Three takeaways on St. John’s’ men’s basketball after non-conference play

The St. John’s basketball fanbase’s response to their 8-4 start is a consensus of overwhelming disappointment. A record of 9-3 would have met with some approval, as it would mean the Red Storm had beaten one of the four marquee opponents (Alabama, Iowa State, Auburn, or Kentucky). But this did not happen, despite the Johnnies pulling ahead in the second half in each of these games. No one expected a clean sweep, but to go winless in all these games?

Comments from head coach Rick Pitino that St. John’s also started slowly in last year’s superlative season have not diminished the collective anxiety of Johnnies fans heading into Big East play. In light of fans’ disappointment with the team’s performance, here are three takeaways gathered from the Red Storm after non-conference play.

Takeaway #1: St. John’s will struggle against physical teams

A pretty concerning trend is emerging against power-conference foes for St. John’s: they have been outplayed in the paint in multiple games.

The Johnnies, particularly Ejiofor and Mitchell, have seen success on the offensive boards, but the team has struggled to secure rebounds on opponents’ missed shots. St. John’s ranks 301st in the country in offensive rebound percentage allowed.

Nowhere was the physicality disparity more obvious than against Kentucky. The team’s first three shots were cleanly blocked by different Kentucky players, and the Johnnies were outrebounded by 11. The Johnnies seemed determined to have Zuby Ejiofor challenge the Kentucky front line, and Kentucky met the challenge. Playing a biggeer lineup with Dillon Mitchell or Ruben Prey alongside Ejiofor would put St. John’s in the best position to match teams on the glass.

Takeaway #2: Thepoint guard problem still isn’t solved

Oziyah Sellers, Dylan Darling, and Ian Jackson have all started in this position during the first twelve games of the year. The fan favorite has been Darling. Darling has made adjustments to his three-point shot, shooting with a higher arc toward the basket. By making these shots, Darling has opened the court up for drives to the basket. However, improved shooting is not where the need truly is. The need is in Darling’s ability to feed his teammates for open shots at the baskets. Against high-major opponents in non-conference play (Alabama, Iowa State, Baylor, Auburn, Ole Miss, Kentucky), Darling recorded a total of four assists. That is not enough.

Ian Jackson has recorded 6 assists in games against these same high-major schools. He has started at point guard during recent games. Like Darling, that is not enough.

The St. John’s guards are athletic and are able to blow by their assignment and draw a switching defender. Would this not call for a kick-out pass to a teammate, most likely found in one of the corners? Instead of making the pass to a teammate, too many Johnnies seem determined to see the play to a conclusion on their own, which often results in a forced low-percentage shot.

Could plays be worked on with the goal of passing to the open man after the aggressive Red Storm player has disconnected himself from his defender, forcing an opponent to switch onto him? This may, to fans, sound easy, but it requires some practice both in execution and in developing a recognition of a potentially advantageous situation.

Takeaway #3: The entire coaching staff is still working excellently

Players choose the Red Storm for the well-deserved reputation Rick Pitino has acquired. Anyone can see the one-on-one guidance players receive from Pitino and his assistants during the games. St. John’s players are often greeted by the coaching staff when they return to the bench with instructions on how to improve their actions. Along with typical team practices, players learn in individualized player development sessions in the mornings during the season.

Under this coaching, some players are already showing noticeable growth since the start of the season. Ian Jackson is cutting down on turnovers and becoming more active on the boards, Zuby Ejiofor has become a better playmaker and shot-blocker, and Ruben Prey is playing more physically and making a greater impact on both ends of the floor this season.

The coaches are transparent, and the players are available at press conferences to share their thoughts with the public. These are all positive.

However, recently, fans have expressed distaste for Coach Pitino’s statements about his recruitment of point guards. Yes, the Johnnies have not yet settled on a point guard for the season but the Coach making statements like, “That’s our fault as a staff for not bringing in a full-time point guard” after the arguably worst loss of the season (Kentucky), while honest, were not helpful in any way and must be troubling to the players as they are to the fans.

Looking ahead

The team has talented players, and the season is a little more than a third completed. Recently, Rick Pitino “called out” Bryce Hopkins to demonstrate the ongoing effort Zuby Ejiofor makes game in and game out. The response was a more impactful performance from Hopkins against Harvard.

Might this type of biting criticism work with other players? And, is there truly not a player with point guard skills on the team?

Fans continue to demonstrate interest in the Red Storm and are vocally enthusiastic at games. From now on, games are at Madison Square Garden, where the Johnnies excelled last season. With UConn as the only team remaining on the schedule to defeat and make a statement that the Johnnies belong in the top echelon of college basketball, how much improvement on both the offensive and defensive ends, as outlined above, is necessary? Can the coaching staff successfully initiate these changes, and if so, how soon?

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