The first week of the college basketball season produced some odd results.
Three Big East teams – Seton Hall, Villanova and Butler – lost buy games as major favorites.
Second-ranked Alabama struggled against Arkansas State.
Texas fell at Ohio State. Baylor, a chic Final Four pick, was hammered by Gonzaga.
There is one common denominator: The aforementioned programs are dealing with significant roster turnover. So many schools are in the transfer portal era.
St. John’s doesn’t fit into that category.
Three of its starters, Simeon Wilcher, Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis, are returning players. So is key reserve Brady Dunlap. They helped St. John’s get off to a strong start this week with a pair of blowout wins over Fordham and Quinnipiac by a combined 55 points.
Continuity can go a long way, especially with a coach like Rick Pitino known for player development. St. John’s had a strong offseason in the portal, bringing in coveted guards Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall) and Deivon Smith (Utah). But an argument can be made that retaining Wilcher, Ejiofor, Luis and Dunlap was just as impactful.
A former top-40 recruit, Wilcher has looked like a different player so far, averaging 15.5 points in the Johnnies’ two wins.
Luis, healthy after injuries limited him a year ago, had 24 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Quinnipiac. He has all-league talent.
The floor-spacing Dunlap will be a key part to this team, especially if he can be a more consistent threat from the beyond arc. Ejiofor has gotten off to a slow start, it should be noted, although he did block five shots in the Quinnipiac game.
I still expect Richmond and Smith to be St. John’s two best players. Smith dazzled in the win over Quinnipiac, producing 13 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, three steals and a plus-29 rating in 31 minutes. Richmond was passive in the victory, similar to Smith in the opener, after controlling the win over Fordham.
It’s going to take time for the two ball-dominant guards to get comfortable with one another, their new teammates and coaching staff. We saw how long it took last year’s team to hit its stride. There is no substitute for experience, no magic elixir for a group to develop cohesion.
Take a look at two-time defending champion Connecticut’s success the last two years. Sure, the Huskies have brought in elite freshmen and difference-making transfers, but as supplements to a returning core. Young players emerged to replace departed stars, which is exactly what St. John’s hopes to see from the likes of Wilcher, Dunlap, Luis and Ejiofor.
That was the offseason formula for Pitino and company this spring. The learning curve, as a result, isn’t nearly as steep.
Some other thoughts on the win over Quinnipiac:
- The shaky first half shouldn’t be solely attributed to Aaron Scott’s absence due to an illness. Pitino felt the team had two of its worst practices of the year leading up to the game, and it reflected in the opening 20 minutes. But it is clear how important the 6-foot-7 Scott is to St. John’s defensively. Pitino said St. John’s didn’t react well to him not being out there. He guards several positions and takes particular pride in defending. I thought there was a defensive dropoff in the opener as well when the North Texas transfer wasn’t on the floor. He looks like the Johnnies’ glue guy early on.
- This team has already shown an ability to take a punch. We saw it in the Rutgers exhibition, when St. John’s rallied from a 13-point deficit, and again on Saturday. That’s an important character trait that most good teams have. You would obviously like to avoid shaky stretches like we saw in the first half on Saturday, but being able to handle adversity is an encouraging sign of this group’s maturity and resolve. It took a while for last year’s team to develop that quality.
- Pitino said on Saturday that he may start USC transfer Vince Iwuchukwu at center over Ejiofor on Wednesday. I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Ejiofor hasn’t looked right so far, and coming off the bench in the role he had last year, may help him relax. There’s a lot on the junior’s plate. He’s a co-captain and a starter for the first time. Expectations became somewhat unrealistic after his huge game against Rutgers of 27 points and 13 rebounds. The center position is going to be a mix of Ejiofor, Iwuchukwu and Ruben Prey anyway. Who starts isn’t important. It is vital to get Ejiofor going, after he managed just three rebounds in two games across 41 minutes. Maybe a change sparks him.
