The word is out. It spread from Syracuse to Cincinnati to Georgetown and it might make its way across the Hudson to New Jersey tonight when St. John’s plays against Seton Hall.
Big East teams are throwing junk defenses at the Red Storm’s sensational freshman combo guard, D’Angelo Harrison.
“Coach [John] Chaney told me this saying,’’ acting St. John’s coach Mike Dunlap told The Post. “Great players take more of a butt-whipping,’’
Consider Harrison’s rear end sufficiently sore, but he has not backed down. The Orange, Bearcats and Hoyas all played a junk defense of some kind against the Texas sharpshooter and it did not stop Harrison from leaving burn marks on the nets.
He shot almost 50 percent on 3-pointers (12 of 25) and averaged 21 points, but the Red Storm, down to just six scholarships, lost all three games. Harrison was shooting 53 percent (17 of 32) on 3’s until opposing defenses tried to put him in witness-protection.
“For good reason,’’ said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard when asked his thoughts on opposing teams using a box-and-one, or some other version, to defend Harrison. “You better find something to do against that kid. He’s been spectacular.’’
The Pirates (17-8, 6-7 Big East) can ill afford to allow Harrison to rain 3’s in The Rock tonight. Seton Hall snapped a five-game conference losing streak with a win at Rutgers and followed that with a come-from-behind home win against Pitt on Sunday.
The Pirates certainly have rekindled their NCAA Tournament hopes, but a loss to St. John’s (10-15, 4-9), which has lost three straight and eight of 10, would be a major setback.
Willard, who said he has watched each of the last seven St. John’s games, said this game scared him because of the scoring of Harrison and Queens forward Moe Harkless and the Red Storm’s relentless play.
Clearly, the first priority is to stop Harrison, who had a game-high 24 points on 7-of-17 shooting (5 of 12 on 3’s) against Georgetown and also plays the point, allowing the Red Storm to guarantee the ball will be in his hands. Defenses, however, have caught on, forcing the freshman to stay patient.
“We’ve been talking to him about letting the game to come him, and I think he did the best job of that in the Georgetown game,’’ said Dunlap. “He’s doing a better job of hunting for his shot, especially in transition.’’
“As you know D’Angelo is a passionate kid which is his greatest strength and can be his weakness,’’ Dunlap said. “He’s learned during the dry spells when he’s not getting touches to stay patient. We’ll run some double picks for him and get him going.’’
lenn.robbins@nypost.com