St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: NCAA Tournament First Round vs No. 15 Omaha
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, forward RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor spoke with the media following the Red Storm’s 83-53 victory over No. 15 Omaha in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I.
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement…
“First ten minutes, we didn't play particularly well. Both of these guys (RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor) had very mediocre performances for great players, both guys. They did not play well tonight, neither one of them, but they were the best on the lot, so we were appreciative of that. So, they were both much better than they played and they still did a lot of good things. We didn't play particularly well. They're a tough team to guard. Because we played great defense and kept giving up, got them to take a lot of bad shots and we didn't chase the loose ball rebounds. What I told them basically, they're going to see a team the likes we haven't seen all year from a size and athleticism standpoint. You can't give up 24 second shots and play great defense like we did.”
On if nerves were a factor tonight…
I'm not thrilled with the rebounding. I'm thrilled with everything else. We got them to take a lot of bad shots, defense was excellent. We changed our defense in the second half which helped us a lot but wasn't happy giving up 24 second shots. But very happy with the win. Very happy we're advancing. Even when I had the number one of number one seeds with what I thought was the very best team ever assembled at Kentucky, if I remember correctly, against San Jose State, I think we were the largest favorite in the NCAA and I think we were down one at halftime. They had a 6'7" player, Olivier Saint-Jean, I think was his name. We were down one at halftime and I think we won by 40. So it happens, coming out a little tight, the low seed so we adjusted and did a lot of good things in the second half. We had a lot of confidence making threes right off the bat coming out the second half.”
On the keys to advancing in this tournament…
“I think it's keep on playing, make adjustments and be relentless in the pursuit of excellence defensively and I think we did that, we accomplished that.”
On facing Arkansas and John Calipari on Saturday…
“I'm talking about disliking each other as rivals. John was at Kentucky, I was at at Louisville. It's normal. I have always had great respect for John. We have not seen this size and athleticism all year. Creighton has a 7'2" center, but athleticism-wise, we have not seen this this year. We know what we're up against, obviously. They had a lot of injuries, that's why they opened up 0-5. I don't know where they finished in the SEC... eighth or ninth. I'm glad we're not in the SEC. That talent level in that conference is amazing to me.”
On preparing for Arkansas…
“I don't go against coaches, we go against teams. He doesn't have to worry about me. My jump shot is long gone. We're preparing for his players. He's preparing for our players. John and I don't play one on one anymore.”
On his team’s shooting performance…
“I don't think we're a great shooting team. I think we're a decent shooting team. I think we shot well from the foul line tonight. We have improved as the season has gone along. Ruben's gotten a lot better. Lefty's gotten a lot better. Vince has gotten a lot better in certain areas. We're going to have to play the best game of the season to beat a team like this. We know that. They're very, very big, athletic. Their bench is athletic, they're fast. This is a whole different ball game for us, but they know we're a good team as well.”
On how his team responded to the slim lead at the half…
“The one thing about our team all season long, we have never panicked about either being down or being up by a few. I think that the players were correct. I think they were a little tight. This is all new to them. It's first-time experience for them. They will learn from this night, get a lot better but it's been a great season for us. We haven't panicked at all. We came out and changed our defense in the second half and what we tried to do against them. They're a really, really good offensive basketball team. They may not show it with their percentages tonight, but they're a very good offensive basketball team. They scored 91 points in ten straight games, and we did a very good job on that point guard who dominated just about everybody this season.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On what it felt like to play in a NCAA Tournament game and advance…
“I want to thank God for this opportunity. The whole team. We came out very tight. This is their first time playing, so I think it was a little bit of nerves, but we cleaned it up in the second half, and we got back to our identity, which is defense, and we brought up the pressure and just got to go back and learn from our mistakes this game and prepare for Saturday.”
On if it helps to have played a game so the team will not be as tight…
“All these games are important, but like I said, learn from our mistakes and get prepared for Saturday.”
On Simeon’s Wilcher’s performance…
“That's big time. I always tell him to keep being aggressive. Sim is a great shooter, so having the confidence to keep on shooting. When we do a good job moving the ball and getting him open looks, he's going to knock it down.”
On matching a season-high with 14 three-pointers…
“I didn't know we hit 14 threes. We're not bad shooters, it's just about moving the ball and getting open looks and shots and shooting the ball with confidence. Definitely, if we're able to keep shooting the threes, it's going to be pretty interesting going down and we have to pick up our defense and get back to that, which is our identity.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the second-half surge…
“I think once we settled down and just got right back to our identity, which is getting stops and getting on transition and just ball movement, we just got right back to what we did best. It shows the ball was hopping from side to side, and guys were engaged on the defensive end a lot more, too. We started off slow pretty much the entire season, so we got some things to figure out. And like RJ [Luis Jr.] said, just watch film and figure out the mistakes so we can't repeat those Saturday.”
On if there was a moment when the team felt more at ease…
“It's just a matter of getting in the flow of the game. We have been starting out pretty slow. Once we all talked to each other and got more engaged and got back to our game, especially in the second half when ultimately it matters the most, we just came together and did whatever it takes to win , and we just locked in and increased our level of focus and that's what it's going to take to keep advancing in this tournament.”
Opening Statement…
“First ten minutes, we didn't play particularly well. Both of these guys (RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor) had very mediocre performances for great players, both guys. They did not play well tonight, neither one of them, but they were the best on the lot, so we were appreciative of that. So, they were both much better than they played and they still did a lot of good things. We didn't play particularly well. They're a tough team to guard. Because we played great defense and kept giving up, got them to take a lot of bad shots and we didn't chase the loose ball rebounds. What I told them basically, they're going to see a team the likes we haven't seen all year from a size and athleticism standpoint. You can't give up 24 second shots and play great defense like we did.”
On if nerves were a factor tonight…
I'm not thrilled with the rebounding. I'm thrilled with everything else. We got them to take a lot of bad shots, defense was excellent. We changed our defense in the second half which helped us a lot but wasn't happy giving up 24 second shots. But very happy with the win. Very happy we're advancing. Even when I had the number one of number one seeds with what I thought was the very best team ever assembled at Kentucky, if I remember correctly, against San Jose State, I think we were the largest favorite in the NCAA and I think we were down one at halftime. They had a 6'7" player, Olivier Saint-Jean, I think was his name. We were down one at halftime and I think we won by 40. So it happens, coming out a little tight, the low seed so we adjusted and did a lot of good things in the second half. We had a lot of confidence making threes right off the bat coming out the second half.”
On the keys to advancing in this tournament…
“I think it's keep on playing, make adjustments and be relentless in the pursuit of excellence defensively and I think we did that, we accomplished that.”
On facing Arkansas and John Calipari on Saturday…
“I'm talking about disliking each other as rivals. John was at Kentucky, I was at at Louisville. It's normal. I have always had great respect for John. We have not seen this size and athleticism all year. Creighton has a 7'2" center, but athleticism-wise, we have not seen this this year. We know what we're up against, obviously. They had a lot of injuries, that's why they opened up 0-5. I don't know where they finished in the SEC... eighth or ninth. I'm glad we're not in the SEC. That talent level in that conference is amazing to me.”
On preparing for Arkansas…
“I don't go against coaches, we go against teams. He doesn't have to worry about me. My jump shot is long gone. We're preparing for his players. He's preparing for our players. John and I don't play one on one anymore.”
On his team’s shooting performance…
“I don't think we're a great shooting team. I think we're a decent shooting team. I think we shot well from the foul line tonight. We have improved as the season has gone along. Ruben's gotten a lot better. Lefty's gotten a lot better. Vince has gotten a lot better in certain areas. We're going to have to play the best game of the season to beat a team like this. We know that. They're very, very big, athletic. Their bench is athletic, they're fast. This is a whole different ball game for us, but they know we're a good team as well.”
On how his team responded to the slim lead at the half…
“The one thing about our team all season long, we have never panicked about either being down or being up by a few. I think that the players were correct. I think they were a little tight. This is all new to them. It's first-time experience for them. They will learn from this night, get a lot better but it's been a great season for us. We haven't panicked at all. We came out and changed our defense in the second half and what we tried to do against them. They're a really, really good offensive basketball team. They may not show it with their percentages tonight, but they're a very good offensive basketball team. They scored 91 points in ten straight games, and we did a very good job on that point guard who dominated just about everybody this season.”
St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr.
On what it felt like to play in a NCAA Tournament game and advance…
“I want to thank God for this opportunity. The whole team. We came out very tight. This is their first time playing, so I think it was a little bit of nerves, but we cleaned it up in the second half, and we got back to our identity, which is defense, and we brought up the pressure and just got to go back and learn from our mistakes this game and prepare for Saturday.”
On if it helps to have played a game so the team will not be as tight…
“All these games are important, but like I said, learn from our mistakes and get prepared for Saturday.”
On Simeon’s Wilcher’s performance…
“That's big time. I always tell him to keep being aggressive. Sim is a great shooter, so having the confidence to keep on shooting. When we do a good job moving the ball and getting him open looks, he's going to knock it down.”
On matching a season-high with 14 three-pointers…
“I didn't know we hit 14 threes. We're not bad shooters, it's just about moving the ball and getting open looks and shots and shooting the ball with confidence. Definitely, if we're able to keep shooting the threes, it's going to be pretty interesting going down and we have to pick up our defense and get back to that, which is our identity.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the second-half surge…
“I think once we settled down and just got right back to our identity, which is getting stops and getting on transition and just ball movement, we just got right back to what we did best. It shows the ball was hopping from side to side, and guys were engaged on the defensive end a lot more, too. We started off slow pretty much the entire season, so we got some things to figure out. And like RJ [Luis Jr.] said, just watch film and figure out the mistakes so we can't repeat those Saturday.”
On if there was a moment when the team felt more at ease…
“It's just a matter of getting in the flow of the game. We have been starting out pretty slow. Once we all talked to each other and got more engaged and got back to our game, especially in the second half when ultimately it matters the most, we just came together and did whatever it takes to win , and we just locked in and increased our level of focus and that's what it's going to take to keep advancing in this tournament.”