Steve Lavin has preached patience, repeatedly stressing the importance of the process.
Over and over, the St. John’s coach has explained his team is talented enough to go deep into March, but their best basketball would not be seen for a few months.
On Saturday, Lavin got a glimpse of what the ceiling looks like.
After seven games of frustrating inconsistency, St. John’s finally unveiled all of its exciting potential in an all-around dominant performance, embarrassing Fordham, 104-58, at the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. It was the largest margin of victory in the 85-game series, started in 1909.
“I think today gave us a little sneak preview where we could be come February and March,” Lavin said. “This is the most balanced team I’ve coached in my career.”
Even against lower-tier teams this season, St. John’s (6-2) had failed to flex its muscle, strictly teasing fans with clips of what could be, but against the Rams, the Red Storm put on a clinic with brilliant ball movement, inspiring energy and chemistry so flawless it could have been created by Walter White.
The Red Storm shot over 78 percent from the field in the first half and put on one of the most amazing offensive exhibitions the Garden has ever seen, hitting 17 consecutive field goals, while reeling off an unreal 12-minute, 37-second stretch without a miss.
With five players in double-figures and 57 points off the bench, St. John’s cracked the century mark for the first time in a decade and a half (Feb. 15, 1999), assisting on 29 of their 39 field goals.
“It felt good, everything going your way, you’re in the flow of the game, everybody making shots,” said JaKarr Sampson, who scored 12 points, making all six shots. “It was fun seeing everybody have a chance to dominate the game.”
Fordham freshman sensation Jon Severe entered the game as the 11th-leading scorer in the nation, but the guard struggled mightily in his Garden debut, making his first shot, before missing 20 straight field goals to end the game, finishing with nine points.
Down 52-32 at halftime, Fordham coach Tom Pecora then endured another 20 minutes of misery that recalled a schoolyard beating he received as a 12-year-old, as the Rams (4-3) shot 25.6 percent from the field.
“They created great space today and once they created space offensively by shooting the ball that well, then their athleticism around the basket really blossoms and really shows,” Pecora said.
Orlando Sanchez had by far his best game of the season, finally combining his all-around skills with an aggression that had not yet been seen.
The forward, averaging 4.4 points entering the game, scored a career-high 19 points, (8-of-10 shooting from the field), along with eight rebounds and four assists. Sir’Dominic Pointer put up 12 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
It was the game so many had been waiting for, the performance this team knew it could deliver. It was a 40-minute showcase of what this team can be, and ultimately, what this season could be.
“That was pretty close, pretty close to what I envisioned,” Sampson said. “We had everybody clicking.”
In the first game of the Holiday Festival, La Salle defeated Stony Brook, 65-57.