ESPN analyst and former St. John’s coach Fran Fraschilla talks with The Post’s Justin Terranova about the Red Storm’s turnaround heading into their showdown Saturday at Villanova.
Q: How has St. John’s turned its season around?
A: Steve Lavin has done a number of good coaching jobs in his career, but this may be at the very top. It’s very easy to lose a team on a mini-slide in January and February, like they were, to get them where they are now is a remarkable testament to his ability to communicate with his players.
Q: How important is the game at Villanova in terms of St. John’s NCAA tournament resume?
A: If there’s any chink in St. John’s armor right now it’s they don’t have a ton of quality wins to impress the tournament committee. There’s still some skepticism about St. John’s, and that can be alleviated this Saturday. The one game that stands out is Creighton. The other ones, with their talent, are games they probably should have won.
Q: Syracuse suffered its first defeat (Wednesday vs. Boston College). Can the loss help them?
A: I am of the mindset that a loss sometimes redirects your focus to what needs to be polished up. Sometimes close wins can mask your team’s weaknesses.
Q: You coached against Jim Boeheim. How do you explain his success?
A: Many of us “experts” have waxed poetic on the 2-3 zone forever, but he’s also given his players the ability to play with great confidence on the offensive end. Once he puts players in a position to play to their strength, they don’t have to look over to the bench after one missed shot or one bad turnover. They play with great freedom on offense, but within a team concept. The best scorers get the most amount of shots — simple but profound.
Q: If Wichita State goes undefeated, do they absolutely get a No. 1 seed?
A: Without a doubt. You can make the argument that the Missouri Valley is not as strong as it has been in the past, particularly without Creighton, but to do what they’ve done and win the games they have in non-conference is remarkable. Although the basketball committee had made it clear that what you’ve accomplished in the past means nothing when evaluating the current season, the fact that essentially the same team got to the Final Four last year has to be a factor.