Three takeaways and perspective from St. John’s men’s basketball’s win over Bryant

Multiple scorers pulled apart the Bulldogs’ zone defense on Wednesday night in the lead-up to Big East play

It was a rainy, bomb-cyclone-type of evening when St. John’s was taking on the Bulldogs of Bryant led by their scoring leader and ex-Johnny Rafael Pinzón. The Bulldogs looked sharp in pregame drills as several Bulldogs were drilling better than fifty percent of their twenty-plus foot three-pointers in their pregame warmup. “We have to be alert in guarding those threes,” was a comment from one fan.

Pinzón received applause from Johnnie fans during pregame introductions to the Bryant starting five when his name was announced. Over 4,573 fans still attended despite the wicked weather.

First Half

Pinzón of Bryant opened the scoring with a jumper from the right corner for a 2-0 Bryant lead. St. John’s responded with a weave, and Wilcher found Ejiofor on the left for a driving layup. He picked up a foul and hit two free throws, tying the score at two. After Bryant’s leading scorer for the game, Keyshawn Mitchell, hit a jumper, Wilcher found Aaron Scott alone in the left corner for a three and a 5-4 Red Storm lead.

At the TV timeout at 15:44, St. John’s led 11-6 with a positive start to the game both offensively against a Bryant 2-1-2 zone and defensively. Zuby Ejiofor was effective, not so much by making field goals but by picking up fouls and converting his free throws. One fan called out, “Just keep feeding Zuby, and all will be well.”

As Ejiofor became successful, the Bryant zone collapsed around him whenever he got the ball. Soon after, a Pinzón three at 15:03 tied the score at eleven.

Deivon Smith entered the game and shortly thereafter stole the ball and quickly drove the length of the court, converting on a reverse layup as a Bryant defender challenged him. Thirty seconds later, he hit a three from the left wing, and St. John’s was suddenly up by six at 18-12.

Bryant was not ready to go away and took the lead on a Mitchell three 22-21 at the ten-minute mark. The Johnnies regained the lead on a Wilcher three from the right wing, and the lead expanded to four, 31-27. The four-point lead remained until the end of the half, with the Johnnies up 45 -41 at the half. It was the most points that St. John’s had given up in the first half this season.

Halftime

St. John’s was a twenty-point favorite by the pregame oddsmakers and, once again, appeared to be underperforming though they were leading. At the half, St. John’s was hitting 48 percent of their field goal attempts, and Bryant hit 47 percent. Three-point shooting was also similar, 36 percent for Bryant and 33 percent for St. John’s. Blocks were tied at two and steals at five. As even as a half could be. Red Storm fans agreed that the score was “too close for comfort” as the second half began.

Second Half

Red Storm fans’ anxiety enhanced as the Bulldogs scored the first four points of the second half to tie the score at 45.

The Red Storm returned to the weave, and Kadary Richmond found a seam driving towards the basket. With his excellent court vision, he unleased a bounce pass to a cutting Wilcher for a layup on the left side. The Johnnies took back the lead. Over the next four minutes, the teams traded baskets, and with fifteen minutes to play, it was still anyone’s game. The Red Storm led 54 to 53.

Then the Johnnies defense stiffened. They held the Bulldogs to one bucket in the next four and a half minutes. Over that time, Smith led the offense, making deft passes to teammates for buckets. With four minutes to play, following a Scott miss from the corner, six-foot-tall Smith soared almost two feet above the rim to slam the ball through the basket for a resounding putback dunk.

Reserves got a chance to play the last three minutes of the game, and when Glover hit a three, assisted by Smith, the Johnnies reached 99 points with a minute to play. They regained the ball within a half minute to play, and drained the clock ball to put the final touches on a 99-77 win.

Takeaway #1: St. John’s found multiple ways to carve up zone defense

Throughout the game the Bulldogs were in a 2-1-2 zone, collapsing on Ejiofor every time the Johnnies passed it to him down low. Ejiofor was able to muscle his way to the basket at times, drawing fouls and, in the first half, making his foul shots.

Yet the Johnnies were not pulling away. As earlier stated, the game was close at halftime and even closer with 15 minutes to play.

However, the Johnnies began to vary their attack. With Ejiofor floating down low in and out of the paint drawing Bryant defenders, Scott and Luis began stepping into the circle at the foul line, receiving passes from teammates and hitting mid-range jumpers. This mid-range shooting rattled Bryant defenders and Ejiofor began establishing dominance in the paint. With teammates finding a way to get him the ball in the right spot at the right moment, Ejiofor quickly hit two layups to establish distance between the Johnnies and Bryant.

With the variation of skilled players the Red Storm appear to have four distinct ways of attacking zones such as the one Bryant displayed.

1. The quickness of Smith and the smoothness of Richmond penetrating the zone and then kicking out to teammates for open shots.
2. Wilcher, Smith, and Glover successfully shooting threes when open. Dunlap has struggled this year to be consistent from this distance but did hit a three from the right wing when wide-open.
3. Scott and Luis’ play when receiving passes in the open area around the foul line when the zone collapses around St John’s big men.
4. Ejiofor’s ability to score when given even a small advantage from deft passes from teammates.

Takeaway #2: The late timeout in the second half

St. John’s was leading 85-65 late in the second half. Barry Evans, Bryant’s second-leading scorer, had the ball at the top of the key. He had not made a three-pointer in the game. Zuby Ejiofor came out to the top of the key to contest Evans, and Evans broke past him and went towards the basket. Aaron Scott was able to quickly step forward to defend his drive but did not respond, and Evans easily laid the ball in. Coach Pitino immediately called time out.

One fan stated, “Ejiofor is going to hear something from the coach for that play”.

But it wasn’t Ejiofor that Rick Pitino immediately confronted. It was Scott. Why?

It might be nice to overhear the conversation, but that is between Coach and Scott. But here is a thought. Earlier in the season, particularly the Georgia game, Red Storm centers were wandering far away from the basket, doubling down on opponents, at times beyond the top of the key, and opponents were finding gaps in the paint for players to drive into with little defensive pressure. In more recent games, the centers have not wandered away so recklessly.

Was this play a defensive breakdown that led to the immediate call for a timeout with the Johnnies up by eighteen with just over five minutes to play? Is this a defensive lapse that the coaching staff is working to correct? The Johnnies have won three straight games after the Georgia loss with a defensive strategy that appears for the centers to be more conservative in their positioning.

Takeaway #3: Balanced scoring will pose problems for opposing coaches

In the win over Bryant, five Johnnies scored in double figures, and a sixth, Kadary Richmond, scored nine points and led the team with five assists. In the Kansas State game, four Johnnies scored in double figures, with a fifth, Aaron Scott, scoring eight.

Over the season, six Johnnies are averaging 9.4 points per game or better, led by R.J. Luis with an average of 16.9 per game. All six are hitting 44% or better from the field, with Simeon Wilcher hitting 35.7% from three-point land and Deivon Smith shooting slightly better at 38.5%.

How do opposing coaches game plan for such a balanced squad? It’s a dilemma for the opposition that Red Storm fans are glad exists.

Outlook

With an 8-2 record and having lost their two games by a total of four points to top-50 teams, St. John’s can rightfully feel positive about the team’s future. However, the slow start to games is concerning. Richmond continues to play a significant role for the team, with Deivon Smith providing instant offense when inserted into the lineup. Richmond has recently shown an ability to hit a mid-range jumper. This improvement should open up some lanes for him to drive and even further balance the Red Storm attack.

The season has had several challenging games to date, but with the Big East season starting on December 17th against DePaul, almost all future games, except the December 28th game against Delaware, can be considered challenges. Big East foes like Georgetown and DePaul, which have struggled over the past few years, are improved. Also, the Johnnies have yet to play a game in a true road environment. The top six players are experienced, but there is always a question about the team’s ability to recover when an opponent gets a run and the Johnnies are on an opponent’s court.

With the coaching staff holding the team accountable when carelessness occurs, it is reasonable to expect continued improvement as Big East play begins.