Quote Center: St. John's Postgame vs. Butler
COURTESY OF ST. JOHN’S RED STORM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin:
On what he learned about his team from this game...
“I know for sure they are resilient, they care about each other. They care about winning and they are learning how to be more consistent. I think the habits are there. The mindsets are there. It all comes down to consistency on gameday.”
On playing in this league…
“In this league as you see, every game comes down to a few plays. So it is going to take a lot of resiliency to stay focused. After a win you realize you were a few plays away from the other side and vice versa. I think the approach our guys have had has been very transparent. Try and clean up everything that cost us the last game.”
On Mustapha’s aggressiveness…
“He is a great player and one of our best players, I thought tonight his efficiency was key. I thought he made good decisions. Like most players, [Mustapha Heron’s] one to two dribbles, after that third dribble they are going to come. I thought he did a much better job tonight attacking. I thought he also made good decisions when he was catching and shooting off of open spaces. That’s the key for him, he had a great game and we wouldn’t have won it without him.”
On the team’s ability to win close games…
“I think the experience factor is legit. Having been through wins and losses, understanding the difference. All these guys have been on both sides, they have won some really tough games on the road and loss some really tough games at home. We have watched film together, talked about it and pointed it out.”
On the player’s chemistry…
“Justin [Simon], Marvin [Clark] and Shamorie [Ponds] have been together for a solid three years now. They have been through a lot together and have also accomplished some really great things together.”
On what was said in the huddle when Butler took the lead…
“At that time we had our play picked out. They knew what it was. It was a play that we have run. Obviously we want to score but we want to at least come away with the foul. This means driving the ball and being aggressive, which we were able to do.”
On playing Villanova…
“We played very well there, our defense was really, really good the first 15 minutes or so. The second half we got a little lethargic I thought. They’re one of the top, elite programs in the country so to beat them you got to play near perfect. We will prepare for that the next few days.”
Redshirt Senior forward Marvin Clark II:
On the importance of today’s game after Saturday’s loss to Providence…
“That was a hard fought game. We had a rough week this week. Last home game was kind of rough. Being able to fight through adversity, whether it be when they were up with a little bit left, we fought and got it back and made it overtime, and came back to win. We made a lot of big free throws tonight, especially the guy to the left of me [Mustapha Heron]. It’s definitely excitement and we just got to keep it up and get ready for these next six [games].”
On his mindset heading into today’s game…
“Like I said, the last game I put the blame on myself. Being a senior, I didn’t play well at all offensively. So, just putting it all on myself and realizing that I put a lot of work in in the summer. I just have to believe in myself and not allow people, or at least allow myself to take myself out of the game. I give a lot of credit to my teammates, they were finding me early. I’m thankful that I have teammates that pick me up when I’m down.”
On the atmosphere inside Carnesecca Arena…
“It definitely felt like a March Madness type game. It definitely had that kind of feel. It’s definitely exciting to be able to come back and fight adversity and get a big win. They beat us [at Hinkle Fieldhouse] so being able to split with them is definitely big and definitely something that will help us for later down the road.”
On dealing with adversity late in the game …
“That Butler team is a good team. Every team in our league is really good. Every game is a battle. They made some tough shots, some big threes, deep ones, and contested deep ones at that. I never worry. I never worried when we were down. Just because if you take it back to last year when we played them, it was another overtime game and we came back and won. I just have confidence in my teammates and my coaching staff that in any situation, they’ll put us in the best situation to win.”
Junior guard Mustapha Heron:
On his mindset for today’s game…
“[Like] any other game. You pick and choose your spots and you attack. We attack as a team and that’s pretty much it. You pick and choose your spots.”
On pulling the victory out in overtime…
“It’s definitely going to help us down the road. It was a high-intensity game. The fact that we went to overtime, it was definitely a fun environment out there and I think that this will prepare us for March tremendously.”
On his offensive performance…
“Just attack from beginning to end. I think just trying to play off the closeouts and my teammates swinging the ball, just try to take my advantages. They were closing out late, after I think I hit a couple of shots in the first half, so then just trying to get to the basket.”
On the importance of having postseason experience on the roster…
“I think we have our four oldest guys knowing we have to win games down the stretch is huge for us. We’ve been to the tournament, we know that this is a crucial time during the season right here. This right here and then the conference tournament is crucial for the tournament.”