St. John's Aaron Scott confident that his three-point shooting will improve
St. John's guard Aaron Scott shoots over Bryant guard Rafael Pinzon for a basket in the second half of a non-conference men’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Aaron Scott looked to be a perfect fit for St. John’s when he decided to transfer from North Texas in the offseason. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino traditionally prioritizes defense and three-point shooting, and he checked both boxes. He’s a tenacious defender and made 37% of his three-point attempts last season.
Scott never stops playing defense when he’s in the game, but his three-point shooting touch has yet to arrive. He shot 5-for-6 in the one-point double-overtime loss to Baylor but is 0-for-9 from outside the arc in four conference games.
Scott is just one symptom in what’s become an odd eyesore in the Big East as St. John’s (12-3, 3-1) goes into Tuesday’s 6:30 p.m. game at Xavier (9-6, 1-3), a game that could be their first Quad I win and a pathway into a national ranking.
The Red Storm are high in the standings but have a glaring conference-worst 16% mark on three-pointers in conference play. Seven Big East teams are making their three-pointers at twice that clip.
Asked about the three-point shooting problems, Scott replied: “I think people forget that we’re still winning. And, you know, a win is a win.”
It raises a question about current-day college basketball: Can a team compensate for a blatant weakness?
“We got a team full of dogs, a team full of hard workers,” Scott said. “We don’t have to make threes, obviously. We get offensive rebounds, drives, transition [baskets]. We’re the best when we play fast . . . We’re doing all the other things at a great pace to where, with three-point shooting, if we’re missing them, it’s OK.’’
And Pitino has gotten creative. The Red Storm’s offensive rebounding and increased use of the full-court press have been getting them more offensive opportunities as a sort of compensation for missed three-pointers.
In four Big East games, the Red Storm have taken 27 more shots than their opponents and outscored foes by 29 points. They have scored 69 points as a result of offensive rebounds.
“Look, when you go 1-for-21 [on three-point attempts] and you win the game, and you’re not doing very many things right, that speaks volumes of what you’re all about,” Pitino said.
The perimeter shooting — obviously hampered by the absence of Brady Dunlap, who is recovering from left wrist ligament surgery — isn’t something the Red Storm have written off. Rather, Scott said, Pitino wants them to keep shooting it.
“He just gives us confidence,” Scott said. “He said, “Shoot the wide-open [shot] if you’re wide open [or] wide open after movement. It’s a good shot.’ Last game, I feel like we got all good shots. It just wasn’t falling. He keeps giving us confidence to shoot the ball, because he knows we’re great shooters. He knows we can make a shot.”
Since the Baylor game, Pitino said opposing defenses have been focused on stopping Scott from shooting threes, but he’s been encouraged to keep putting them up.
“My confidence is high right now,” Scott said. “I know I can make shots. I’ve done it before, countless times and in numerous games. It’s going to fall . . . Never get too high, never get too low. Stay sane . . . [When] the shot’s not falling . . . do something else to impact winning the game. That’s what I’ve been doing: other things to impact winning.”
“Teams are keying in on my shooting because I started the season off really good,” Scott said. “Everybody gets scouted [and] I’ve got to work through [other teams’] scouting reports. I’ve got to move better, find my shots better, find open shots. I’ve probably been shooting contested shots. I’ve got to get more open shots.”
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.
