St. John's vs. Georgetown: Three takeaways from the Red Storm's win in Washington
![St. John's guard Kadary Richmond goes to the basket during the...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AOWY0MGJlMTktMWI2Ny00%3AYWJjMmNlYjYtZmJlNC00%2Fst-johns-georgetown-basketball.jpeg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
St. John's guard Kadary Richmond goes to the basket during the second half of an NCAA men's basketball game against Georgetown on Tuesday in Washington. Credit: AP/Nick Wass
WASHINGTON – No. 15 St. John’s dismantled Georgetown for a 66-41 Big East victory at Capital One Arena on Tuesday night. The win capped a perfect month of January in which it won all seven scheduled games. The Red Storm (18-3, 9-1) are having their best start to a season in 39 years and best opening to conference play since the 1984-85 team that reached the Final Four.
Here are three takeaways from their triumph in the nation’s capital:
The true Kadary Richmond has finally emerged.
When Richmond transferred from Seton Hall after making first-team All-Big East, everyone envisioned it having a huge impact. It didn’t happen right away, but it’s happening now.
The 6-6 guard had 13 points – 11 in the first half while the Storm opened a 30-point lead – to go with three blocked shots and two steals against the Hoyas. In his last four games, he is averaging 13.5 points and is filling up the stat sheet in different ways each time.
“I told Kadary when he came out of the game that he’s like a fine wine, keeps getting better with age,” coach Rick Pitino said.
“It’s just knowing I’m a better player than the way I started the season,” Richmond said. “Nothing I do is possible without the [team]. I am thankful for the guys in the locker room and the confidence they give me every day.”
Already rolling, St. John’s will get better with the coming return of Deivon Smith.
Smith could return Saturday after missing three of the last four games for a right shoulder injury suffered in a collision during the Jan. 11 win over Villanova and after receiving two cortisone injections to treat it. Smith, who is averaging 10.3 points and 4.3 assists, returned to practice on Monday but with little contact. Pitino said it’s “60-70%” that he will play this weekend against Providence at the Garden.
“It gives us another big-time weapon,” Pitino said. “He’s our best defensive rebounder, but we’re playing brilliant without him. I think most people would have rushed him back. We want him 100%. He’s ready to play, he’s just psychologically afraid to get hit. He’s physically ready to play ... I want him playing at 100% where he doesn’t look at his shoulder, afraid to get over a screen.”
No one is pounding their chests.
The roll that St. John’s is on compares with some of the program’s best in history. Pitino on Tuesday even made a small comparison with his Kentucky team that won the 1996 national championship. However, the players are not caught in the hype. As Aaron Scott explained, “We’re not looking too far into the future.”
“I think our best quality that we have is we're humble. We just keep playing hard,” Pitino said. “We don't think we're great. We aspire to be great, but we don't believe we're great. We understand that anybody could beat us . . . If you keep winning and you think you're good, you're gonna get your ass beat. But if you keep saying ‘next opponent, next possession, next play,’ humility comes in. It's a powerful weapon, humility, and we got [it] right now. That's why we're playing great.”