St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: No. 6/6 St. John’s at No. 20/20 Marquette
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, guard Kadary Richmond, forward Zuby Ejiofor and forward RJ Luis Jr. spoke with the media following the Red Storm’s 86-84 ovetime win over the Golden Eagles on Sunday
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening statement…
“Not a whole lot to say, except wow. The resilience to play in front of a sold-out road game and to just never, never give up in regulation, overtime. Just keep digging in, keep digging in, making play after play. The last play of the game when Kadary [Richmond] tips it, Simeon [Wilcher] makes the steal and the pass, indicative of the way the game was played. We had a very difficult time switching onto Kam Jones and guarding his left hand. Outside of that, we played the terrific, pretty game, as we always do and it's a heck of a win, probably my favorite win of the season by far.”
On the mentality entering today’s game…
“I said, ‘This is your one and done. You lose this game. The season's over.’ That's the way you got to play it to prepare for March Madness. You don't just show up in March and say, ‘Okay, this is what we're going to do.’ You prepare for it now. You prepare for it at the BIG EAST Tournament. And they did a fabulous job. Just a tough team.”
On the team’s performance today…
“I love our willingness to shoot the shot with the game on the line. I love that. Both the regulation as well as overtime. We made some really good plays. Really pleased with what they did in overtime. Just a great game, great performance by our team in so many areas.”
On what this team has accomplished this season…
“The only thing I pay attention to is the next practice and the next game. I'm very grateful for the type of team I have, but maybe sometime in June or July, I'll just be on the beach and be very thankful for the season. Right now, I’m just laser-focused on the next BIG EAST game, the next practice. I'm not patting myself on the back.”
On if his team is playing well heading into the tournament…
“I think we made big plays down the stretch. I did not like the last two games. I liked what I saw today. A lot of teams could have folded many times tonight, and this team didn't fold at all. So, very impressed with the grit and their toughness. Very impressed.”
On Simeon Wilcher and Lefters Liotopoulos’ play…
“I thought Simeon was great tonight. He did give up the left hand too much, defensively, but he was just trying to stay out of foul trouble because he knew we couldn't afford foul trouble. I thought Lefteris did some really good things in the game as well. This is a great win. Just a fabulous win. I could not be more happy.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond
On how he recorded a triple-double in today’s game…
“I would say putting trust in my teammates to make open shots. Then going up there and putting in effort to get rebounds on missed shots.”
On what it means for him to record the first triple-double since Ron Artest in 1999…
“He was an aggressive guy. He played very hard every night. I'd say it just means a lot to me and my teammates. We've been doing historic things all season. So, this time it’s an individual one, but I'll give it all to them – they made big shots and made the big plays and we got out of there with a win.”
On playing this game like it was a must-win…
“We prepared all week for this game. It’s March so it’s time to close in and prepare well and play every game like its your last.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the final five seconds of the game…
“We put the ball in RJ’s [Luis Jr.] hands and obviously the amount of talent [he has] and he was having a great day, so we put the ball in his hands for the last six or five seconds, and he got it up on the rim. And then Kadary [Richmond] made a great play to tip the ball out and Simeon [Wilcher] was able to find me for the last shot.”
On how the team keeps winning like this…
“Our entire thing is to do whatever it takes to win. You just don't always look premium on every single night. It doesn't matter. We fight through adversity. We're a good team. In the second half we came together and did whatever it took to win.”
On Marquette…
“You know how tough this team is and they are going to play hard the entire 40 minutes. We were trying to match them and exceed them in terms of physicality and the amount of pressure we put up throughout the entire game. So to win in this fashion, when things weren't going right, basically throughout the entire game - we're giving up straight line drives, which was our focal point throughout the entire week of practice. So, we got some things to work on, but this was a great win, and we're all excited. We've got to get ready for the BIG EAST Tournament.”
St. John’s wing RJ Luis Jr.
On making his final case for BIG EAST Player of the Year…
“I want to thank my teammates and coaches. They do a great job of putting me in positions to be successful, especially Kadary [Richmond] because he does great job of passing the ball. It would be a blessing to receive the award. It would be an honor. What I did from last year to this year is a pretty awesome story. But on top of that, to win the [BIG EAST] regular season championship and have the season we're having. To play with this group of guys and be coached under Coach Pitino. We gave up a lot of easy drives to the basket. So, we're going to fix some little mistakes and get ready for the BIG EAST Tournament.”
Opening statement…
“Not a whole lot to say, except wow. The resilience to play in front of a sold-out road game and to just never, never give up in regulation, overtime. Just keep digging in, keep digging in, making play after play. The last play of the game when Kadary [Richmond] tips it, Simeon [Wilcher] makes the steal and the pass, indicative of the way the game was played. We had a very difficult time switching onto Kam Jones and guarding his left hand. Outside of that, we played the terrific, pretty game, as we always do and it's a heck of a win, probably my favorite win of the season by far.”
On the mentality entering today’s game…
“I said, ‘This is your one and done. You lose this game. The season's over.’ That's the way you got to play it to prepare for March Madness. You don't just show up in March and say, ‘Okay, this is what we're going to do.’ You prepare for it now. You prepare for it at the BIG EAST Tournament. And they did a fabulous job. Just a tough team.”
On the team’s performance today…
“I love our willingness to shoot the shot with the game on the line. I love that. Both the regulation as well as overtime. We made some really good plays. Really pleased with what they did in overtime. Just a great game, great performance by our team in so many areas.”
On what this team has accomplished this season…
“The only thing I pay attention to is the next practice and the next game. I'm very grateful for the type of team I have, but maybe sometime in June or July, I'll just be on the beach and be very thankful for the season. Right now, I’m just laser-focused on the next BIG EAST game, the next practice. I'm not patting myself on the back.”
On if his team is playing well heading into the tournament…
“I think we made big plays down the stretch. I did not like the last two games. I liked what I saw today. A lot of teams could have folded many times tonight, and this team didn't fold at all. So, very impressed with the grit and their toughness. Very impressed.”
On Simeon Wilcher and Lefters Liotopoulos’ play…
“I thought Simeon was great tonight. He did give up the left hand too much, defensively, but he was just trying to stay out of foul trouble because he knew we couldn't afford foul trouble. I thought Lefteris did some really good things in the game as well. This is a great win. Just a fabulous win. I could not be more happy.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond
On how he recorded a triple-double in today’s game…
“I would say putting trust in my teammates to make open shots. Then going up there and putting in effort to get rebounds on missed shots.”
On what it means for him to record the first triple-double since Ron Artest in 1999…
“He was an aggressive guy. He played very hard every night. I'd say it just means a lot to me and my teammates. We've been doing historic things all season. So, this time it’s an individual one, but I'll give it all to them – they made big shots and made the big plays and we got out of there with a win.”
On playing this game like it was a must-win…
“We prepared all week for this game. It’s March so it’s time to close in and prepare well and play every game like its your last.”
St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the final five seconds of the game…
“We put the ball in RJ’s [Luis Jr.] hands and obviously the amount of talent [he has] and he was having a great day, so we put the ball in his hands for the last six or five seconds, and he got it up on the rim. And then Kadary [Richmond] made a great play to tip the ball out and Simeon [Wilcher] was able to find me for the last shot.”
On how the team keeps winning like this…
“Our entire thing is to do whatever it takes to win. You just don't always look premium on every single night. It doesn't matter. We fight through adversity. We're a good team. In the second half we came together and did whatever it took to win.”
On Marquette…
“You know how tough this team is and they are going to play hard the entire 40 minutes. We were trying to match them and exceed them in terms of physicality and the amount of pressure we put up throughout the entire game. So to win in this fashion, when things weren't going right, basically throughout the entire game - we're giving up straight line drives, which was our focal point throughout the entire week of practice. So, we got some things to work on, but this was a great win, and we're all excited. We've got to get ready for the BIG EAST Tournament.”
St. John’s wing RJ Luis Jr.
On making his final case for BIG EAST Player of the Year…
“I want to thank my teammates and coaches. They do a great job of putting me in positions to be successful, especially Kadary [Richmond] because he does great job of passing the ball. It would be a blessing to receive the award. It would be an honor. What I did from last year to this year is a pretty awesome story. But on top of that, to win the [BIG EAST] regular season championship and have the season we're having. To play with this group of guys and be coached under Coach Pitino. We gave up a lot of easy drives to the basket. So, we're going to fix some little mistakes and get ready for the BIG EAST Tournament.”