough backcourt players and physical frontcourt players.”
On scheduling SEC teams…
“I wanted to see more length and athleticism, and the SEC has that more than anyone in the country. Two of the coaches, three actually, are very good friends of mine. Nate [Oats] wanted to play in The Garden.”
On game tempo…
“We’re going to play at our pace. They’re going to play at their pace. We don’t shoot the ball within 15 seconds, but we play fast. It’s going to come down to keeping [Alabama] off the foul line because they don’t believe in the mid-range shot. We do.”
On facing Alabama’s backcourt…
“They have four really good players in the backcourt. It’s really difficult keeping them out of the lane and from shooting threes. They shoot the ball, on average, within 15 seconds. We’ve not seen anything like that in the three years I’ve been here.”
Redshirt Junior Guard Dylan Darling
On facing Alabama at Madison Square Garden…
“This is the type of team you see in the [NCAA] Tournament. To be able to get them in The Garden this season, it should be fun, electric and I’m excited for it. Watching them on TV, the SEC has all the best athletes, but we’ve got a couple of athletes on this team too. We should be able to match up well.”
On guarding Alabama…
“Being a team that plays super fast, you’ve got to find everybody early, get your matchups, don’t give up easy layups and then get the rebound.”
On practice preparation…
“We do a lot of different things in practice. Getting off shooters, closing out, being down on the catch, things like that. We try to simulate what [Alabama] does and prepare for it.”
On defensive priorities…
“[Alabama] is a team that shoots a lot of threes. They don’t shoot much in the mid-range, so we’ve got to take away the three and the drive.”
Sophomore guard Ian Jackson
On the challenge Alabama’s backcourt presents…
“It’s going to be fun. We’re not going to shy away from that challenge. I can guarantee you all of us are looking forward to it. We feel like we’ve got some pretty good ones here too. We want to showcase that tomorrow.”