Forget about missed shots.
Suspicious host.
A painful ending.
For Danis Jenkins, all that mattered about the gut punch of Saturday's loss was that St. John's would learn from it and adjust accordingly.
That means it's going to be tough.
That means more resilience.
And it starts with the fifth-year senior point guard, who was unable to convert the key rebounds that could have helped ease the upset for the Johnnies.
“I think I'm a tough guy and I think our team is tough,” Jenkins said as St. John's prepares to face local rival Seton Hall on Tuesday. But I don't think I was able to show that in that play.” At night, I went to the Prudential Center. “if [Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner] Even if you remove your foot, you still have to get off with the ball. If I had gotten that rebound, I thought we would have won that game, so I was responsible for that. ”
Rebounded in St. John's loss to Creighton. AP
After losing to No. 22 Creighton in frigid Omaha, Nebraska, coach Rick Pitino refused to use the lopsided whistle as an excuse.
Even though Jenkins was clearly fouled by Kalkbrenner when St. John's (12-5, 4-2) was leading by one and going for a defensive rebound with 18 seconds left.
Although Jordan Dingle also appeared to be fouled on a putback attempt as time expired.
Despite Creighton having an 18-4 edge in free throw attempts in the second half.
Jenkins echoed the Hall of Fame coach's comments.
Although the game should never have come down to the final possession, he still felt it was important to fulfill his responsibility as one of the team's leaders.
As a result, he blamed himself in the locker room, saying that the loss to his teammates was his fault for not catching the ball.
They were equally responsible.
There was no condemnation, only frustration and disappointment.
All agreed that the most important thing was that they responded to the loss in the right way. It's about moving forward quickly, with intensity and focus, without lingering setbacks.
Jenkins practiced hard on Sunday and felt he was properly prepared for Tuesday's showdown with Seton Hall.
“We have to come with more passion, more guts, more hunger,” Jenkins said. “That's how we play every possession like it really means something. We play every possession like it's our last. That's the message we're trying to get across. Just bring a little more urgency to each possession, play with more passion, play with more heart and determination.”
Leaving Newark with a victory won't be easy.
Seton Hall was the Big East's biggest surprise, tied with top-ranked Connecticut in the standings.
Lead guard Cadary Richmond is a conference player of the year candidate and has been named Big East player of the week twice.
The Pirates (12-5, 5-1) aren't overwhelmed with talent. They don't have a lot of depth, and he only has eight players who can play in the rotation, and his playing time is limited. But they have been very good in close games lately.
All of their last four wins have been by six points or less, and they've only lost once at home in nine games.
St. John's, on the other hand, has just 5 wins and 4 losses in games decided by single digits this season.
“I'm really looking forward to seeing how we respond to a team like Seton Hall that plays really, really hard. They have a lot of dogs on their team and they play hard. '' Jenkins said. “When I was watching their film, I said to myself, we have to show that we can play like that too. Seton Hall, they're the attackers every game. That's why they're always on top. They're always tough. The tougher team always wins.
“We need to go out there and show we can be tough and get some tough wins.”
