St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s at Providence
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, Zuby Ejiofor and Dylan Darling spoke to the media after the Red Storm’s 79-69 win over Providence
Head Coach Rick Pitino
On the incident early in the second half that led to six players being ejected…
“I think you saw it as well as me, but I didn't have the film in front of me to look at everybody. But you know, you're not supposed to come off the bench, but you can't let your players get beat up.”
On the crowd…
“I think the crowd lost objectivity of what they're here for. If they're just here to poke fun at Bryce Hopkins and not get a win for the Friars, that's not the Friars I remember in [19]87.”
On the game’s extra curriculars…
“We didn't initiate anything. We talked toughness as not turning the ball over, creating steals, getting offensive rebounds. That's what we believe toughness is, and that's all we talked about throughout the entire time. And we made some big plays.”
Senior forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the team’s response…
“I feel like we responded in the best way possible. We were without [four] of our players and you know, Dylan [Darling] does what Dylan has been pretty much doing for a big stretch now. So I’m really proud of guys, knowing how we competed for 40 minutes. And you know, this is always a tough, tough place to play in, especially to get a win, so we did exactly what we came in to do.
“That’s just who we are. We know exactly what we're playing for. We're playing for a championship, and that's one-game-at-a-time mentality. … Our biggest thing was to stay composed through it all, you know. Just worry about everything in between the lines and not focus on anything else.”
On winning in a hostile environment…
“Coming into this game, we knew exactly how rowdy this environment was going to be especially, not only for [Bryce Hopkins], but for all of us included. We knew was going to be tough. We knew we had to have a great mindset to come in here and win. And I think that's what we did.”
Redshirt guard Dylan Darling
On playing with a shorter bench…
“You try not to think about it, but I mean, definitely some of us needed to step up without, our leader, Dillon Mitchell, one of our bigs. Somebody needed to step up. And I just try to bring energy. And you know, we were fired up from the exchange, but just try to bring energy.
“We knew we needed to focus and on every small detail to win the game, and that was really just our focus. And we just came out and played hard and things went that way.
On the incident early in the second half that led to six players being ejected…
“I think you saw it as well as me, but I didn't have the film in front of me to look at everybody. But you know, you're not supposed to come off the bench, but you can't let your players get beat up.”
On the crowd…
“I think the crowd lost objectivity of what they're here for. If they're just here to poke fun at Bryce Hopkins and not get a win for the Friars, that's not the Friars I remember in [19]87.”
On the game’s extra curriculars…
“We didn't initiate anything. We talked toughness as not turning the ball over, creating steals, getting offensive rebounds. That's what we believe toughness is, and that's all we talked about throughout the entire time. And we made some big plays.”
Senior forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the team’s response…
“I feel like we responded in the best way possible. We were without [four] of our players and you know, Dylan [Darling] does what Dylan has been pretty much doing for a big stretch now. So I’m really proud of guys, knowing how we competed for 40 minutes. And you know, this is always a tough, tough place to play in, especially to get a win, so we did exactly what we came in to do.
“That’s just who we are. We know exactly what we're playing for. We're playing for a championship, and that's one-game-at-a-time mentality. … Our biggest thing was to stay composed through it all, you know. Just worry about everything in between the lines and not focus on anything else.”
On winning in a hostile environment…
“Coming into this game, we knew exactly how rowdy this environment was going to be especially, not only for [Bryce Hopkins], but for all of us included. We knew was going to be tough. We knew we had to have a great mindset to come in here and win. And I think that's what we did.”
Redshirt guard Dylan Darling
On playing with a shorter bench…
“You try not to think about it, but I mean, definitely some of us needed to step up without, our leader, Dillon Mitchell, one of our bigs. Somebody needed to step up. And I just try to bring energy. And you know, we were fired up from the exchange, but just try to bring energy.
“We knew we needed to focus and on every small detail to win the game, and that was really just our focus. And we just came out and played hard and things went that way.