St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: No. 12/10 St. John’s at No. 19/18 UConn
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, guard Kadary Richmond and forward RJ Luis Jr. spoke with the media following the Red Storm’s 68-62 victory over UConn on Friday at Gampel Pavilion
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“Obviously, a very intelligent but gritty team that doesn’t rattle when we are down. We did something tonight we rarely do, we went full-court pressure nearly the entire game, we felt it could contain the outside shooting, we felt it could take time off the clock. They run so many great sets, we just wanted to really get after it in the full-court situation. Our last play was a counter. I have to give a lot of credit to my assistant coach, Bob Walsh, I let him call the out-of-bounds plays. He drew up a beautiful five-down counter. He had the right guy shooting the ball. [RJ Luis Jr.] has never met a shot he didn’t like and there was no doubt in my mind he was going to make the shot. I was one hundred percent sure he was going to make the shot. Then Kadary [Richmond] made some big plays and some big free throws. This is a big-time win for us. Awesome crowd, it's very difficult to go against that type of crowd, but this is a veteran team. Kadary [Richmond] is as good as it gets and there is no better scorer in the BIG EAST than RJ. I’m really proud of the guys.”
On the full-court press tonight…
“I felt the full-court press really bailed us out tonight. It gave us great momentum. It picked up the half-court defense. We're in fabulous shape because we didn't play our bench much tonight. We're in great physical shape and I think they made a lot of great plays down the stretch.”
On winning on the road at UConn…
“I think it's a very tough place to play; on campus, hostile arena that they don't lose too many games in. They're a very well-coached, well-drilled team that shoots it great. So, it's a great win. It's a little tougher to win on the road than is at home, but we've been road warriors the entire season. Having a hell of a year, we just got to keep it up.”
On the effectiveness of the press…
“What the press has done for me for 40 years has worn people out legs-wise, when they don't shoot the ball as well. It's always been the gift that my teams have had. If we can wear out their legs, they won't shoot it as well. But they were coming at us and they were getting too many easy shots, so I felt the full-court press would take a little starch out of their shots, take a little time in the backcourt, make us ultra-aggressive. We pressed more tonight than we normally have, but that's because of what they were doing to us offensively early on.”
On withstanding UConn’s early-game runs…
“There's runs in basketball. They were on a great run early on, we made the adjustments, we went on a run. This is the two-time national champion in their building. They're going to come out like that. They're playing against the first-place team in the league. So, you know, the crowd's going to be fired up. They're going to be fired up. You know, they're going to execute. They have about 65 different plays. That's not easy to prepare for.”
On the way the team is playing right now…
“We're playing great basketball right now, but our defense is one of the best in the country. We're getting better offensively. So, I'm happy. I'm happy with everybody, their defensive focus and everything they did tonight was outstanding.”
On the wins over Marquette and UConn this week…
“We've done a great job defensively of coming together each and every game. We know that's our common denominator and I'm proud of this. This was a hell of a win for us. Marquette was a hell of a win and we got to go to Villanova and play.”
St John’s guard Kadary Richmond:
On coming back after a tough start to the game…
“We've been down before, down big, and we always find a way to fight back. We were doing some uncharacteristic things, but we settled down and came back to get a big win in a tough place to play.”
On how the team can always battle back…
“We just refuse to lose and have the will to win. We know that we are one of the best teams out here and we're going to keep working, being humble and being who we are.”
On his confidence in the second half…
“There are two halves. I didn't see it going in the first half, but just knowing that I'm a good player, my teammates trusted me, coaches trusted me, and I'm going to get it going eventually. So, I wasn't too worried.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.:
On hitting a clutch shot at the end of the game
“Shout out to Coach [Bob Walsh], he's the one who drew it up and trusted that I could make the shot. It was just straight adrenaline. I knew I made the shot, but the game wasn’t over until the buzzer sounded. It feels great and I'm glad Coach Walsh drew that up for me. We came out swinging, we came out fighting hard like we always do. This is a very gritty team and all the guys want to win. We're very hungry. We're just taking it day by day, and this was a great road win.”
On the team’s defense tonight…
“Personally, I like to press and I think we have great guys to do it. We’re long, athletic and fast. It was really just to speed up the tempo because [UConn] doesn't play as fast as us. So, we were just trying to get them to speed up and get them to mess up in their offensive system.”
On the team’s will to win…
“I think everybody brings it. Just to see where Coach Pitino is at in his life, just the fire that he brings. Not only Coach Pitino but the whole coaching staff. They really care about us, they're really genuine. They want to see us do well. When you got people like that around you that want to push you every day, you want to push back. I feel like the other guys can do that very well.”
On what message they sent to other teams…
“That we are a pretty good team and we're going to get ready for Villanova.”
Opening statement…
“Obviously, a very intelligent but gritty team that doesn’t rattle when we are down. We did something tonight we rarely do, we went full-court pressure nearly the entire game, we felt it could contain the outside shooting, we felt it could take time off the clock. They run so many great sets, we just wanted to really get after it in the full-court situation. Our last play was a counter. I have to give a lot of credit to my assistant coach, Bob Walsh, I let him call the out-of-bounds plays. He drew up a beautiful five-down counter. He had the right guy shooting the ball. [RJ Luis Jr.] has never met a shot he didn’t like and there was no doubt in my mind he was going to make the shot. I was one hundred percent sure he was going to make the shot. Then Kadary [Richmond] made some big plays and some big free throws. This is a big-time win for us. Awesome crowd, it's very difficult to go against that type of crowd, but this is a veteran team. Kadary [Richmond] is as good as it gets and there is no better scorer in the BIG EAST than RJ. I’m really proud of the guys.”
On the full-court press tonight…
“I felt the full-court press really bailed us out tonight. It gave us great momentum. It picked up the half-court defense. We're in fabulous shape because we didn't play our bench much tonight. We're in great physical shape and I think they made a lot of great plays down the stretch.”
On winning on the road at UConn…
“I think it's a very tough place to play; on campus, hostile arena that they don't lose too many games in. They're a very well-coached, well-drilled team that shoots it great. So, it's a great win. It's a little tougher to win on the road than is at home, but we've been road warriors the entire season. Having a hell of a year, we just got to keep it up.”
On the effectiveness of the press…
“What the press has done for me for 40 years has worn people out legs-wise, when they don't shoot the ball as well. It's always been the gift that my teams have had. If we can wear out their legs, they won't shoot it as well. But they were coming at us and they were getting too many easy shots, so I felt the full-court press would take a little starch out of their shots, take a little time in the backcourt, make us ultra-aggressive. We pressed more tonight than we normally have, but that's because of what they were doing to us offensively early on.”
On withstanding UConn’s early-game runs…
“There's runs in basketball. They were on a great run early on, we made the adjustments, we went on a run. This is the two-time national champion in their building. They're going to come out like that. They're playing against the first-place team in the league. So, you know, the crowd's going to be fired up. They're going to be fired up. You know, they're going to execute. They have about 65 different plays. That's not easy to prepare for.”
On the way the team is playing right now…
“We're playing great basketball right now, but our defense is one of the best in the country. We're getting better offensively. So, I'm happy. I'm happy with everybody, their defensive focus and everything they did tonight was outstanding.”
On the wins over Marquette and UConn this week…
“We've done a great job defensively of coming together each and every game. We know that's our common denominator and I'm proud of this. This was a hell of a win for us. Marquette was a hell of a win and we got to go to Villanova and play.”
St John’s guard Kadary Richmond:
On coming back after a tough start to the game…
“We've been down before, down big, and we always find a way to fight back. We were doing some uncharacteristic things, but we settled down and came back to get a big win in a tough place to play.”
On how the team can always battle back…
“We just refuse to lose and have the will to win. We know that we are one of the best teams out here and we're going to keep working, being humble and being who we are.”
On his confidence in the second half…
“There are two halves. I didn't see it going in the first half, but just knowing that I'm a good player, my teammates trusted me, coaches trusted me, and I'm going to get it going eventually. So, I wasn't too worried.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.:
On hitting a clutch shot at the end of the game
“Shout out to Coach [Bob Walsh], he's the one who drew it up and trusted that I could make the shot. It was just straight adrenaline. I knew I made the shot, but the game wasn’t over until the buzzer sounded. It feels great and I'm glad Coach Walsh drew that up for me. We came out swinging, we came out fighting hard like we always do. This is a very gritty team and all the guys want to win. We're very hungry. We're just taking it day by day, and this was a great road win.”
On the team’s defense tonight…
“Personally, I like to press and I think we have great guys to do it. We’re long, athletic and fast. It was really just to speed up the tempo because [UConn] doesn't play as fast as us. So, we were just trying to get them to speed up and get them to mess up in their offensive system.”
On the team’s will to win…
“I think everybody brings it. Just to see where Coach Pitino is at in his life, just the fire that he brings. Not only Coach Pitino but the whole coaching staff. They really care about us, they're really genuine. They want to see us do well. When you got people like that around you that want to push you every day, you want to push back. I feel like the other guys can do that very well.”
On what message they sent to other teams…
“That we are a pretty good team and we're going to get ready for Villanova.”