|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2017Chris MullinShamorie PondsMalik EllisonNew York, New York St. John's - 74, Georgetown - 73 Q. What does it mean to win a Big East Tournament game, St. John's hasn't won one since 2011 on your home floor. With everything with the fracas and all the emotion for you guys. MALIK ELLISON: Big time win for us. Obviously there's been a huge rivalry over the last 40 years. And it was great that we came together as a team and we got the victory. Q. Shamorie, what did you see happen there, with Ahmed after the hard foul? SHAMORIE PONDS: A lot of emotions came up and it was a hard foul. And the team just thought, like, it was like intentionally. Personally, I don't think it was intentionally. They just -- everybody got riled up. Q. Looked like Amar got pushed from behind by Hayes and there was nothing called. Did that fire you guys up at all? SHAMORIE PONDS: I don't know. I don't recall that play. I didn't see it. I wouldn't know. Q. What was it like out there, just the whole game, because they were hard fouls pretty much start to finish from this one? SHAMORIE PONDS: It was a physical game. I think we just came out and end of the first half we set the tone. We wanted to run. They came out in the second half and got on a run, and we just took over the game. Q. Shamorie, can you just speak on being a New York City player and what it feels like playing here in the Big East Tournament? SHAMORIE PONDS: It was amazing. Like the crowd everything was amazing. So I think this is, like, the best tournament in the country. Q. Both of you, did Coach Mullin talk to you guys at all about the Georgetown-St. John's history and all the great games that were in this building back in the 1980s, because there were moments, particularly with the scrum where this brought back some great memories for all of us who covered this thing for a while? MALIK ELLISON: We were very aware of the rivalry. Obviously it's a big rivalry. When Coach Mullin was playing they were very physical and they were very competitive. So we just came out here and we really fought for him and we just got the victory. SHAMORIE PONDS: Yeah, he definitely talked about it a lot. This is a big rivalry so we just wanted to come on and get it done. Q. Shamorie, what were your thoughts today on finding out you weren't rookie of the year and it went to Patton? Were you sad about it, disappointed? SHAMORIE PONDS: No, I just wanted to get the win. Q. No reaction? SHAMORIE PONDS: Not really. I just wanted to win, at the end of the day. It's a good accolade but I just want to win. Q. Did you think he deserved it? SHAMORIE PONDS: Personally, I think so. But it is what it is. Q. Coach, could you explain the slow start and with such a quick turnaround how do you avoid that tomorrow? COACH MULLIN: Well, the way we've been playing that wasn't such a slow start. We've had much slower starts than that. But to me we played tough and it's just an old-school type of game. Both teams played hard. As far as the turnaround, like I tell them all the time, get their rest and come out and play. Q. Shamorie, after the incident and L.J. Peak took the flagrant free throws, you came back hit a 3 and turned around and the arena is a rough thing, what was it like for you a big shot and big moment in the game, can you talk about that moment? SHAMORIE PONDS: It was a lot of emotions. I love games like that. So when the crowd is going and both teams are playing physical, I just live for moments like that. Q. Coach, you took two of three from Georgetown this year how big of an advantage was home court advantage for you guys? COACH MULLIN: We played well here as of late. Not last Saturday. But I tell these guys it's nice it's great. The home court advantage is tremendous and the enthusiasm they still have to go out there and perform. That energy and enthusiasm before the game is nice but you have to maintain for 40 minutes especially this time of year. The crowd was great. But more importantly they made big plays when they had to. Q. Coach, after the fracas, you went after the Georgetown bench, got a technical foul, from your perspective what happened? COACH MULLIN: I just went out there to see what was going on. I saw Marcus go into the stands. I wanted to make sure he was okay. Everything else just nothing really going on. Close game like that, the whole team is going to lose, their season is over. And I think it was just really competitive juices flowing and towards the end of the game there. But initially I just went out there to see I saw him walk and fall into the stands and that's it. Q. That's basically what I was going to ask. But Chris at the end of the game you said something to Patrick Ewing Jr. And looked like everything was fine after the game. What did you say to him? COACH MULLIN: Asked if he was going to beat me up like his father did. He said no, I love you, so I said OK. He was on the trip with us in Barcelona when he was a little baby. So, yeah, just tremendous respect there. There really is. And it was nothing more than competitive juices, nothing more than that. This time. In '85 there was more to it. (Laughter) not in the year 2000. Q. Shamorie, you haven't had many come down in the last minute this year, blowing out teams like Syracuse, Marquette. (Indiscernible) you haven't seen it at the college level really. What was it at the college level? SHAMORIE PONDS: It was definitely an experience I never experienced -- that moment was like nervous. I mean I'm just happy that my team got the win. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|