Quote Center: St. John's Postgame vs. Seton Hall
COURTESY OF ST. JOHN’S RED STORM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
Head Coach Chris Mullin
On Shamorie Ponds’ playmaking and the team’s performance…
“It’s a combination of mental and physical, so when he is aggressive both ways he’s very effective. Just like the Villanova game, sometimes the toughest thing to manage is a great start because the game is going to change on its own. We weathered the storm. Shamorie [Ponds], Justin [Simon] and Marvin [Clark II] played like the veterans they are. I think the guys that came off the bench did a great job. Bryan [Trimble Jr] stepping into the starting lineup; I thought he was really good defensively and he was aggressive. Sedee [Keita] was really good off the bench. Greg [Williams Jr.] came in and gave us a great lift. Everyone who came into the game made a positive impact. They brought the game to a better level. The bench did a good job and the veteran guys carried us.”
On how the fans should feel after this win…
“It’s all about progress. No one ever pitches a perfect game in basketball, but I think we have made steady progress, even within this game. That’s the beauty about sports, you come out with a nice game plan and a few minutes in it’s over and you need to make adjustments. To me, that’s a part of competition, that’s the fun part of it. It’s nerve racking, but it keeps you alive.”
On the crowd at Madison Square Garden…
“The crowd has been phenomenal for us. I think one thing that our fan base does is that they are going to show up and we are going to go after it. We are going to be ready to win, they aren’t always going to play great, not everyone is going to play perfect, but these guys are locked in to playing for each other, playing to win. There’s a lot of pride and I have always preached to them the history and tradition of St. John’s and they take that very serious. It’s nice to see, as we have progressed, the crowds have progressed. I think that’s a tribute to the players.”
On shutting down Myles Powell in the first half…
“Justin Simon is one of the best defenders in the country. He’s one of the best lockdown defenders in the country. He picked up a few questionable fouls, so when he came off, I think [Myles Powell] got loose a little bit, but Justin did a great job just putting his imprint on the game, that he was going to do anything it took. He’s a heck of a player, heck of a scorer. Justin did a great job, and I think we did a great job. The other four guys were recognizing where he was, and we always preach no middle, so that is really the only time they scored on us, when we gave up the middle. We forced the ball to the baseline, had good help on defense, and forced a lot of turnovers in that first half, but again, you are not going to maintain that. I think we forced 16 turnovers at halftime. You aren’t going to maintain that and they are going to find some rhythm. As the game flipped and the flow of the game changed, we were able to do enough to win.”
Redshirt Senior Forward Marvin Clark II
On Senior Night…
“It was crazy. I just want to thank Red Storm Nation. The energy was electric. They welcomed my family and I on the court before for senior night festivities. I just appreciate it. It was great. The best thing is, is that we got the W.”
On playing in front of family…
“It was amazing. I tried not to think about it too much because I wanted to focus on the task at hand. It was everything that I wanted it to be. I’m happy my family was able to see us and put on a show.”
On the energy coming off of a loss…
“We are locked in, focused and not forgetting what the last game was like. We’ve been trying our hardest not to drop two in a row and we’ve done a great job of that. Where we have to grow still is being able to win and go into that next game with that same mindset. We put together a couple of games in that stretch that we had, when we were 4 – 1. The biggest focus for us right now is to finish the season strong, giving us momentum going into the BIG EAST Tournament and into the big games.”
On his time at St. John’s…
“I think what I am going to take away from it most is just the fan base. Red Storm Nation, my teammates, my coaching staff; those are the three things that I am going to take away from this the most. Really the fan base though. Since I’ve came to this university, I didn’t come here as a freshman, I transferred in, so I was already an outsider and I felt like my coaching staff, teammates and the fan base has done an amazing job in making this a second home for me. For that, I am truly grateful and I can never thank everyone enough.”
Junior Guard Shamorie Ponds…
On if this game changed his mentality on his playmaking…
“Definitely. The guys were cheering me on and told me to do my thing. It felt good to definitely get a win in front of the crowd. It was a great win for us.”
On the mindset going into this contest…
“Basically, it was [Marvin Clark’s] last game at The Garden. We just wanted to give our all for Marvin. We appreciate everything that he has done for us. That was the main factor. Not going out on a bad note in his last game at The Garden.”
On if this game was payback for two months ago…
“It was definitely payback. We always kept in the back of our minds what they did to us at the end of the game.”