Three takeaways from St. John’s opening night rout over Fordham

Tim Ferguson gives his three takeaways from Monday’s win, as well as his perspective from the Carnesecca Arena crowd on opening night

At the 1870 Court gathering tent outside of Carnesecca Arena, Johnny Thunderbird approached five “ready for the season” fans with high fives as they spoke positively about what they anticipated the season would bring.

The addition of guards Deivon Smith and Kadary Richmond were the first two names mentioned by fans. Also, anticipated improvement by returning guard Simeon Wilcher led other fans to think this was the year for the Johnnies to break through to the Big Dance.

The Johnnies appeared focused during the pre-game warmups, which did not diverge into dunk contests as has sometimes happened with previous teams.

First half

St. John’s rolled out a starting lineup of R. J. Luis, Aaron Scott, Zuby Ejiofor, Kadary Richmond, and Simeon Wilcher. After St. John’s won the opening tip-off, Luis got a quick start, hitting a three-pointer from the top of the key in the first twenty seconds of the season.

The Rams’ Will Richardson hit a three to tie the score, but at the 18:54 mark, a Richmond layup down the left of the lane put the Johnnies up for good 5-3. They would never look back.

Stiffling defense, led by Scott, kept the Rams scoreless for the next seven minutes until a Scott steal and layup increased the lead to 12-3.

The Johnnies began to press with ten minutes to play in the half after the game’s leading scorer, Jackie Johnson III, began to hit a string of jumpers, many from three-point land. Scores by Ejiofor and Richmond were matched by scores from Jackson, and with 8:35 in the half, the Rams were down by only two, 16-14.

Simeon Wilcher aggressively looked for his shot and scored eight points, leading the Johnnies to a 40-26 halftime advantage. Highlighting this explosion of scoring was a pretty 360-degree spin move as Wilcher drove down the right of the lane for a 30-18 Red Storm lead at the 3:40 mark.

The Johnnies’ stifling first-half defense held the Rams to a 34.5% field goal percentage while causing 11 turnovers, many of which led to Johnnie baskets. Only Johnson was having some success scoring 17 points, nine of which were on long threes, albeit taking nine long-range shots to accomplish this. The Johnnies led 40-26 at the half.

One area of concern in a stellar half was that the taller Johnnies were outrebounded by the Rams 16-15. Many of the Rams’ rebounds were on the offensive glass.

Second half

Fordham started the second half in a zone defense and the Red Storm were stymied at first. The team did not score for the first two and a half minutes until a Wilcher three at the 17:26 mark broke the ice. The Johnnies’ stellar defense continued, allowing three points during this offensive drought.

With 16 minutes remaining, a Richmond steal found him attacking down the right side when he saw an open Ejiofor further to his right. A quick pass and equally quick assist by Ejiofor to Wilcher led to a layup by Wilcher and a 47-31 lead. “Just like it was drawn up,” a fan explained during an official TV timeout a few seconds later. During the same timeout, a second fan stated, “I wish the team would run some plays for Brady Dunlap; he is the team’s best three-point shooter.”

Within the next two and a half minutes, Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith found Dunlap alone for a ten-foot jumper and an open three-pointer from the left corner, bringing dozens of Red Storm fans to their feet. St. John’s were cruising 54-36 with 12:08 to play.

Having the lead allowed Coach Pitino to substitute freely, and by the game’s end, all Johnnies had scored except for freshman Jaiden Glover. Freshman Lefteris Liotopoulos impressed with his ball handling in his five minutes of play. In nine minutes of play, freshman Ruben Prey scored six points and took down three rebounds, contributing to a resounding 92-60 opening-day victory for the Red Storm.

Takeaway #1: Incredible defense

As was evident during the exhibition against Towson, the Johnnies’ stifling defense gave few opportunities for open shots for the Rams save several long range three point attempts, mostly by the games high scorer, Jackie Johnson III. However, adjustments made at halftime limited Johnson to just six points in the second half.

Equally impressive was the defensive quickness to step into passing lanes to make steals, leading to several fast breaks. Eleven steals and four blocks contributed to 19 Fordham turnovers. In the rare case that a Red Storm player was beaten off the dribble, a teammate quickly rotated over to assist.

Takeaway #2: Three-point shooting needs time

The offensive explosion of 92 points was very much a result of the defensive pressure, which resulted in fast break opportunities. The Johnnies had 19 assists on 36 made shots, a 53% rate. What was missing was effective three-point shooting. While hitting from a distance at a not-too-shabby 34.6% rate, the team still is searching for a reliable three-point shooter.

Luis, limited by foul trouble and playing only thirteen minutes, did hit two threes on two attempts at the start of the game. Wilcher hit a couple of jumpers, one of which was a three on the way to hitting seven of nine shots in the game. A fan mentioned Brady Dunlap as a potential go-to shooter when three points are needed after the sophomore drilled one off the bench.

There is good potential for all three of Wilcher, Luis, and Dunlap to develop into deep-range threats.

Takeaway #3: Rebounding was a little disappointing

The Johnnies took down 39 rebounds to 31 for Fordham. This statistic seems alright, but, as one fan shared, why don’t they box out more?

There were too many moments when the Rams appeared to control the boards, particularly on their missed shots. Ejiofor did not have his usual stellar game, taking down but one rebound in 21 minutes, while fellow bigs Prey, three rebounds in nine minutes, and Iwuchukwu, four rebounds in 15 minutes, appeared to outperform him.

Was this a rare bad night for Ejiofor? Were the Rams keying on him after his masterful performance in a preseason game against Rutgers? Was he not feeling well?

Knowing the competitor that he is and being a co-captain with Richmond, fans can expect him to step up in the upcoming game with Quinnipiac.

Outlook

It is only one game against a Fordham team picked to end near the bottom of the Atlantic 10 this year. The Johnnies took control at the beginning and, except for a two-minute-long 7-0 run by Fordham in the middle of the first half, were in complete control of the game.

Kadary Richmond lived up to the hype, scoring 16 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and assisting teammates on five scores. Aaron Scott contributed 12 points and took down five rebounds. Second-teamer Brady Dunlap scored nine points, took down four rebounds, and had two assists in twenty minutes off the bench. His fellow sophomore guard Simeon Wilcher led the team with 17 points on seven-for-nine shooting.

One could go down the roster and identify important contributions from just about everyone, a feat that points to the team’s depth. Even with R.J. Luis in foul trouble for most of the game, his teammates picked him up.

A good start to the season now leads to a true challenge on Saturday, November 9th, when Quinnipiac, predicted to be a leader in the MAAC, comes to town. The depth of this St. John’s team means different players could take the spotlight with each game of the schedule. Stellar defense like that against Fordham will need to be repeated each and every game. If so accomplished, clinching a spot in the NCAA tournament is certainly a reasonable expectation.