St. John's University Athletics
NCAA Tournament Selection Show Quotes
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, forward RJ Luis Jr., guard Deivon Smith and Sadiku Ibine Ayo speak to the media after the Red Storm were selected as a two-seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday
On playing the opening round in Providence…
“I know the players are all excited. The fans are excited. So, it's a great opening. I'm excited that we'll start studying as soon as I leave you.”
On bringing St. John’s back to the national stage…
“It means quite a bit. Last year, I didn't have a lot of people at the meeting. I wasn't sure we were going to go. So, this year, we planned the party. It was great. We thought we'd be a two-seed. That was terrific. So, we're looking forward to all of this.”
On preparing for the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean, just prepare it like you would any other game. We put a lot of pressure on them with the Marquette game, as I said earlier, and we put a lot of pressure on the guys with the BIG EAST Tournament. We played that as if it was an NCAA game. I kept telling him that. Four minutes to go in the Marquette game, I said, ‘Alright, you're in the first round of the NCAA, it’s survive and advance in these last four minutes.’ And I felt that was necessary because of their lack of playoff experience. And then we did the same thing with the Butler and Marquette and last night’s game.”
On if there is a certain thing about what he does in the NCAA Tournament that helps his teams advance…
“When you have a lot of experience, you learn what not to do, as much as what to do. There are a lot of things that you must understand, that you must understand that you have to stay focused. This is a time of year when everybody is filling out brackets, everybody's talking about it, and you have to understand the focus of every little thing that goes into an NCAA game.”
On when he knew this team was going to mesh well enough to be a two-seed…
“I don't think I ever knew. I never really thought about it. Just kept taking it game-by-game, not taking anything for granted. Just never knew anything about it. I watched our guys get better, young guys get better. Watch RJ [Luis Jr.] get better, but we had an incredible number of injuries, more so than a lot of teams I've ever coached, a lot of players out for the season. So, we had to, on the fly, keep changing, and we were resilient. So, I knew we were tough. I knew we were resilient. Did not know if we'd win the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championship.”
On the Providence region…
“I'm just going to focus on Omaha. I've lost in the first round before. So, we'll just focus on that.”
On if it’s a factor that the team had success in Providence this season…
“I don't think it's effective. I think you look for things like that that just don't come into play. You know, they just don't. It's nice and convenient that we only have to travel for three hours by bus. But then, if we ever advance and move on, we are going towards San Francisco.”
On how he is mentally preparing this team…
“Well, what you do is you start getting ready with your staff and then you try to make the changes necessary so the other team is not prepared for you. You make subtle changes, you make big changes and then you focus on the defense of the teams you want to play.”
On how much time is spent on what your team is going to do versus combatting what the other team is going to do…
“I think you work on both. You work on what's going to be successful against their defense, what you have to stay away from because they defended very well. And then you have to take away everything that they do well. You rely on your pressure. If they're a great three-point shooting team, you've got to extend your defense.”
On his bench depth heading into the NCAA Tournament…
“I think we are not afraid to put any of the guys in the game. I think I intentionally made sure they got experience in the last four or five games that we played, because in the NCAA Tournament, we may need them.”
On how playing in the BIG EAST Tournament helped prepare the team for the NCAA Tournament…
“Well, we mentally said it, it was the first round. We started with the Marquette game. Because of the lack of experience we had, we kept talking about that. This is the first round. This is the second round. This is the Sweet 16. And we played it that way, just to get them that type of experience. If you're going to play in a conference tournament, you want to get to the finals and you want to win it because if you lose it, you're tired. Our players are not tired right now. They're on a high, so you want to win that. I hate getting knocked out in the first round, which hasn't happened. You get knocked out of the first round, you have a whole week and you can get stale.”
On how soon the team will look at film…
“We're going to start watching as soon as I leave you. In the past, I've watched a lot of games thinking of who I thought we could possibly play, Robert Morris, so I watched them play. I did not watch Omaha, so we'll start watching them as soon as I leave you.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On how he feels about playing in the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean, just super blessed. I got to give all the glory to God. I feel like he's truly just paved the way for all of us and it's a pretty unique story that he's created for us. Not only for us, but also for those other families out there that we’re inspiring. So, I think it's great and I’m psyched. That was my first time experiencing that. Last year was hard because we sat through the whole show thinking, ‘Okay, the next pick, we are going to get in,’ and obviously, we didn't make the tournament. So that was pretty hard just to see the seniors and what they were trying to do and build. We couldn't get the job done. But this year, obviously, we took care of business. So, it just feels great. It's a great opportunity. I’m very excited.”
On how to prepare for the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean, just listening to Coach [Pitino] and the coaching staff because obviously, they have more experience than all of us put together. So really, just listening to them and just trying to be a sponge and keep working on what we're good at, which is our defensive principles. We just got to keep on playing together.”
On the team’s identity…
“I feel like that's our identity, you know, playing defense and offensive rebounding. I think it definitely travels. I mean, that's our style of basketball. We want to play up and down very fast, we want to be aggressive on the defensive side and just try to create as many second-chance opportunities as possible.”
On having St. John’s students cheer on the team before the NCAA Tournament Selection Show…
“It was awesome. It first started before the championship game for the BIG EAST Tournament. We had all of the cheerleaders lined up with the mascot and, a couple of fans. It was pretty cool because not only last year but just in general, you see all the other big time schools doing it. So just for us to have that type of recognition and that sort of love, it was amazing. I felt the energy and I felt like that day was going to be a good vibe. I mean, it was just super special, even today, a couple of these kids went to class with me, showed up and supported us. In their heads, they think they're fans, but I'm just a regular student, I just play basketball and stuff like that. We all go to school and we all do the same things. They probably just major in something different. But it's truly special to have that support from the fan base and them showing love. I think myself and the rest of my teammates, we try to the best of the best of our ability to take as many pictures and sign as many autographs, just to give back to them and make them feel good.”
On being a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament…
“I think us getting a two-seed is a blessing, but our main priority and full focus is on Thursday. After Thursday, we'll see what's next, but we're just focused on Thursday. We're going to take care of Omaha. We're going to try to learn as much as we can about their strengths and weaknesses, and just get prepared for them.”
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith:
On finally playing in the NCAA Tournament…
“It's a blessing. It’s a dream come true moment with a special group of guys. I'm just soaking it all in and just going day by day and seeing what's next.”
On his decision to play for St. John’s…
“When I was going through the process, I just wanted to find a home to win and achieve certain goals of winning, not personal goals, just to win. I'm happy. I took a leap of faith. I came on and visited with these guys. I gelled with them. I didn't even visit another school or answer a call from anybody else. I have family here, so it's just kind of all came together.”
St. John’s forward Sadiku Ibine Ayo:
On how Coach Pitino is preparing for the NCAA Tournament…
“We took the BIG EAST Tournament like the NCAA Tournament. So, he coaches differently, just like he did during the tournament. So, I think you're going to see the same type of Coach [Pitino] throughout all these games.”
On the focus of the team going forward…
“The focus is on winning more than anything. [Coach Pitino] wants to win more than anything else. So, I think that's what you will see on the sideline, just trying to win every game one at a time.”
On playing for New York…
“I went to high school in the Bronx when I came back from Ghana. It's my seventh year in New York, and I'm kind of a New York kid right now. So, winning in New York is very special. Last night, around 3 a.m., I was just saying ‘wow’ to myself, like, this is pretty amazing. Having the Empire State Building lit up red is just something that New York kids dream about. Playing in Madison Square Garden and winning at Madison Square Garden is just a dream come true for every New York kid.”
“I know the players are all excited. The fans are excited. So, it's a great opening. I'm excited that we'll start studying as soon as I leave you.”
On bringing St. John’s back to the national stage…
“It means quite a bit. Last year, I didn't have a lot of people at the meeting. I wasn't sure we were going to go. So, this year, we planned the party. It was great. We thought we'd be a two-seed. That was terrific. So, we're looking forward to all of this.”
On preparing for the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean, just prepare it like you would any other game. We put a lot of pressure on them with the Marquette game, as I said earlier, and we put a lot of pressure on the guys with the BIG EAST Tournament. We played that as if it was an NCAA game. I kept telling him that. Four minutes to go in the Marquette game, I said, ‘Alright, you're in the first round of the NCAA, it’s survive and advance in these last four minutes.’ And I felt that was necessary because of their lack of playoff experience. And then we did the same thing with the Butler and Marquette and last night’s game.”
On if there is a certain thing about what he does in the NCAA Tournament that helps his teams advance…
“When you have a lot of experience, you learn what not to do, as much as what to do. There are a lot of things that you must understand, that you must understand that you have to stay focused. This is a time of year when everybody is filling out brackets, everybody's talking about it, and you have to understand the focus of every little thing that goes into an NCAA game.”
On when he knew this team was going to mesh well enough to be a two-seed…
“I don't think I ever knew. I never really thought about it. Just kept taking it game-by-game, not taking anything for granted. Just never knew anything about it. I watched our guys get better, young guys get better. Watch RJ [Luis Jr.] get better, but we had an incredible number of injuries, more so than a lot of teams I've ever coached, a lot of players out for the season. So, we had to, on the fly, keep changing, and we were resilient. So, I knew we were tough. I knew we were resilient. Did not know if we'd win the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championship.”
On the Providence region…
“I'm just going to focus on Omaha. I've lost in the first round before. So, we'll just focus on that.”
On if it’s a factor that the team had success in Providence this season…
“I don't think it's effective. I think you look for things like that that just don't come into play. You know, they just don't. It's nice and convenient that we only have to travel for three hours by bus. But then, if we ever advance and move on, we are going towards San Francisco.”
On how he is mentally preparing this team…
“Well, what you do is you start getting ready with your staff and then you try to make the changes necessary so the other team is not prepared for you. You make subtle changes, you make big changes and then you focus on the defense of the teams you want to play.”
On how much time is spent on what your team is going to do versus combatting what the other team is going to do…
“I think you work on both. You work on what's going to be successful against their defense, what you have to stay away from because they defended very well. And then you have to take away everything that they do well. You rely on your pressure. If they're a great three-point shooting team, you've got to extend your defense.”
On his bench depth heading into the NCAA Tournament…
“I think we are not afraid to put any of the guys in the game. I think I intentionally made sure they got experience in the last four or five games that we played, because in the NCAA Tournament, we may need them.”
On how playing in the BIG EAST Tournament helped prepare the team for the NCAA Tournament…
“Well, we mentally said it, it was the first round. We started with the Marquette game. Because of the lack of experience we had, we kept talking about that. This is the first round. This is the second round. This is the Sweet 16. And we played it that way, just to get them that type of experience. If you're going to play in a conference tournament, you want to get to the finals and you want to win it because if you lose it, you're tired. Our players are not tired right now. They're on a high, so you want to win that. I hate getting knocked out in the first round, which hasn't happened. You get knocked out of the first round, you have a whole week and you can get stale.”
On how soon the team will look at film…
“We're going to start watching as soon as I leave you. In the past, I've watched a lot of games thinking of who I thought we could possibly play, Robert Morris, so I watched them play. I did not watch Omaha, so we'll start watching them as soon as I leave you.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On how he feels about playing in the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean, just super blessed. I got to give all the glory to God. I feel like he's truly just paved the way for all of us and it's a pretty unique story that he's created for us. Not only for us, but also for those other families out there that we’re inspiring. So, I think it's great and I’m psyched. That was my first time experiencing that. Last year was hard because we sat through the whole show thinking, ‘Okay, the next pick, we are going to get in,’ and obviously, we didn't make the tournament. So that was pretty hard just to see the seniors and what they were trying to do and build. We couldn't get the job done. But this year, obviously, we took care of business. So, it just feels great. It's a great opportunity. I’m very excited.”
On how to prepare for the NCAA Tournament…
“I mean, just listening to Coach [Pitino] and the coaching staff because obviously, they have more experience than all of us put together. So really, just listening to them and just trying to be a sponge and keep working on what we're good at, which is our defensive principles. We just got to keep on playing together.”
On the team’s identity…
“I feel like that's our identity, you know, playing defense and offensive rebounding. I think it definitely travels. I mean, that's our style of basketball. We want to play up and down very fast, we want to be aggressive on the defensive side and just try to create as many second-chance opportunities as possible.”
On having St. John’s students cheer on the team before the NCAA Tournament Selection Show…
“It was awesome. It first started before the championship game for the BIG EAST Tournament. We had all of the cheerleaders lined up with the mascot and, a couple of fans. It was pretty cool because not only last year but just in general, you see all the other big time schools doing it. So just for us to have that type of recognition and that sort of love, it was amazing. I felt the energy and I felt like that day was going to be a good vibe. I mean, it was just super special, even today, a couple of these kids went to class with me, showed up and supported us. In their heads, they think they're fans, but I'm just a regular student, I just play basketball and stuff like that. We all go to school and we all do the same things. They probably just major in something different. But it's truly special to have that support from the fan base and them showing love. I think myself and the rest of my teammates, we try to the best of the best of our ability to take as many pictures and sign as many autographs, just to give back to them and make them feel good.”
On being a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament…
“I think us getting a two-seed is a blessing, but our main priority and full focus is on Thursday. After Thursday, we'll see what's next, but we're just focused on Thursday. We're going to take care of Omaha. We're going to try to learn as much as we can about their strengths and weaknesses, and just get prepared for them.”
St. John’s guard Deivon Smith:
On finally playing in the NCAA Tournament…
“It's a blessing. It’s a dream come true moment with a special group of guys. I'm just soaking it all in and just going day by day and seeing what's next.”
On his decision to play for St. John’s…
“When I was going through the process, I just wanted to find a home to win and achieve certain goals of winning, not personal goals, just to win. I'm happy. I took a leap of faith. I came on and visited with these guys. I gelled with them. I didn't even visit another school or answer a call from anybody else. I have family here, so it's just kind of all came together.”
St. John’s forward Sadiku Ibine Ayo:
On how Coach Pitino is preparing for the NCAA Tournament…
“We took the BIG EAST Tournament like the NCAA Tournament. So, he coaches differently, just like he did during the tournament. So, I think you're going to see the same type of Coach [Pitino] throughout all these games.”
On the focus of the team going forward…
“The focus is on winning more than anything. [Coach Pitino] wants to win more than anything else. So, I think that's what you will see on the sideline, just trying to win every game one at a time.”
On playing for New York…
“I went to high school in the Bronx when I came back from Ghana. It's my seventh year in New York, and I'm kind of a New York kid right now. So, winning in New York is very special. Last night, around 3 a.m., I was just saying ‘wow’ to myself, like, this is pretty amazing. Having the Empire State Building lit up red is just something that New York kids dream about. Playing in Madison Square Garden and winning at Madison Square Garden is just a dream come true for every New York kid.”