Ten reasons I’m not high on SJU.
You’ve been hearing from the media bobos in town for a while about how “great” St. John’s has been. St. John’s has developed a cult following since head coach Rick Pitino arrived on Utopia Parkway several years ago. Now the cults want you to believe the Red Storm is a national championship team despite everything to the contrary.
I felt inspired to push back against this nonsense. Count me in as one of those folks who know St. John’s is not as good as people make it out to be. There are ten reasons why.
Weak nonconference performance: Remember, Arizona beat UConn at Storrs. Are you aware that it’s quite rare for UConn to lose at home? That itself raised questions. Also, the Johnnies lost to Alabama, Iowa State, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Kentucky in the nonconference schedule.
Courtesy CBS Sports
Weak Big East: Everyone gets caught up in St. John’s beating Connecticut twice this year, including the Big East championship game. The reality is, UConn is not even that good. We can celebrate the Red Storm’s 18-2 conference record. But understand this: the Big East was not that good this year, ranked #5 by Sports Reference.com among the NCCA D1 conferences.
#1 Seed? C’mon! The Red Storm finished the regular season with 28 wins, but the Selection Committee knew St. John’s was overrated. There was plenty of whining about the Red Storm being seeded No. 5. Some insinuated the Red Storm should have been No. 1. The NCAA tournament committee had it right. There were better teams than the Johnnies, and, again, the team does not get the benefit of the doubt for being underwhelming in nonconference play and then flaming out against Arkansas last year in the NCAA Tournament.
Lack of shooting: The Red Storm can’t shoot. It has been a problem all year. They don’t have a go-to guy who can make the shots the team needs to win down the stretch. Bryce Hopkins and Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor have been so streaky all season. Does anyone really trust either or both of them in crunch time?
No point guard: Point guard play is imperative in the NCAA tournament. St. John’s does not have one. Quite frankly, the Johnnies haven’t had one since Mark Jackson a long time ago. It’s been a problem for a long time.
Courtesy Yardbarker
Rick Pitino is overrated: I’m not going to argue with you that he’s a great regular-season coach. But when was the last time he won big in the postseason? His Louisville Cardinals teams have often flamed out. It’s been a long time since he won a national championship. Arkansas head coach John Calipari outcoached Pitino in the NCAA tournament game last year.
Lack of cohesion: From watching the Red Storm this year, these guys don’t play together. Part of it is a lack of a point guard. That does not guarantee success in March. It seems everyone wants their shots rather than to create a functional offense.
What bench? St. John’s doesn’t have one. They play only six players, which is not conducive to success.
No road warriors: The Johnnies haven’t been great on the road. They are more of a home team than anything. Playing in a different arena where they may have a hard time shooting could be a problem, as we saw last year against Arkansas.
Rebounding woes: The Johnnies defend through pressing, but they are not a good rebounding team. As Basketball Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley would say, “No rebounds, no rings.” It could be a problem against No. 12 seed Northern Iowa on Friday night.
There’s no way the Johnnies will go far, even if they advance against the Panthers, and I predict they won’t.
SJU: SOS, #34; NCAA NET #16; UNI, SOS, #118, NCAA NET #72 (Friday, 7:30 PM, SJU v. UNI, CBS)
Northern Iowa (+9.5) beats the Johnnies by five.
