Head Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement…
“That second half was probably the best half of defense we’ve played all year long. I think Posh [Alexander] spearheaded it. The leading scorer for Nebraska, [Sam Griesel], has been getting 20 points and eight rebounds [per game]. I thought Posh did a good job of making him work. If he got by Posh, we had people in help position. We tried to cut the head off, and he’s the head of that basketball team. We tried to make other guys make plays. We had a lot of people that contributed tonight. First, our students and fans, it was a great atmosphere. We had some legends in the house tonight. Coach [Lou] Carnesecca, I saw he was in the building along with Ron Rutledge. I just got done talking to Felipe [Lopez], and there were some other guys here. It was a good atmosphere and it was the best team we’ve played to this point. I was proud of our guys. In the first half, nerves were going; you could see it. I didn’t recognize our team, but the one thing they continued to do was play defense. We couldn’t score. I think we were 0-for-10 from the three-point line [in the first half]. We have some guys that can knock shots down, but I thought we settled. In the second half, we did a better job of making them play defense. We got the floor spread out, and we were able to get into the lane, find open guys and knock shots down. It started with our defense. O’Mar Stanley, I thought he kept us in it in the first half with his energy. In the second half, our team picked it up. It was a good win against a good Nebraska team.”
On the message at halftime…
“[I said] we have to get back to who we are. Our DNA is defense, so in the first five minutes, we better come out and make them uncomfortable and get them on their heels. I thought we did that. I also said let’s have patience on the other end. Let’s start inside. We started getting the ball inside to Joel [Soriano], and I thought they started getting fouls. Then all of the sudden, you saw [Nebraska’s] defense open up. Then, we were penetrating the lane, getting in there and finding guys spotting up. We have a bunch of guys that can go off the bounce. I think that set up a lot of good, easy buckets for us. Then David [Jones], he’s one of those guys where he can go on his own runs sometimes. When that takes place, our guys recognize it. They get him position to knock some shots down. I loved our energy going to the glass.”
On the second half performance…
“We played better. We work on it every day in practice. No matter who went in, I thought they all were connected on defense. In the first half, we didn’t make shots, and when you don’t make shots, it puts a lot of pressure on your defense. In the second half, I thought we got into a better rhythm with our defense. That created some opportunities on the offensive end. I thought we settled down, and hopefully that’s something we can bottle up going forward.”
On Andre Curbelo…
“He’s an energetic guy. He’s very unselfish. He can create plays for others, and he’s a pretty good defensive player too. When you’re talking about him and Posh together, they have a chance to be a dynamic backcourt. The experience for Andre is very evident. I think he’s starting to trust his teammates. They’re learning each other; we’re four games into the season, so they are still learning each other.”
On Joel Soriano’s performance…
“Our guys recognized that we have an advantage with him, especially when he’s playing with that kind of energy. I thought he played with length today, as opposed to just using his size. He got his hands on a lot of balls. He started off the game blocking shots. You could see he was really engaged in the game, and our guys did a good job of getting him involved. He was fantastic tonight.”
Senior center Joel Soriano
On the team’s struggle in the first half…
“It was the first big game of the season and some of us were nervous. We just weren’t knocking down shots and I felt like we were settling. When we were down at halftime, we got together after and we talked about.”
On his career night finishing with 17 points and 18 rebounds…
“I want to give my teammates and coaches credit for believing in me. I came out there with a good mindset. We were playing against a Big Ten school and it was going to get physical. I just wanted to match their physicality and play hard.”
Junior guard Andre Curbelo
On coming back to New York to play at St. John’s…
“It’s been great. I love every single moment of it. I love my teammates, I love the staff. It’s a great experience and that’s what I came here for. My teammates have been very helpful and made me feel very welcome.”
On playing in a loud Carnesecca Arena …
“Our fans are great. When its packed it feels really loud and I love it. I love New York. New York is home. They do a great job keeping up with the game and they gave us great energy in the second half.”
On what it feels like to be back playing at home …
“I want to be around people that support me and will always be there for me. That was a big part of wanting to come back home. I’m always feeling good when I come out to play because I know there is people love and care about me in the stands.”
