We learned a lot about St. John’s in an uneven weekend at Barclays Center.
First and foremost: This team needs to press. However poorly the Johnnies are playing, they are always capable of turning it around, as they showed in erasing big deficits in each contest. It’s part of their charm, enigmatic as they are. Max Hooper can be a valuable piece. The Harvard transfer started in Saturday’s 69-58 win over Georgia Tech after sinking five 3-pointers in Friday night’s 89-82 overtime loss to Penn State.
Below are some of my thoughts on the win over Georgia Tech. St. John’s has a week to prepare for Fordham in the Holiday Festival at the Garden on Saturday.
Speeding up the game: The Johnnies have to play fast, and the way to play fast is to press. I disagree with Steve Lavin that St. John’s played its best basketball of the season in Friday’s overtime loss. His team’s best basketball was the final 25 minutes of Saturday’s feel-good victory over Georgia Tech.
The impetus for the Red Storm outscoring the Yellow Jackets was Lavin resorting to a full-court press. Sure, D’Angelo Harrison played very well and JaKarr Sampson began attacking the rim with abandon, but it all started when St. John’s was forced to shed its lethargic tempo for a faster pace.
This is a team of thoroughbreds, athletic forwards and long guards who thrive in the open court and are difficult to deal with in transition. St. John’s struggles in the halfcourt, which is no secret to anyone who has followed this team. Furthermore, shot-blocking dynamos Chris Obekpa and Orlando Sanchez offer their teammates a safety net — getting beat in the backcourt doesn’t equate to an automatic two for the opposition.
St. John’s has gotten off to slow starts in six of its seven games, while outscoring the opposition in the second half of each contest. Pressing from the get-go could lead to spirited opening halves.
I’m not endorsing a Nolan Richardson-type of “40 Minutes of Hell” or Shaka Smart’s “Havoc.” But the Johnnies should pressure the ball in the backcourt for large segments of each game. Saturday was an example of why it would be a smart move to make. As one St. John’s fan told me, it should be their identity.
Harrison the leader: When I asked Harrison on media day if he still felt like he was a leader on the team after last year’s suspension, he shrugged his shoulders and told me time would tell. The verdict is in — if you ask me, anyway — and he isn’t just one of the leaders. The dynamic shooting guard is The Leader. It was obvious on Saturday. When St. John’s was down and out, down big to Georgia Tech, it was Harrison who brought passion and energy, challenging the Yellow Jacket big men at the rim. His teammates followed his lead. They look to him late in games. He’s their alpha dog.
Hooper’s long-range impact: I didn’t see Hooper making an impact. But after watching what he did this weekend, I’ll admit I was wrong. He has to be part of Lavin’s rotation, and the coach agreed on Saturday, giving Hooper his first start. Who knows how long that lasts, and who’s to say Hooper even needs to be in the starting five, but he offers St. John’s a different dimension.
His presence alone spreads the floor for everyone else. He hit seven 3-pointers over the weekend — that’s 22 percent of the 3s that perimeter shooting-challenged St. John’s has hit all season. And for those saying he’s a defensive liability, he did come up with a steal on Saturday, and it’s not as if the Johnnies’ perimeter defense is so impenetrable to begin with. Hooper nearly shot the Johnnies to victory on Friday night, and he made a few big shots Saturday in the big comeback. He’s part of the solution moving forward.