CHARLESTON, S.C. — Teams grow in obvious and subtle ways. The first subtle growth challenge of the season has arrived for St. John’s.
In the Red Storm’s 72-67 loss to Murray State on Friday night in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic, the final six minutes illuminated what the Johnnies need to decipher as they head into tonight’s game against No. 16 Baylor in the consolation game.
When crunch time arose against a quality opponent, the Johnnies locked in on sophomore D’Angelo Harrison on offense, much as last season they turned to freshman star Moe Harkless. Harrison took nine of the Red Storm’s final 12 shots.
Some went. Some didn’t. Some were ill-advised because teammates were open.
“There were some judgments where he could have kicked the ball,’’ coach Steve Lavin said. “He drove and he drew two or three [defenders] and he had Jakarr [Sampson] on his left, he could have found him for an easy shot. There was the one [shot] in the corner late to tie that was forced, I think he had Phil [Greene IV] wide open.
“We’ll also work with him on making judgements when he draws two or three defenders, then he’s done his job. He needs to kick the ball to the open man. But he also has the gift, that great scorers do, to create offense out of tough situations.
“And I can’t be a back-seat driver who’s coaching every pass and every dribble and every shot, because then kids are going to plays stifled, stymied. They’re going to be robots. Now you got a mess with kids that are hesitating and don’t have any confidence.’’
The loss in no way should be laid at Harrison’s feet. He is one of the best pure scorers in college basketball and the sophomore proved last season there is no 3 he can’t knock down, in addition to his knack for maneuvering in the lane.
“He’s as prolific a scorer as I’ve ever coached so he’s going to the green light,’’ said Lavin.
Harrison had a game-high 27 points on a team-high 21 shots. The Johnnies attempted 56 shots, so Harrison’s number wasn’t grossly out of proportion.
The Red Storm (2-1) need to find that subtle understanding of when to lean on Harrison on when other players must be confident in taking a big shot. Harrison is more than willing to let that happen, which is one of the most crucial factors in allowing a team to grow.
“Everyone’s going to get more comfortable as time goes on,’’ he said. “We’re going to get way better, They’re not just going to be able to key on me and Phil. And once JaKarr gets going late in the game, or CJ [Christian Jones] or Chris Obekpa, we’re going to be hard to stop.’’
The Johnnies will face a mirror image of themselves today. Baylor has a terrific point guard in Pierre Jackson who, like Harrison, is capable of taking over a game.
“I think their length and athleticism is similar,’’ Lavin said. “They may be a little stronger in some of their positions. Ricardo Gathers is a little more physically developed. It’s fair to say their personnel and their style of play, there’s some striking similarities.’’
* Lavin said swingman Sir’Dom Pointer, who suffered a minor a hip pointer in the Murray State game and didn’t play in the second half, is expected to play to play today. … Greene tweaked his groin when he slipped on a logo on the court, but is expected to be OK.