St. John's University Athletics
PREGAME QUOTES: NCAA TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND ST. JOHN’S VS. KANSAS
St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino, senior guard and graduate student guard/forward Bryce Hopkins spoke to the media ahead of the NCAA Tournament Second Round matchup against fourth-seeded Kansas
Head Coach Rick Pitino
Opening Statement …
“We're excited, obviously. It's a lot of fun being out here in San Diego and playing against a team like Kansas. Kansas is -- probably haven't faced anything like them since Kentucky as far as the length, size, size of the back court. They're certainly very well coached. They're certainly extremely talented, and it'll be interesting to see how we combat their size.”
On playing a Bill Self coached Kansas team…
“They're always tough. They're tough-minded, tough physically. They play great defense. They play exciting offense. This team throws more lob dunks that any team I've seen this year. Council just comes down and just throws it up, and they dunk the ball. He's always been one of the premier coaches. Ever since I've entered this business, he's always been great each stop along the way, and he's had a long run at Kansas. He's a great guy. We did only play him once in Iona and he sent us home crying. So we're looking forward to this matchup.”
On Zuby Ejiofor playing against his former team Kansas…
“I don't think Zuby [Ejiofor] cares about playing Kansas. I think he's concerned about this is a chance to get to the Sweet 16. But I think last night, he was a little bit tight. He came out of it and I think he'll be fine tomorrow. [Our] whole team has to make sure they understand that [Northern Iowa] wanted to play in the 50s and we had to get off to a big start. The reason we played so well is the amount of respect the players and the coaching staff had for that team. Now, they didn't look good last night. But I watched eight separate games myself and they're terrific. They could really, really be painful to play against. ... This game is totally the opposite. Now it's you have to watch Kansas in transition because they're great in transition. That's when they're at their best, when they're playing up and down.”
Senior guard Oziyah Sellers
On facing former teammate Tre White …
“Tre [White] is definitely like a brother to me. Obviously, we both came in the same recruiting class to USC. We lived right next door to each other. We went to classes together. He's like a brother to me.”
Graduate student guard/ forward Bryce Hopkins
On starting off strong…
“I feel like it was a big key for us, especially coming into the game. We know March Madness, you're only guaranteed 40 minutes of basketball. So I felt like that was a big thing that Coach preached to us even in the Big East tournament was just preparing for the March Madness tournament and knowing that every possession matters and we can't come out lackadaisical.”
Opening Statement …
“We're excited, obviously. It's a lot of fun being out here in San Diego and playing against a team like Kansas. Kansas is -- probably haven't faced anything like them since Kentucky as far as the length, size, size of the back court. They're certainly very well coached. They're certainly extremely talented, and it'll be interesting to see how we combat their size.”
On playing a Bill Self coached Kansas team…
“They're always tough. They're tough-minded, tough physically. They play great defense. They play exciting offense. This team throws more lob dunks that any team I've seen this year. Council just comes down and just throws it up, and they dunk the ball. He's always been one of the premier coaches. Ever since I've entered this business, he's always been great each stop along the way, and he's had a long run at Kansas. He's a great guy. We did only play him once in Iona and he sent us home crying. So we're looking forward to this matchup.”
On Zuby Ejiofor playing against his former team Kansas…
“I don't think Zuby [Ejiofor] cares about playing Kansas. I think he's concerned about this is a chance to get to the Sweet 16. But I think last night, he was a little bit tight. He came out of it and I think he'll be fine tomorrow. [Our] whole team has to make sure they understand that [Northern Iowa] wanted to play in the 50s and we had to get off to a big start. The reason we played so well is the amount of respect the players and the coaching staff had for that team. Now, they didn't look good last night. But I watched eight separate games myself and they're terrific. They could really, really be painful to play against. ... This game is totally the opposite. Now it's you have to watch Kansas in transition because they're great in transition. That's when they're at their best, when they're playing up and down.”
Senior guard Oziyah Sellers
On facing former teammate Tre White …
“Tre [White] is definitely like a brother to me. Obviously, we both came in the same recruiting class to USC. We lived right next door to each other. We went to classes together. He's like a brother to me.”
Graduate student guard/ forward Bryce Hopkins
On starting off strong…
“I feel like it was a big key for us, especially coming into the game. We know March Madness, you're only guaranteed 40 minutes of basketball. So I felt like that was a big thing that Coach preached to us even in the Big East tournament was just preparing for the March Madness tournament and knowing that every possession matters and we can't come out lackadaisical.”