St. John's men's basketball team looks bigger and more athletic than last season
Vince Iwuchukwu of St. John's shoots the ball during a scrimmage at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Credit: Errol Anderson
If Monday night was anything to judge by, St. John’s is way ahead of where it was at this time last season.
The Red Storm held a practice and intrasquad scrimmage on the court at Madison Square Garden, and one immediately could see the team is bigger, more athletic and deeper. The talking points heard from coach Rick Pitino are different, too. He isn’t concerned about a bunch of players learning to play together, as he was before last season. He sees a 10-man rotation in which almost anyone could start.
“They’re all going to play a lot of minutes. I’d say that like my Kentucky team, you’ll see a different starting lineup almost every game,” Pitino said. “That’s what I had in ’96. They were all so good, [who starts] is all going to depend on how you practice.
“They’re very talented,” he added. “They’re very quick defensively . . . I don’t think they have a major weakness.”
He did suggest that Kadary Richmond, Simeon Wilcher and Zuby Ejiofor are in the lead for starting roles.
“I like just how athletic and versatile everybody is,” RJ Luis Jr. said. “I feel like we get up and down the court a lot easier. We’re very interchangeable, one through five. We can all switch and play defense.”
The Red Storm will be able to get a lot more out of Luis, the top returning scorer, this season. He battled through chronic shin injuries in both legs last season. He began the season sidelined, and once he was declared game-ready, Pitino rarely had him practice between contests to keep him healthy. He had surgeries on both legs to alleviate the condition.
“I was playing through pain the whole time,” said Luis, who averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. “I felt terrible last year. . . . I’m not where I want to be yet, but I feel good.”
One of Pitino’s biggest concerns as recently as two weeks ago was filling the leadership void created with the departure of Daniss Jenkins. In the past three weeks, he has seen Ejiofor and Richmond, a Seton Hall transfer, emerge.
“If I had to guess, everybody looks at Kadary and Zuby as the leaders,” Pitino said. “Zuby was here [last season] and he’s very enthusiastic. Kadary leads very quietly, but the respect level by everybody on the team is enormous with him.”
Monday’s scrimmage was four eight-minute quarters, and Pitino said he divided the talent equally.
Freshman Jaiden Glover made a big impression with 19 points, including 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range. Pitino said Glover’s offense is ahead of his defense, but he foresees him earning a role this season.
Brady Dunlap had 17 points and shot 6-for-10, including three three-pointers, Ejiofor had 18 points and looked dominant on the boards. Luis added 14 points.
Notes & quotes: Deivon Smith did not participate in the Garden practice because of a shoulder injury that Pitino called “minor.” He added that the guard had a cortisone injection and is due to return to practice in a couple of days.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.