St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: No. 9/8 St. John’s vs. No. 24/21 Creighton
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, guard Kadary Richmond, forward Zuby Ejiofor and Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott spoke with the media following the Red Storm’s 79-73 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday at Madison Square Garden
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“I think you guys are looking at some basketball history. When you see a team shoot 38 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and 58.6 percent from the free throw line, you're going to lose by double digits. But every single night, this team wins. It's an amazing thing and I think it's because they get more possessions. They work so hard at the defensive end. These two guys [Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor] are not only great players, but they're just mature winners. I mean, Kadary, 19 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, three assists, one for three from three, four for four from the line, and then Zuby had 18 points, five assists, one turnover. So, I'm real proud of these two guys and the win and everything that surrounds the win. It's so much fun coaching these two guys because they're pros. They act like pros. They want to win.”
On Kadary Richmond…
“Kadary just keeps getting better and better. I love his confidence. He doesn't think about shooting a three. He just has great confidence right now and that's why he's playing so well.”
On the crowd at Madison Square Garden today…
“The only thing I'm really surprised at is fanbase packing The Garden. I mean, these are now [New York] Knicks crowds, and I think, like last year's Knicks team, the toughness, the New York Strong, we're doing what they did last year and that's why the fans are coming out. So, that's the only thing I'm surprised about.”
On the team having only five turnovers today…
“Anytime you have 21 assists and five turnovers, that's an amazing performance because they did a lot of really good things on offense. But we played a really good game. [Creighton] has a very good basketball team. They're tough to play against. But look, when you play a whole basketball game with this much pressure on it and only turn it over five times, it's an amazing feat.”
On Deivon Smith coming back from injury…
“To be honest with you, without him tonight, we don't win this game. We do not win because we're pressing the entire game, and if we didn't have him, we don't win the game. It was a real happy thing for us to get him in there. It's going to take a little time, but we need him back. He helps us in so many ways. The pace picks up when he's in the game. I met with him, and I said, ‘Look, I got to get you 100%; you're rebounding, you're pushing and not thinking about your injury.’ He felt very confident that he could really contribute, and without him, we don't win this game.
On how his team has grown to this point…
“This team never wavered with their work ethic, but they're getting it now. They've arrived. The Garden is packed. They're playing great but we can go to DePaul and lose and all this hard work down the drain. So that was my message to them. Anybody in this conference could beat anybody. We can go in and lose it to DePaul. You see the numbers, it's very easy to do, but because of the way we play with five turnovers and meticulous with the rebounding down the stretch, it's pretty special.”
On how the press has helped his team…
“It's a two-half game and I think pressing can wear people’s shooting out. It's helped us now in two games. I think we pressed tonight for 36 minutes, not easy to do without playing your bench very deep. So, we're in great shape right now, physically and mentally. This was a great performance tonight. Great performance.”
On the fans at Madison Square Garden and the fanbase coming back…
“Very appreciative to the fans at The Garden. For me, it's extra special to see St. John's back up, so happy to see The Garden, so happy as a New Yorker growing up on 26th street, between Second and Third Avenue, growing up a Knicks fan. To me, I look at this with great pride, and not for myself or anything I'm doing, but just for St. John's and the fans coming back.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond:
On what it means to win with this team…
“It feels good. Going around, being noticed because of the way we play and what we do as a team. So, it has its benefits. We're going hard, we're staying humble, and we're going to keep on trying to win every game and play how we're playing.”
On coming back after the loss at Villanova…
“We know we didn't bring it with our defense at Villanova. We weren't who we were and we just made an emphasis of that. We just came out tonight and executed what we had to execute to get the win.”
On having a BIG EAST Title in sight…
“Just got to keep playing the way we are playing and move on to the next game. Can't have any slip-ups. Got to stay sharp to win out.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On playing in front of a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden…
“I mean, it’s something you could dream of as a little kid, playing in MSG, The World's Most Famous Arena, packed house. You have everybody there to support you, and you pull out a win like that, especially when the win means so much. So, it was just something that I can’t really describe as a player. It feels good not just for me but for the whole fan base as well.”
On Deivon Smith’s impact…
“He's a guard that pushes the pace, and you could tell that the flow within the game was pretty solid, especially on the offensive end. He’s a guy that can get after it as well on defense, being active with his hands. causing disruptions.”
On what helped the team break through to get the win…
“I think the coaching staff did a great job of just preparing us for this game. Just letting us know all the little things and what it takes to pull out a win like this. For the most part, we stuck with the scouting report, and I think everybody was pretty locked in, especially on the defensive end. Just doing whatever it takes to get the win.”
On his confidence in attempting three-pointers in today’s contest…
“The coaching staff has taught everybody, not just myself, to play with great offensive confidence. The player development sessions don't hurt as well. We put in the time and effort, and just not myself, but everybody working on their craft and being able to knock those shots down with confidence.”
On having a BIG EAST Title in sight…
“This was a great win, but we have to move on. We got DePaul. Every game in the BIG EAST is really tough. You know you're going to get the best out of absolutely everybody. So yeah, you love this win, but you just move on and get ready for DePaul.”
On if this is what he transferred to St. John’s for…
“We came here to win, pretty sure that's why we all here, and just to see it in fruition is absolutely incredible. The crowd is involved as well, and that's the best part, because I feel like they give us tons of amounts of energy, and it's something that we're going to need moving forward. We're just happy to have the opportunity to bring a championship here.”
Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott
On Kadary Richmond in today’s game compared to the first meeting…
“He’s just way more aggressive. He knocked down the three in the first half, which he doesn't do very often, but he gets to that kill spot in the mid-range, and even a couple of times I thought we had a challenge just the way we wanted to, he still knocked it down. Big offensive rebound there in the last few minutes too. So, he was a heck of a player last year, and he's played great for St John's this season as well.”
On the difference for St. John’s with Deivon Smith in the lineup…
“His speed offensively and then defensively. They have a lot of good defenders, but I think he's their best on-ball defender. He's hard to screen. His closing speed is so good. So, yeah, I understand why Coach Pitino would like to have him healthy.”
On what it means for the BIG EAST for St. John’s to be relevant nationally…
“It's great for our league for St John's to be good. It's awesome for our league to have The Garden full for a BIG EAST regular season game. That's when a team from the Midwest comes out; we didn't bring 4,000 fans here today. It was St John's fans that packed the place. So, it's awesome for the conference. They played at a very consistent level. When you think about the games that they lost, this is a team that is a whisker away from not having a loss or maybe having one loss and being one of the top teams in the country. When you can guard, that travels - travels on the road, it travels in the BIG EAST Tournament. It's going to be great in the NCAA Tournament when you can defend with the physicality that they do.”
Opening statement…
“I think you guys are looking at some basketball history. When you see a team shoot 38 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and 58.6 percent from the free throw line, you're going to lose by double digits. But every single night, this team wins. It's an amazing thing and I think it's because they get more possessions. They work so hard at the defensive end. These two guys [Kadary Richmond and Zuby Ejiofor] are not only great players, but they're just mature winners. I mean, Kadary, 19 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, three assists, one for three from three, four for four from the line, and then Zuby had 18 points, five assists, one turnover. So, I'm real proud of these two guys and the win and everything that surrounds the win. It's so much fun coaching these two guys because they're pros. They act like pros. They want to win.”
On Kadary Richmond…
“Kadary just keeps getting better and better. I love his confidence. He doesn't think about shooting a three. He just has great confidence right now and that's why he's playing so well.”
On the crowd at Madison Square Garden today…
“The only thing I'm really surprised at is fanbase packing The Garden. I mean, these are now [New York] Knicks crowds, and I think, like last year's Knicks team, the toughness, the New York Strong, we're doing what they did last year and that's why the fans are coming out. So, that's the only thing I'm surprised about.”
On the team having only five turnovers today…
“Anytime you have 21 assists and five turnovers, that's an amazing performance because they did a lot of really good things on offense. But we played a really good game. [Creighton] has a very good basketball team. They're tough to play against. But look, when you play a whole basketball game with this much pressure on it and only turn it over five times, it's an amazing feat.”
On Deivon Smith coming back from injury…
“To be honest with you, without him tonight, we don't win this game. We do not win because we're pressing the entire game, and if we didn't have him, we don't win the game. It was a real happy thing for us to get him in there. It's going to take a little time, but we need him back. He helps us in so many ways. The pace picks up when he's in the game. I met with him, and I said, ‘Look, I got to get you 100%; you're rebounding, you're pushing and not thinking about your injury.’ He felt very confident that he could really contribute, and without him, we don't win this game.
On how his team has grown to this point…
“This team never wavered with their work ethic, but they're getting it now. They've arrived. The Garden is packed. They're playing great but we can go to DePaul and lose and all this hard work down the drain. So that was my message to them. Anybody in this conference could beat anybody. We can go in and lose it to DePaul. You see the numbers, it's very easy to do, but because of the way we play with five turnovers and meticulous with the rebounding down the stretch, it's pretty special.”
On how the press has helped his team…
“It's a two-half game and I think pressing can wear people’s shooting out. It's helped us now in two games. I think we pressed tonight for 36 minutes, not easy to do without playing your bench very deep. So, we're in great shape right now, physically and mentally. This was a great performance tonight. Great performance.”
On the fans at Madison Square Garden and the fanbase coming back…
“Very appreciative to the fans at The Garden. For me, it's extra special to see St. John's back up, so happy to see The Garden, so happy as a New Yorker growing up on 26th street, between Second and Third Avenue, growing up a Knicks fan. To me, I look at this with great pride, and not for myself or anything I'm doing, but just for St. John's and the fans coming back.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond:
On what it means to win with this team…
“It feels good. Going around, being noticed because of the way we play and what we do as a team. So, it has its benefits. We're going hard, we're staying humble, and we're going to keep on trying to win every game and play how we're playing.”
On coming back after the loss at Villanova…
“We know we didn't bring it with our defense at Villanova. We weren't who we were and we just made an emphasis of that. We just came out tonight and executed what we had to execute to get the win.”
On having a BIG EAST Title in sight…
“Just got to keep playing the way we are playing and move on to the next game. Can't have any slip-ups. Got to stay sharp to win out.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On playing in front of a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden…
“I mean, it’s something you could dream of as a little kid, playing in MSG, The World's Most Famous Arena, packed house. You have everybody there to support you, and you pull out a win like that, especially when the win means so much. So, it was just something that I can’t really describe as a player. It feels good not just for me but for the whole fan base as well.”
On Deivon Smith’s impact…
“He's a guard that pushes the pace, and you could tell that the flow within the game was pretty solid, especially on the offensive end. He’s a guy that can get after it as well on defense, being active with his hands. causing disruptions.”
On what helped the team break through to get the win…
“I think the coaching staff did a great job of just preparing us for this game. Just letting us know all the little things and what it takes to pull out a win like this. For the most part, we stuck with the scouting report, and I think everybody was pretty locked in, especially on the defensive end. Just doing whatever it takes to get the win.”
On his confidence in attempting three-pointers in today’s contest…
“The coaching staff has taught everybody, not just myself, to play with great offensive confidence. The player development sessions don't hurt as well. We put in the time and effort, and just not myself, but everybody working on their craft and being able to knock those shots down with confidence.”
On having a BIG EAST Title in sight…
“This was a great win, but we have to move on. We got DePaul. Every game in the BIG EAST is really tough. You know you're going to get the best out of absolutely everybody. So yeah, you love this win, but you just move on and get ready for DePaul.”
On if this is what he transferred to St. John’s for…
“We came here to win, pretty sure that's why we all here, and just to see it in fruition is absolutely incredible. The crowd is involved as well, and that's the best part, because I feel like they give us tons of amounts of energy, and it's something that we're going to need moving forward. We're just happy to have the opportunity to bring a championship here.”
Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott
On Kadary Richmond in today’s game compared to the first meeting…
“He’s just way more aggressive. He knocked down the three in the first half, which he doesn't do very often, but he gets to that kill spot in the mid-range, and even a couple of times I thought we had a challenge just the way we wanted to, he still knocked it down. Big offensive rebound there in the last few minutes too. So, he was a heck of a player last year, and he's played great for St John's this season as well.”
On the difference for St. John’s with Deivon Smith in the lineup…
“His speed offensively and then defensively. They have a lot of good defenders, but I think he's their best on-ball defender. He's hard to screen. His closing speed is so good. So, yeah, I understand why Coach Pitino would like to have him healthy.”
On what it means for the BIG EAST for St. John’s to be relevant nationally…
“It's great for our league for St John's to be good. It's awesome for our league to have The Garden full for a BIG EAST regular season game. That's when a team from the Midwest comes out; we didn't bring 4,000 fans here today. It was St John's fans that packed the place. So, it's awesome for the conference. They played at a very consistent level. When you think about the games that they lost, this is a team that is a whisker away from not having a loss or maybe having one loss and being one of the top teams in the country. When you can guard, that travels - travels on the road, it travels in the BIG EAST Tournament. It's going to be great in the NCAA Tournament when you can defend with the physicality that they do.”