Three takeaways from St. John's men's basketball team's start to the season
St. John's Red Storm guard Simeon Wilcher during the second half against Wagner at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday. Credit: Brad Penner
No. 22 St. John’s shook off 30 mediocre minutes and finally pulled away from Wagner for a 66-45 win at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday night, its third win in three games. The next stretch of the season has it facing New Mexico at the Garden and then No. 12 Baylor, No. 11 Tennessee or Virginia and Georgia in the Bahamas. Here are three takeaways from the Red Storm’s 3-0 start.
1. Great when they’ve needed to be.
St. John’s could be an outstanding team. So far we’ve only seen it when the situation has felt critical. On Saturday, the Storm trailed MAAC favorite Quinnipiac by four points at halftime and responded by outscoring the Bobcats by 27 in the second half on 53% shooting. And with 10 minutes left against Wagner, they led by just 39-37 before reeling off 18 unanswered points and making 11 of their last 14 shots. “Even though we're much more talented than Wagner, players will get tight in this type of game because you're supposed to win and everybody's expecting it,” coach Rick Pitino said. “And what happens? It's [two] points and you panic. Instead, they turned up the heat, made shots and they were very poised when it counted."
2. Simeon Wilcher has been as advertised.
Simeon Wilcher signed with the Red Storm before the 2023-24 season and became the program’s top high school recruit in a decade. The 6-4 sophomore guard played very little as a freshman because he was behind star guard Daniss Jenkins, yet Pitino said in the run-up to this season that he’d been the best player on the team since the summer. And Wilcher has been outstanding so far, averaging 13.3 points on 60% shooting through the first three games.
3. They could pick up the beat much faster than last season.
There were a dozen new players in the program last season, and it took months for them to click as a unit and start playing winning basketball. It feels like it will happen much sooner with this season's Red Storm, maybe as soon as this weekend. Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond and Utah transfer Deivon Smith may still be adjusting but already look mostly in sync with the four returning rotation players — Wilcher, Brady Dunlap, RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor. Smith is averaging 6.3 assists and Richmond 6.0 assists. Richmond ignited the key 18-0 run with 10 minutes left by blocking a shot and then finding Smith for a three-pointer. “Offensively, we’ve just got to get a feel for each other a little more,” Pitino said.
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.