It was billed as a make-or-break road trip, three games in six days that could define this St. John’s season. The Johnnies left town with their once-promising season teetering on the edge, their NCAA Tournament hopes suddenly iffy.
They had lost four times in five games, had played poorly in front of a large crowd at the Garden in an ugly loss to Georgetown, and there were some concerning quotes from players about going through the motions and the team going in separate directions.
But Chris Mullin’s team returned home early Wednesday morning with a completely different vibe. After winning two of three games in the week away, picking up quadrant 1 victories at Creighton and 10th-ranked Marquette, sandwiched around a rout at No. 2 Duke, the Red Storm may have righted their season. It at least feels like they pushed the reset button.
Alone in third place in the Big East, the confidence and hope around the program is back to where it was after the double-overtime win at Georgetown in early January that preceded the skid. With five of the next six games at home coming up, St. John’s has the chance to take off.
Below are some of my takeaways from the trip:
Give Mullin credit
After a loss, I always hear about the coaching and the shortcomings of Mullin and his staff. Those same complaints vanish after wins.
I’ve always felt the most important quality in a coach is how he deals with adversity and how his team responds. You saw it last year with how well St. John’s played in February after an 0-11 start in the Big East and you saw it again over the last week. Mullin has stressed keeping an even-keeled temperament with this group, responding the same ways to wins as losses. Not letting it affect preparation. You could tell his players have bought into that. After Tuesday’s big win St. John’s wasn’t acting like beating a top-10 team on the road was a grand accomplishment.
Mullin navigated St. John’s to those wins without a full compliment of players. Starting guard Justin Simon was a non-factor against Creighton due to a migraine that limited him to seven minutes and reserve Bryan Trimble Jr. (sprained left thumb) didn’t play against Marquette.
Appreciate Ponds
I was amazed at how many St. John’s fans, and even basketball fans in general, slammed Shamorie Ponds for his performance against Duke. Yes, he was shaky, scoring 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting and committing five turnovers. Yes, a better performance from Ponds and St. John’s is at least in the game in the second half. But he was going against one of the best on-ball defenders in the nation in Tre Jones and arguably the best coach in the country in Mike Krzyzewski. Off games should be allowed.
He’s St. John’s best player since Ron Artest. He carried this team to wins at Creighton and Marquette, averaging 27 points, 7.5 rebounds, five assists and four steals in those contests. Against the Golden Eagles, he lugged the Johnnies across the finish line, scoring 15 of their final 16 points, willing them to the stunning upset.
Despite a few up-and-down performances in Big East play, Ponds is averaging 20.8 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals while posting career bests in field goal (48.4) and 3-point shooting (42.0) percentage. He’s leading the conference in steals and assists, and is third in scoring. He’s going to win the Haggerty Award for the second straight year and looks like he’s going to get this team back to the NCAA Tournament.
He has shortcomings, but try to enjoy him while he’s here. Players of his ilk don’t come to St. John’s often.
Defense steps up
When the effort and focus is there, St. John’s can defend. It can contain elite offensive teams. It held Marquette to 10.5 points under its season average and Creighton 15.4 below. For 17 minutes, it played Duke as well as you can. Big teams with post-up options will always give the Johnnies trouble because of their undersized roster.
But what we saw over the last week was the continuing of a trend. This team is improving at the defensive end, and the numbers back it up. St. John’s is second in the Big East in field goal percentage defense (42.9), third in 3-point percent defense (33.8) and is ranked 79th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom.com. Sedee Keita had two blocks against Marquette, and is showing signs of being a rim-protecting presence. While Simon’s defense against Big East leading scorer Markus Howard drew the headlines, it was Mustapha Heron staying with Howard without fouling on the final possession that preserved the victory.
Heron’s performance was symbolic of the upset. He struggled offensively after scoring nine early points, but didn’t let it affect him defensively. Neither did his teammates. In past games, when the offense goes south, the defense has followed. That didn’t happen against Marquette.
Much like this road trip, it might be a sign of maturity and progress.