‘St. John’s Sound Off’ is a segment for exclusive insights and memorable moments from the press conferences of the St. John’s University basketball teams. We deliver the most compelling quotes from coaches and players associated with the Red Storm and offer a recap of remarks made about every game.
The St. John’s Men’s Basketball team secured an 85-57 win yesterday against DePaul thanks to graduate guards Jordan Dingle and Daniss Jenkins.
Rick Pitino on Jordan Dingle’s shooting:
“I wasn’t upset at Jordan Dingle for going 0-for-11, I was upset that he didn’t try to go 0-for-25. He was counting his misses and not moving enough to take the shots because I have been with him with every play of development, he sets all types of records on his shooting. So I felt tonight, he came out and missed like the first two or three and then he let it happen. And we need that because he is a great shooter, he’s improved his defense, he’s improved his passing and we needed that.”
Rick Pitino on becoming a ranked team:
“I think we are seven or eight points away from being a ranked team, and that sometimes happens in a first year. Creighton to the wire, Creighton, Connecticut to the wire, Connecticut, Marquette in the Garden. We could have won all those games, and we didn’t because we don’t do little things that can help you get over the hump in those close ones. So I was real happy tonight with a lot of different areas, but I’m happy that they got movement and let those shots fly.
Rick Pitino on wanting to see more 3-pointers:
“I wanted movement, and I wanted them to take open shots, and I didnt want them to count their misses. But they’re looking at the stat sheet and say ‘give them the outside shot’ because all, with the exception of the one time clock one, every one was a good three. So I want them to take it. I’ll take 40 three’s if they can shoot 37% almost 38%. I’ll take that every night.
Daniss Jenkins on the team’s mindset:
“We definitely started going in the right direction tonight. We executed exactly what the game plan was. We came out, we wanted to turn them over and we wanted to really make our mark on defense and let our defense influence our offense and I think we did a good job of that tonight.”
Rick Pitino on Jordan Dingle:
“This is something that you don’t see in a Jordan Dingle line, four assists, no turnovers and two steals. So it is pretty damn good as well. But look, we need him to score. I think the more he moves, the more that DJ will get him a wide open shot. He’s good off picking roles, he’s a hell of a basketball player. He’s playing with other guys that are really good so, he’s improving, he’s getting better. But I want him taking more shots than he’s taking, but 13 is pretty good. 10 three’s are pretty good so I’m happy with that.”
Rick Pitino on Simeon Wilcher:
“He’s just got a lot to learn defensively. Offensively, when I moved him to the two gut he’s been much better. But he has a lot to learn defensively and everyday he goes against him [Daniss Jenkins] and it’s very difficult to play him in practice. So he just needs to improve defensively. You saw the two three’s he gave up in the first half right away by going under. All of the freshmen need to learn scouting reports and once they learn that it will help them defensively. We know he’s going to be a hell of a basketball player, but if you’re going to go with name, Jordan, there’s not a lot of time there. They’re all leaving, he’s going to be a starter next year so he’s okay with it”
Rick Pitino on getting into the tournament:
“I think Jordan has to learn. I always tell the guys, if you watch Connecticut ,you can learn something. If you watch Marquette, you can learn. You can take one or two things from every team and say ‘they do that great, let’s look at that’. I think he can learn from Cam Spencer. Now Cam Spencer didn’t do that at Rutgers, he’s doing it at Connecticut. What does he do? He’s moving like John Havlicek. For those of you who don’t remember John Havlicek, he’s passing, cutting, moving and getting open. And that is what he has to do. The more you move, the more you cut, I’ll put him against any shooter in the country. I’ve seen him in shooting drills that take a lot out of you, it’s not just standing there and shooting. So he’s just got to move more like Cam Spencer does to get his shot.”
Jordan Dingle on his importance to the team:
“To be honest, it really does mean a lot. I don’t think that there’s a more supportive group that I’ve ever been around in my life as far as my teammates and the coaching staff. I just need to step up and continue to do my job. Tonight was great, you know, they found me all night, I’m thankful for them and the effort that they put into it. As far as myself, I just need to do my due diligence and listen to my coaches, you know when they tell me to look at certain guys and what to do.”
Rick Pitino on Sean Conway and others:
“Sean’s been playing better in practice. You know you say ‘well do you want to play Sim?’, well you’re looking at one of the leading scorers in the country. Do you want to play Sim over him? No, but I think Sim is a very very good basketball player. So you just cant play everybody, and you know this one one of the smartest guards in the country. He knew that he had to get Jordan shots, he was looking for him the entire time down the court to get him the shots.
Jordan Dingle on preparation for games:
“Each team proves to be a different task so, in terms of the things that we need to focus on, the preparation might be different but our level of intensity and attention to detail doesn’t change. That’s one of the things that we needed to work on. Like DJ said earlier, we took a lot of steps in the right direction and we just need to continue to focus on the small things that make great teams great. That is going to make the difference between those seven to eight points that Coach P said might make us a nationally ranked team in those close games.
Rick Pitino on Chris Ledlum:
“Don’t underrate Chris Ledlum, Chris Ledlum played a great game tonight. I mean you can look at the fact that he only scored six points, but Chris Ledlum played excellent tonight. He really, really played a good game.”
