‘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 their seventh win in a row against Seton Hall on March 14 to advance to the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament for the first time in 24 years.
Rick Pitino on game: ”First, we are extremely happy for St. John’s fans and the University. About three weeks ago, I don’t know the exact date, the administration and I were talking and they said, ‘look coach, everybody’s behind you, you started so well and I think everybody’s expectations went a little too high.’ They said, ‘It’s a good season and let’s just finish up.’ I could sense in their thinking that in their minds it was over. In our minds, it was just the beginning. March is what it’s all about in college basketball.”
Rick Pitino on offensive performance: “We decided to change our whole offensive scheme, in terms of pace, in three days. We felt Seton Hall was better from the top of the key to the backboard game. We knew we had to rebound them. We knew we had to get into gaps like they do because they’re really an outstanding basketball team. And we thought that they would play their guys a lot of minutes. And I told our guys, we’re gonna substitute right away with five new, just run the floor, run the floor, run the floor.”
Rick Pitino on Nahiem Alleyne: “Well, he had zero turnovers, two assists, five for five, three for three for three. I think he’s a veteran basketball player. We needed him, but I thought all the guys made great plays tonight.”
Rick Pitino on overall player performance: “You know, it’s very difficult for us to play without [Daniss Jenkins]. But Jordan did a fabulous job and we’ve got a third point guard in [RJ Luis], you know? He plays power forward first, he plays the wings. [He] can play all four positions and it’s not easy to do, and he does it very well.”
Rick Pitino on Joel Soriano: “The Big Fella here was great tonight. He’s great because the style of play we tried to play tonight is not exactly the way he can play, but he did it. He’s sprinting up and down the court. He got in a low post, made good decisions. If he plays like that going forward, we’re gonna be tough to beat.”
Joel Soriano on making it to Friday night: “It feels amazing. I mean, we knew, we knew today it was gonna be a hard fought game. We knew that if we wanted to beat this team, that we had to play our style of basketball and play a full 40 minutes. So I just kept telling the guys when we got the lead to keep their foot on their neck and stay locked in. And I mean, it was an unbelievable feeling. There’s no other feeling like it, and there’s no other tournament bigger than the Big East Tournament.”
Joel Soriano on his mindset ahead of the game : “I came into this game and I knew that my team needed me and I was gonna do whatever I had to do to get the win. So, I mean, my performance was my performance. I knew I had to come here and play. I had to dominate my position. The last two times we played, [Jaden Bediako] dominated me on the offensive glass blocking shots, doing every little thing for [their] team. So, I just tried to be the better matchup at my position today. So that’s what I’m gonna try to do tomorrow.”
RJ Luis on Madison Square Garden atmosphere and fan turnout: “It was an amazing feeling. You know, I just give everything to God for allowing me to have a positive mindset going throughout the season. [For] Coach P believed in me even though I was only, you know, practicing once a week basically. It was nice to get a buzzer beater. I don’t think I’ve done that in college yet. It was just wow. It was very surreal. The crowd, the atmosphere, the energy. Credit to Seton Hall. They played really hard, but we had to get em’ back.”
