Rick Pitino, St. John's players certain Joel Soriano will snap out of slump soon
St. John's Red Storm center Joel Soriano during the first half against the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Tuesday. Credit: Noah K. Murray
It’s inevitable that when Joel Soriano has an off night, it gets noticed. He’s 6-11 and the St. John’s captain.
For weeks he played like an all-Big East first-teamer, and it became almost expected. Mired in a mini-slump — one double-double in four games after posting six in a stretch of seven — he was his own biggest critic Friday as the Red Storm prepared to face No. 17 Marquette on Saturday.
Asked what he saw of himself when he reviewed his performance in Wednesday’s loss at Seton Hall, he replied, “Lack of energy, lack of motor, no intensity, no grit, no fight.
“I’m just trying to move on from it. Tomorrow I’m definitely going to be better and coming in with a better mindset.”
“I know all the guys believe in him,” Chris Ledlum said. “You know, everybody has bad games, a couple of bad games. We’re not worried about him and we know he’s going to come tomorrow and bring it.”
Soriano is averaging 16.4 points and 9.8 rebounds, but during the back-to-back losses to Creighton and the Pirates, he wasn’t the force he was in the first five Big East games.
Rick Pitino said he especially shouldn’t be singled out for a six-point, four-rebound performance against Seton Hall.
“He didn’t play well,’’ he said, “but everybody else didn’t play well. We’re a team.”
Dingle still out
Pitino said Jordan Dingle remains sidelined by illness and will not play Saturday . . . He also said three Red Storm coaches — Van Macon, Ricky Johns and Taliek Brown — will miss the game with COVID-19 . . . Cruz Davis will be a medical redshirt for the season. The numbness in one of his fingers after hand surgery is expected to resolve in eight to 12 months.
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.
