St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: ST. JOHN’S AT XAVIER
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, senior forward Dillon Mitchell and redshirt junior guard Dylan Darling spoke to the media after defeating Xavier, 88-83, at the Cintas Center on Saturday afternoon
Head Coach Rick Pitino
On win no. 900…
“900 wins means that I’ve had longevity. I’m very thankful to all my players and all my assistant coaches for helping me get there. I’ve always hoped for a championship or a Final Four, but I’ve never thought about the number of wins.”
On the team’s growth…
“I’ve said this all year long how enjoyable they are [to coach], but tonight was the icing on the cake. A lot of teams would break, but they stayed with it. Bryce [Hopkins] made big plays, and Ian [Jackson] kept us in the fame in the first half.”
On key contributions late…
“Dylan Darling made big plays. He’s got a big heart, and so did Bryce. They made big defensive plays getting [Xavier] to take some bad shots. [Xavier] is as tough an offensive team as there is in the BIG EAST.”
On his halftime speech…
“I stayed very calm and said, ‘No doubt in my mind we’re going to come back, just one possession at a time. We’ve got to stop the three,’ and we did a good job in the second half of defending the three.”
Senior forward Dillon Mitchell
On the team’s culture…
“[The win] says a lot about the culture we have and our mindset as a team. We were down big two games in a row now, and we know we’ve got to get back to practicing and putting together 40 minutes consistently. But it shows who we are as a team and as players. We don’t ever give up.”
On Coach Pitino’s halftime message…
“It wasn’t anything special or something we drew up. It was our mindset. Teammates coming out with different energy. We’ve got to put together 40 minutes, but at the end of the day, it’s all about effort and toughness and coming out with the right mindset.”
On being part of Coach Pitino’s 900th win…
“It was an honor. The atmosphere was crazy. Xavier is a really good basketball team and it was a tough win, but a good win for me to be part of.”
Redshirt junior guard Dylan Darling
On his confidence in big moments…
“I was just trying to play point guard down the stretch and that’s just how it played out. I’ve got a really good coach who believes in me and challenges me every day to be better, and my teammates believe in me. That gives me the extra confidence to make plays like I made this afternoon.”
On his development as a shooter…
“It’s just the reps. I’ve put a lot of reps in, and I think I’m getting more and more comfortable in my fundamentals. Just keep growing.”
On helping deliver Pitino’s milestone win…
“It was awesome. Coach [Pitino] won’t say it, but we all know he really wanted this one. It was really fun to be able to pull through and see him like that.”
On win no. 900…
“900 wins means that I’ve had longevity. I’m very thankful to all my players and all my assistant coaches for helping me get there. I’ve always hoped for a championship or a Final Four, but I’ve never thought about the number of wins.”
On the team’s growth…
“I’ve said this all year long how enjoyable they are [to coach], but tonight was the icing on the cake. A lot of teams would break, but they stayed with it. Bryce [Hopkins] made big plays, and Ian [Jackson] kept us in the fame in the first half.”
On key contributions late…
“Dylan Darling made big plays. He’s got a big heart, and so did Bryce. They made big defensive plays getting [Xavier] to take some bad shots. [Xavier] is as tough an offensive team as there is in the BIG EAST.”
On his halftime speech…
“I stayed very calm and said, ‘No doubt in my mind we’re going to come back, just one possession at a time. We’ve got to stop the three,’ and we did a good job in the second half of defending the three.”
Senior forward Dillon Mitchell
On the team’s culture…
“[The win] says a lot about the culture we have and our mindset as a team. We were down big two games in a row now, and we know we’ve got to get back to practicing and putting together 40 minutes consistently. But it shows who we are as a team and as players. We don’t ever give up.”
On Coach Pitino’s halftime message…
“It wasn’t anything special or something we drew up. It was our mindset. Teammates coming out with different energy. We’ve got to put together 40 minutes, but at the end of the day, it’s all about effort and toughness and coming out with the right mindset.”
On being part of Coach Pitino’s 900th win…
“It was an honor. The atmosphere was crazy. Xavier is a really good basketball team and it was a tough win, but a good win for me to be part of.”
Redshirt junior guard Dylan Darling
On his confidence in big moments…
“I was just trying to play point guard down the stretch and that’s just how it played out. I’ve got a really good coach who believes in me and challenges me every day to be better, and my teammates believe in me. That gives me the extra confidence to make plays like I made this afternoon.”
On his development as a shooter…
“It’s just the reps. I’ve put a lot of reps in, and I think I’m getting more and more comfortable in my fundamentals. Just keep growing.”
On helping deliver Pitino’s milestone win…
“It was awesome. Coach [Pitino] won’t say it, but we all know he really wanted this one. It was really fun to be able to pull through and see him like that.”