The buzz belonged to the new coach and his freshmen. The additions of graduate transfers Durand Johnson and Ron Mvouika hardly made a ripple over the spring, while the commitments of Yankuba Sima, Federico Mussini and Marcus LoVett Jr., among others, were celebrated.
The freshmen will assuredly have their moments — brilliance followed by predictable mistakes they can only learn from by experiencing them — but St. John’s is counting on Johnson and Mvouika, their two most experienced players, to provide leadership.
Monday night’s 75-53 win at Carnesecca Arena over UMBC should give Chris Mullin hope his two oldest players, both coming off inactive seasons, are up to the task.
Finally knocking off the rust after missing the past 22 months because of a torn ACL and an unspecified suspension, Johnson scored 15 points — all in the second half. Mvouika, the Missouri State transfer who played in just two games last season because of a bulging disk in his back, added 16 points off the bench, along with four assists.
“DJ and Ron were big time tonight,” Mullin said. “They played like the leaders we need them to be.”
The duo saved their best for key moments in the second half, with the Retrievers making a number of runs at the Johnnies (2-0).
Johnson, the rugged 6-foot-6 transfer from Pitt, came alive after UMBC got within two points early in the second half, slicing 10 off its deficit. He scored eight straight St. John’s points on a bevy of medium-range jump shots to stabilize the game. From there, the Red Storm didn’t look back, returning the lead back to double-digits on Mussini’s pretty no-look feed to Mvouika in transition that resulted in a 3-pointer and a 52-40 with 8:53 remaining.
It’s been an emotional few days for Mvouika, a 6-6 Parisian guard. Twice during the game, a fan shouted to him “Vive La France.” Mvouika said nobody he is close to was lost in Friday’s terrorist attacks, but he has friends who have had people close to them perish.
“I definitely had them in my prayers,” he said. “That’s a game I had them in mind. I’m going to dedicate that win to them.”
Still, he made sure not to let the traumatic events in his home country outwardly affect him.
“We’re the older guys so the young guys needs us,” Mvouika said. “I can’t come out here with my head down. Our job is to lead, regardless of what’s going on. I got to come to work every day and do what I’m supposed to do.”
Mussini ended up leading the Red Storm with 18 points and six assists and Sima added eight points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. For the second straight game, St. John’s stifled the opposition, holding UMBC to a 27 percent shooting from the field.
“The thing that they’re doing really well, which I’m really happy about it, is the defensive side of the floor,” Mullin said. “We’ve spent a lot of time since Day 1 on our team defense, and that’s really holding us together.”