St. John’s was too talented to stay down for too long.
After losing five straight games to open Big East play, the Red Storm’s standing could only improve, even if eight wins in their past nine games were more than most could envision.
At the lowest possible place, in a season with heightened expectations, Steve Lavin never lost confidence in his team. He just needed to make sure the team hadn’t lost its confidence.
“My concern was the players,” the coach said on Monday. “Would the losing put them in a fragile state or a place where they wouldn’t have the confidence where they could win games?
“But I recruited them, so I would remind them, ‘You guys are really good. … You guys were brought in from all over the globe to St. John’s because you’re very special. We’re right there. We’re knocking on the door.’”
The door is busted down. After Sunday night’s smackdown of Georgetown — their fifth straight win — the Red Storm (17-9, 7-6 – ranked 52nd in RPI and 34th on KenPom.com) are at the threshold, now a true contender to squeeze through and grab one of the final at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament.
Playing as well as almost any team in the country over the past three weeks, St. John’s could turn a bid from potential to probable with a win at ninth-ranked Villanova on Saturday.
That is if last-place Butler doesn’t ruin the resurgence with an upset on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Bulldogs (12-13, 2-11) have lost four straight and lost to St. John’s by 17 in Indianapolis last month. But facing an inferior opponent doesn’t change the Red Storm’s situation:
It’s just another must-win game.
“I think our players understand, the fact that we started out 0-5, gives us an appreciation for how dangerous teams can be independent of their record,” said Lavin. “There isn’t a fat-cat syndrome where I sense anyone thinking that we’ve arrived or that we’ve accomplished anything of significance. They’re still a very hungry and humble group with a hard edge, and our best basketball is still ahead of us.”
The group can get better because Rysheed Jordan can still get better.
Seemingly every game, the super freshman gives a longer, clearer look at his ceiling, with no better view than the career-high 24-point showcase on Sunday.
Jordan’s minutes have jumped from 20.9 minutes in his first 16 games (7.4 points, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals, 37 percent shooting from the field) to 32.4 minutes over the past eight games (11.6 points, 4.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 46.6 percent shooting from the field). With the inconsistent playing time Jordan received early in the season, Lavin said he has less concern that his point guard could hit a freshman wall.
“I can’t give a bigger compliment to a player than to say he’s the best at this particular stage of his career of any player I’ve ever coached,” Lavin said before referencing Baron Davis, Earl Watson, Trevor Ariza and Matt Barnes, among others. “We’ve been around him every day and seen how he’s blossomed, so when he does these things on the court, to us that’s just him being Rysheed.”
Jamal Branch (oral surgery) will return to the lineup after missing the past two games.