This was the easy, manageable step. There was nowhere to go but up after Chris Mullin’s first season, and St. John’s did show progress. The Red Storm went from eights wins to 14, from one Big East victory to seven, winning a conference tournament game for the first time since 2011.
But the next step is more difficult.
St. John’s started to crawl this season. To start walking, it will need to make some changes. Below are four keys to Mullin and Co. becoming a viable NCAA Tournament contender. It doesn’t include possible player defections, such as freshman point guard Marcus LoVett Jr., who could explore professional options.
1. Seton Hall has been the area’s best team the last two years because of its ability to stop the opposition. St. John’s had strong defensive games, inspired performances when it put up resistance, but it was too infrequent. The Johnnies were last in the Big East in points allowed (78.7) and 3-point percentage defense (.375), and ninth in field-goal percentage defense (.461). The defensive principles were lacking too often, too much gambling on the perimeter, too much hawking for blocked shots that would leave nobody under the basket to rebound. Sit-out transfers Justin Simon (Arizona) and Marvin Clark Jr. (Michigan State) will help — the duo have strong defensive reputations — but if everyone doesn’t buy into prioritizing defense, consistent winning will be difficult to achieve.
2. The beefy 6-foot-7 Clark immediately will become one of the best rebounders for St. John’s, and sophomore Tariq Owens showed he can be effective as a slashing, shot-blocking big man capable of hitting medium-range jumpshots. But the Red Storm need a true back-to-the-basket big man who can draw double teams and handle the best forwards in the conference in the post. The coaching staff is expected to be active in the graduate transfer market, and landing a bulky big has to be the No. 1 priority this offseason. They are often out there. Just look at Rutgers, which was aided significantly by UNC-Wilmington’s C.J. Gettys this winter.
3. There were wins at Syracuse and Providence, so this team proved it can win in difficult environments. That’s not the issue. It’s the inability to consistently compete away from home that has to be remedied. Sure, young teams often struggle on the road, so this isn’t an outlier. The seven St. John’s road losses in the Big East were by an average of 18.4 points per game, a concerning trend. Mullin often said the first step to becoming a good team is winning at home, and with a 6-5 mark at home against Big East opponents, that was accomplished, but now they have to figure it out on the road.
4. Mullin gives his players freedom, which appeals to recruits. It makes players comfortable. Playing without fear is important. But it can also backfire. The Johnnies let defenses off the hook frequently by taking quick, ill-advised shots, shooting just 43 percent from the field as a team, ninth in the conference. The extra pass was lacking too often, too much dribbling and not enough passing, one fadeaway jumper after another. Lacking post-up option didn’t help matters. And the ball-moving Simon will improve this group. So will the experience they got this season.
It’s not inconceivable to imagine St. John’s making the NCAA Tournament next year. LoVett sticks around, continuing to thrive with backcourt-mate Shamorie Ponds as one of the nation’s best guard tandems. Simon and Clark make an impact, Malik Ellison, Bashir Ahmed, Kassoum Yakwe and Federico Mussini make gradual improvements, and assistant Matt Abdelmassih finds the desperately needed big man on the transfer market. This season set St. John’s up for next year. Now it just has to follow through. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not an incoming train.