St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND ST. JOHN’S VS. NORTHERN IOWA
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, senior forwards Zuby Ejiofor and Dillon Mitchell spoke to the media ahead of the NCAA Tournament First Round matchup against 12th-seeded Northern Iowa in San Diego
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement …
“We're super excited to be here. I don't know if you could get better weather than what's out here. My team's really excited to be playing in March Madness and being part of it. And we're playing against, as we know, a great basketball team. I have coached against this coach [Ben Jacobson] two different times, and we were life and death to beat them both times. They're much better this year than the other two times I've faced them at Louisville. So, we're super excited to be here and very thankful to be out in San Diego.”
On this year’s newcomers …
“Last year, we had a terrific team. We knew all the players. This year we just went after culture guys, guys that we felt were really going to play for the name on the front, not worried about stats or making it somewhere else. Just totally bought in. And we spent so much time interviewing and researching every individual from Dillon Mitchell, to Bryce Hopkins, to Dylan Darling, to Oziyah Sellers -- every single guy we did our homework and beyond that, and we got great culture guys and it's paid off very well for us.”
On the importance of tempo during tomorrow’s contest…
“This team [Northern Iowa] would be one of the premier teams in the BIG EAST. 70 percent of their players is back. The only blip in their schedule is when they had their power forward out and they lost four out of six. But here's what I found out in coaching as long as I have, when you play against Tony Bennett’s Virginia’s and you try to speed them up, it never works. This team at the offensive end, may send five guys back on every possession. They totally take away your fast break. You know it's going to be a close game. You know you have to match their defensive intensity and it comes down to possessions, the team that gets the most possessions. And you're going to have to match them from the 3-point line, without question.”
Senior Forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the team’s mindset heading into the NCAA Tournament…
“I think it's our job not to worry about what people or outside perspective might perceive about this team. Our job is to go out there and battle, compete, each and every opportunity that we get. And it's a blessing, obviously, to still be playing in March. We look forward to getting ready for a tough opponent here on Friday. And that's all we can control. All we can control is how hard we go in between the lines.”
On Coach Pitino’s message to the team…
“Coach Pitino is the ultimate competitor. And he's going to bring out the best in each and every one of us and he's going to hold us accountable in the right way throughout the entire season. He doesn't change. Obviously, the stakes are higher now with the lose and you're out. But everything is, with the preparation and our level of focus has not changed from day one. These guys are ready to compete for something that's a lot bigger than each and every one of us now. It's a one-game at a time now. You lose and you're out. And we're here to compete. And we're really excited for the opportunity to come out here and do some special things.”
On how it feels to be back in March Madness…
“I said earlier, it's really a blessing to be able to play March. It's my last go-around here. It is for not only me, but for a lot of -- like half the team, honestly. So we have an opportunity to make something special out of this year. Obviously we already did some exciting things in the regular season and in the Big East Tournament. But now we can just put all that in the past and really focus in on making a run. It's six games, one game at a time, like Mitch [Dillon Mitchell] said. For 40 minutes, four-minute intervals, it's how we're thinking about, winning each four minutes and going out and competing at a high level. But at the same time, just having fun with this opportunity, because, like I said, not everybody gets a chance at this.”
Senior forward Dillon Mitchell
On carrying the momentum from BIG EAST Tournament…
“I think it just comes down to how we came out -- in the game, in those three games, we came out to great starts. And, obviously, we won those games. So, I think it just comes down to how we come out with the right approach and not just kind of play the pace of the game, start the pace of the game and start how we want to start. We had some games this year where we went down, we had to fight back. And that's not type of game we want to be in. So, with us, it's coming out with that same approach this year. …. For some of us, this could be our last game, obviously. We don't have another year. This is our last year for us as seniors, so going out with the right approach every game.”
On playing for Rick Pitino…
“Obviously, Zuby [Ejiofor] has been with him a little minute now. But it is pretty crazy to me. Even now, seeing him every day, I'm, like, I'm really playing for Coach Pitino. It really is kind of crazy. Even when I first committed, my mom and everybody like that, they didn't know too much about Coach P. When I came on my visit, I was star struck, like I was meeting a celebrity, which I pretty much was, 100 percent. Obviously, it's a blessing, you hear so much about him. But being with him every day and learning under him, it's the best experience I've ever had.”
On how the squad is approaching the Big Dance…
“We've treated every game this year like a tournament game. Obviously, it's a little bit different now. You lose a game now, you're going home. But that's just the type of mindset that we've had throughout the season -- treating every game like a tournament game and going out there to get that win. Now it's taking one game at a time and playing for 40 minutes, four-minute quarters for us and just going out there and doing anything we can to pull out a win.”
Opening Statement …
“We're super excited to be here. I don't know if you could get better weather than what's out here. My team's really excited to be playing in March Madness and being part of it. And we're playing against, as we know, a great basketball team. I have coached against this coach [Ben Jacobson] two different times, and we were life and death to beat them both times. They're much better this year than the other two times I've faced them at Louisville. So, we're super excited to be here and very thankful to be out in San Diego.”
On this year’s newcomers …
“Last year, we had a terrific team. We knew all the players. This year we just went after culture guys, guys that we felt were really going to play for the name on the front, not worried about stats or making it somewhere else. Just totally bought in. And we spent so much time interviewing and researching every individual from Dillon Mitchell, to Bryce Hopkins, to Dylan Darling, to Oziyah Sellers -- every single guy we did our homework and beyond that, and we got great culture guys and it's paid off very well for us.”
On the importance of tempo during tomorrow’s contest…
“This team [Northern Iowa] would be one of the premier teams in the BIG EAST. 70 percent of their players is back. The only blip in their schedule is when they had their power forward out and they lost four out of six. But here's what I found out in coaching as long as I have, when you play against Tony Bennett’s Virginia’s and you try to speed them up, it never works. This team at the offensive end, may send five guys back on every possession. They totally take away your fast break. You know it's going to be a close game. You know you have to match their defensive intensity and it comes down to possessions, the team that gets the most possessions. And you're going to have to match them from the 3-point line, without question.”
Senior Forward Zuby Ejiofor
On the team’s mindset heading into the NCAA Tournament…
“I think it's our job not to worry about what people or outside perspective might perceive about this team. Our job is to go out there and battle, compete, each and every opportunity that we get. And it's a blessing, obviously, to still be playing in March. We look forward to getting ready for a tough opponent here on Friday. And that's all we can control. All we can control is how hard we go in between the lines.”
On Coach Pitino’s message to the team…
“Coach Pitino is the ultimate competitor. And he's going to bring out the best in each and every one of us and he's going to hold us accountable in the right way throughout the entire season. He doesn't change. Obviously, the stakes are higher now with the lose and you're out. But everything is, with the preparation and our level of focus has not changed from day one. These guys are ready to compete for something that's a lot bigger than each and every one of us now. It's a one-game at a time now. You lose and you're out. And we're here to compete. And we're really excited for the opportunity to come out here and do some special things.”
On how it feels to be back in March Madness…
“I said earlier, it's really a blessing to be able to play March. It's my last go-around here. It is for not only me, but for a lot of -- like half the team, honestly. So we have an opportunity to make something special out of this year. Obviously we already did some exciting things in the regular season and in the Big East Tournament. But now we can just put all that in the past and really focus in on making a run. It's six games, one game at a time, like Mitch [Dillon Mitchell] said. For 40 minutes, four-minute intervals, it's how we're thinking about, winning each four minutes and going out and competing at a high level. But at the same time, just having fun with this opportunity, because, like I said, not everybody gets a chance at this.”
Senior forward Dillon Mitchell
On carrying the momentum from BIG EAST Tournament…
“I think it just comes down to how we came out -- in the game, in those three games, we came out to great starts. And, obviously, we won those games. So, I think it just comes down to how we come out with the right approach and not just kind of play the pace of the game, start the pace of the game and start how we want to start. We had some games this year where we went down, we had to fight back. And that's not type of game we want to be in. So, with us, it's coming out with that same approach this year. …. For some of us, this could be our last game, obviously. We don't have another year. This is our last year for us as seniors, so going out with the right approach every game.”
On playing for Rick Pitino…
“Obviously, Zuby [Ejiofor] has been with him a little minute now. But it is pretty crazy to me. Even now, seeing him every day, I'm, like, I'm really playing for Coach Pitino. It really is kind of crazy. Even when I first committed, my mom and everybody like that, they didn't know too much about Coach P. When I came on my visit, I was star struck, like I was meeting a celebrity, which I pretty much was, 100 percent. Obviously, it's a blessing, you hear so much about him. But being with him every day and learning under him, it's the best experience I've ever had.”
On how the squad is approaching the Big Dance…
“We've treated every game this year like a tournament game. Obviously, it's a little bit different now. You lose a game now, you're going home. But that's just the type of mindset that we've had throughout the season -- treating every game like a tournament game and going out there to get that win. Now it's taking one game at a time and playing for 40 minutes, four-minute quarters for us and just going out there and doing anything we can to pull out a win.”