St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: No. 9/8 St. John’s vs No. 24/21 Creighton
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, forward Zuby Ejiofor and wing Aaron Scott spoke with the media ahead of the team’s matchup against No. 24/21 Creighton on Sunday at Madison Square Garden
Head Coach Rick Pitino
On what made Villanova so difficult…
“Villanova, probably, is the worst matchup for us of any team that we've faced because you can't help [on defense] as much. You can't help on Dixon as much when you trap them. You can't help both the shooters. They put five shooters on the floor when they take the center out and it's very difficult for us.”
On the team’s three-point shooting…
“I was actually very happy with 37 three-point attempts [against Villanova] because if we're going to be a decent tournament team, we need to get our three-point shooting back. Where we take them when they're there and we stop people from packing it in. ... In order for us to be a decent tournament team, if we make it, we've got to be a good shooting team where people aren't just going to dare us to shoot. They're not going to give us anything else if we don't start making them.”
On RJ Luis Jr.’s performance against Villanova…
“He had an off night. But I will say, everybody on the team had an off night defensively, not just RJ, and I think they got the message that if they don't play St. John's defense, they'll sit.”
On paying attention to the national rankings…
“I’m just taking it one game at a time, taking nothing for granted. We blew a situation to get into the top six or seven in the nation by not playing great defense. So, I don't pay attention to anything. I take nothing for granted.”
On his team’s ability to fight through a whole game…
“They didn't have it and they just kept fighting on the road. I was impressed with them. Their willingness to fight, their spirit to fight. Never give up, even though it's not going well, is a remarkable trait. They have a lot of weaknesses as a basketball team, but it's a remarkable trait to have. I'd rather have that trait than anything else in basketball.”
St John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On his offensive performance the last few games…
“I think these teams do a good job of scouting, and I got to do a better job on my part of just trying to do my work early, to get angles and running the floor a little bit better. Just bringing more energy than I've been doing the past couple of games.”
On what makes Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner so tough…
“His presence in the paint. We're going to watch film and see the things that we were able to be successful against Creighton the last game. Just see the things that we need to do a lot better. Obviously, we already know what you know the presence he brings and how tough a matchup it is going to be. It's going to take a complete team effort to pull out this victory.”
On what it would mean to be ranked in the NCAA Tournament’s top-16 seeds…
“It would mean a lot to us, the whole staff, the community, and it's something that we've been working for the whole season. We are trying to improve from last year and just trying to go as far as possible. We're taking it one game at a time. And obviously, our defense speaks volumes to the amount of wins that we've had this year. Once we get our offense and spacing a lot better we are really a team to be reckoned with.”
On Sunday’s game against Creighton…
“Obviously, we understand the magnitude of how important it is, not just for ourselves, but we're playing for something that's bigger than just ourselves. We're playing for a BIG EAST championship for the whole community. We understand that this is going to give us a little bit of a cushion, going against Creighton and how important it is that we start off hot. Everybody is totally engaged on what's at hand and what it takes to win this game.”
St. John’s forward Aaron Scott
On learning from the Villanova loss…
“Just learning from it. We just learn from every game. You have to learn from that game and look at what we did wrong and look at what we did good.”
On the team shooting more threes…
“It would be very successful. If they give us the three, we have to take the open shots. We're a good offensive rebounding team. If we miss, we just have to get the rebound. Like I said, if it's open, we're going to take it.”
On the team’s mentality with Deivon Smith out…
“It’s always the next man up mentality. [Kadary Richmond] could carry the load on the offensive end as well. [Jaiden Glover] could come in, he could orchestrate the offense a little bit more and knock down open shots as well. It’s really just a next man up mentality and everybody just has to be ready. We have a big game against Creighton and we have to come out with the win.”
On what made Villanova so difficult…
“Villanova, probably, is the worst matchup for us of any team that we've faced because you can't help [on defense] as much. You can't help on Dixon as much when you trap them. You can't help both the shooters. They put five shooters on the floor when they take the center out and it's very difficult for us.”
On the team’s three-point shooting…
“I was actually very happy with 37 three-point attempts [against Villanova] because if we're going to be a decent tournament team, we need to get our three-point shooting back. Where we take them when they're there and we stop people from packing it in. ... In order for us to be a decent tournament team, if we make it, we've got to be a good shooting team where people aren't just going to dare us to shoot. They're not going to give us anything else if we don't start making them.”
On RJ Luis Jr.’s performance against Villanova…
“He had an off night. But I will say, everybody on the team had an off night defensively, not just RJ, and I think they got the message that if they don't play St. John's defense, they'll sit.”
On paying attention to the national rankings…
“I’m just taking it one game at a time, taking nothing for granted. We blew a situation to get into the top six or seven in the nation by not playing great defense. So, I don't pay attention to anything. I take nothing for granted.”
On his team’s ability to fight through a whole game…
“They didn't have it and they just kept fighting on the road. I was impressed with them. Their willingness to fight, their spirit to fight. Never give up, even though it's not going well, is a remarkable trait. They have a lot of weaknesses as a basketball team, but it's a remarkable trait to have. I'd rather have that trait than anything else in basketball.”
St John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On his offensive performance the last few games…
“I think these teams do a good job of scouting, and I got to do a better job on my part of just trying to do my work early, to get angles and running the floor a little bit better. Just bringing more energy than I've been doing the past couple of games.”
On what makes Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner so tough…
“His presence in the paint. We're going to watch film and see the things that we were able to be successful against Creighton the last game. Just see the things that we need to do a lot better. Obviously, we already know what you know the presence he brings and how tough a matchup it is going to be. It's going to take a complete team effort to pull out this victory.”
On what it would mean to be ranked in the NCAA Tournament’s top-16 seeds…
“It would mean a lot to us, the whole staff, the community, and it's something that we've been working for the whole season. We are trying to improve from last year and just trying to go as far as possible. We're taking it one game at a time. And obviously, our defense speaks volumes to the amount of wins that we've had this year. Once we get our offense and spacing a lot better we are really a team to be reckoned with.”
On Sunday’s game against Creighton…
“Obviously, we understand the magnitude of how important it is, not just for ourselves, but we're playing for something that's bigger than just ourselves. We're playing for a BIG EAST championship for the whole community. We understand that this is going to give us a little bit of a cushion, going against Creighton and how important it is that we start off hot. Everybody is totally engaged on what's at hand and what it takes to win this game.”
St. John’s forward Aaron Scott
On learning from the Villanova loss…
“Just learning from it. We just learn from every game. You have to learn from that game and look at what we did wrong and look at what we did good.”
On the team shooting more threes…
“It would be very successful. If they give us the three, we have to take the open shots. We're a good offensive rebounding team. If we miss, we just have to get the rebound. Like I said, if it's open, we're going to take it.”
On the team’s mentality with Deivon Smith out…
“It’s always the next man up mentality. [Kadary Richmond] could carry the load on the offensive end as well. [Jaiden Glover] could come in, he could orchestrate the offense a little bit more and knock down open shots as well. It’s really just a next man up mentality and everybody just has to be ready. We have a big game against Creighton and we have to come out with the win.”