Quote Center: St. John's Postgame vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
COURTESY OF ST. JOHN’S RED STORM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin…
On tonight’s performance and learning from the Bowling Green game:
“I think they’ve learned lessons. I’m not quite sure it goes back to that game. I’m not quite sure we took them lightly. I think they just played really well. I thought tonight in the first half we were pretty assertive, dictated tempo pretty aggressively.”
On the second half:
“We could clean some things up. I think human nature took over and we got a little lackadaisical, but overall we did some good things.”
On LJ Figueroa:
“He has great instincts, he really does, especially offensively. He has a really good nose for the ball for rebounds. … He has a really good feel for the offensive game. He’s got some things on defense that he needs to clean up, but he’s getting better. He’s got great energy. He’s a great kid. So he’s very coachable. A lot of those things he’ll get better at, but offensively he’s got really great instincts.”
On how well he has transitioned to St. John’s:
“It surprised me a little that he’s playing this well. It’s hard, in the summer time I saw his offensive instinct, but that doesn’t mean it automatically carries over so quickly. … He’s been very consistent too.”
On Josh Roberts:
“He’s a typical freshman. … I thought he played hard and the more minutes they get, I think it’s good. It just has to be the right time. Guarding the post, he has some technique stuff that he has to clean up. But again, we keep working with him, and I think he’ll get better.”
On Shamorie Ponds:
“You guys have watched him. … He’s a gifted scorer but he’s a great, great passer. He’s one of very few players that can influence the game without shooting. Just with his pace, I thought he was really our best defender tonight and he’s a great passer. Shamorie can score anytime he wants and when the game dictates what’s needed that’s what he does.”
On the number of shots Shamorie Ponds took:
“I think the game dictated that. He has the instincts, he has the skill and ability to do that. I think he’s matured into the type of player that whatever the game dictates is needed, he’s going to do.”
On the performances against Maryland Eastern Shore:
“I thought we played really well in the first half. It made us dictate the tempo based on the outcome of the game. We got a little sloppy mentally in the second half, but the job was accomplished.”
Junior guard Mustapha Heron…
On preparing for tonight’s matchup:
“We are mentalists when it comes to preparing for each game the same way. We play as if we are playing NBA players, it doesn’t really matter. We go out, play hard, stick to our principles. It’s the same thing every game.”
On learning a lesson from the Bowling Green game:
“I think every game, win or lose, you take something from it. I think every game is a lesson. We took what we needed to take from that game and we’ll try to move forward.”
On LJ Figueroa’s long-range shots:
“You know, you all have seen it, he works on it every day. You see that the results are for real.”
On the importance of Saturday’s matchup against Georgia Tech:
“We know that it’s a neutral site game, so that’s definitely going to help us with the tournament and we are just trying to take it one game at a time. We didn’t look past today. We try to use today to get ready for the next game and the game after that.”
On the unpredictability of basketball:
“There are talented players all over the country. It doesn’t matter if it’s Division 1, 2, or 3. When you step on the court you play basketball, it doesn’t matter who said what the score was supposed to be. You have to come out and play every night.”
Sophomore forward LJ Figueroa…
On transiting from junior college to Division I:
“A lot of junior college players are making it, so in a way I feel a lot quicker and stronger. I feel like if we know how to play the game that we can play, we can compete with anybody.”
On why he chose St. John and what led to his decision:
“Well, that was always in my head, I was thinking more about my family and having them around. It’s a lot to digest, but having your parents around makes it a lot easier.”
On playing low major teams:
“Coach [Chris Mullin] always tells us that we are going to set the tone no matter who we’re playing and to just to go out there and play the game that we know. We know what we need to work on, so it’s just setting the tone and going out there and playing hard.”