WASHINGTON — When Oziyah Sellers plays well, and is heavily involved in the offense, St. John’s is productive.
When he is quiet, and his volume of field goal attempts is down, the Johnnies have struggled on the offensive end.
In the games the Stanford transfer has scored in double figures, St. John’s is averaging 91.6 points and Sellers is attempting 11.2 shots.
Otherwise, they are putting up 81.7 and Sellers is taking only six shots.
“It starts with us trying to put him in those situations where he can get [good looks],” Zuby Ejiofor said. “Obviously he’s one of, if not the best shooter on this team. It’s our job to put him in those areas where he’s able to be comfortable and be able to put up as many shots as possible. … We definitely play better and well when he’s getting shots up.”
Sellers is coming off a quiet game in a rout of Harvard, managing just four points on 2-for-5 shooting.
In fact, he has attempted only four 3-pointers in the past two contests and is averaging only 8.3 points over the last six.
“Coach always continues to tell me to shoot the ball all the time,” Sellers said. “There’s definitely times I could’ve been a little more aggressive in that game [against Harvard]. I watch a lot of film and I know things I can improve.”
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Clearly, teams are aware of how important Sellers is to St. John’s, and are doing their best to keep him in check.
But it’s also on him not to let the opposition dictate his effectiveness.
“I can’t let that affect me when I’m playing or let that limit my attempts,” he said. “I have to find ways to shoot the ball and still be aggressive when that’s happening.”
Ian Jackson and Dillon Mitchell missed a few practices during the break due to illness, but the duo is expected to play Wednesday against Georgetown.
New Year’s Eve games haven’t been kind to St. John’s in recent years.
Last season, the Red Storm fell by one point at Creighton. To close out 2022, they were crushed by Seton Hall and they also lost at the buzzer to the Pirates on New Year’s Eve in 2014. St. John’s is 0-10 on this day since 2008, although eight of those games have come on the road.
St. John’s has won nine straight meetings against Georgetown.
