Quote Center: St. John's Postgame vs. No. 13/13 Villanova
COURTESY OF ST. JOHN’S RED STORM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin:
On how the program has evolved…
“There’s been natural progression, which is nice. I’m really happy for our players. ... I’m happy they got to experience a night like tonight. Madison Square Garden, people can talk about it, they tell you about it, but when you go out and do it and do it in a big time game where you need clutch performances up and down the line between defense, offense, making shots, and making free throws. … There are a lot of resilient guys [in our locker room]. I tell people all the time, they are not only good guys, they work hard, they do the right things to win and it doesn’t always come out that way. As far as preparation and mindset, togetherness is always there. I think it showed tonight.”
On second half adjustments…
“In the first half, our pick up point was a little low and not as aggressive as we wanted it to be. Then when we did get the shooters to put the ball on the floor, we weren’t making that second effort to fly out of the paint and get that next guy off of the line. Talking about it is one thing, we put it on the board, but they went out and did it. I thought it kind of fed each stop, each stop fed another stop. Then we started to get the rebounds. We kicked ahead and got some good looks. It’s always nice when your defense dictates the energy of the game. We always talk about on defense, the energy comes from talking and communicating. On offense the energy comes from passing and sharing.”
On winning a game despite Shamorie Ponds having an off shooting night…
“It says we’ve got much better players around him, and two of them are right here [Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa]. I thought these two guys had phenomenal games, big time baskets. A lot of them were playing off Shamorie’s passing or he was initiating offense. I thought Justin [Simon] did a good job getting the tempo going. … That’s not a game we win, maybe even a month ago. These guys have continued to improve individually, but I think they feel better about themselves as a group. You see that on the defensive end first and foremost. Offensively, they’ve always been good about sharing the ball. ... Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to figure out where those shots are coming from, but their IQ is good. I know they’re trying to do the right thing. It just takes a little time to figure it out. I thought Shamorie did a good job of maintaining his playmaking and not forcing it.”
On the challenge of defending Villanova…
“[Eric Paschall and Phil Booth] are the biggest focus for us defensively. The big thing, and it’s hard to do, is to get them off the three and maintain contact and rely on your help. I thought our guys did a great job. We have some really long, athletic guys. They were all able to play the guy off the dribble and then keep some connections with the guy and force him into two’s. I thought we did a good job after that first half of really maintaining what we talked about defensively. To me the impressive part was we got down and found the game plan we talked about. We were able to relocate that and get it done.”
Junior guard Mustapha Heron:
On the energy of Madison Square Garden…
“The energy was crazy. I’ve never played in anything like this. Definitely can probably say that for most of our team. It was fun. The fans came out and they were amped. I think we gave them what they deserved and it was a good team win that we worked hard for.”
On the momentum the half-court shot gave them at the half…
“We were screaming the whole time in the locker room that we could come back. We just had to do it on the defensive end. I think we definitely did that. In that second half, we were talking to each other and told ourselves to have as much fun as possible on the defensive end and came out with a win.”
On being able to shift the momentum as quickly as they did…
“It’s a two half game. When we went [to Villanova], we controlled most of the game until the end when they came back and did a similar thing. The roles were reversed tonight. We never had our heads down. Even when their lead was 19, we just tried to keep pushing back and it worked to our favor.”
On where the team feels they are at with postseason play approaching…
“We’re not complacent. It’s good that we beat the defending national champions, but we still have the rest of BIG EAST play. Then we have a BIG EAST Tournament. So getting to the NCAA Tournament is third on our list. We’re worried about Providence and every game after that.”
Sophomore guard/forward LJ Figueroa:
On if he ever envisioned playing in an atmosphere like this…
“My teammates put me in a great position to get me the ball today. Even though shots weren’t falling, they still were telling me to attack. Having Shamorie [Ponds] distribute like that and Mustapha [Heron] was on fire. It just kept me going.”
On what their defensive pressure does to the other team…
“When we press, I’m at the top of the key. I see fear in the other players. I know my teammates have my back no matter what. Whether we’re down 10 or 20 or up 10 or 20, it doesn’t matter. When we pressure the basketball, we go all out and leave everything on the court.”
On whether the defensive pressure was the turning point of the game…
“One hundred percent. It was our defense. Our defense came together in the second half and did whatever it took to get the win. We had good leaders that led us in the second half. It was a great win.”