St. John’s Red Storm: A Big Apple Revival
The St. John’s Red Storm, much like the Big East Conference as a whole, are having an impressive 2014-15 campaign. As conference play gets underway the Big East is providing flashes of the glory years when it was the epicenter of college basketball and The Big Apple was a college basketball hotbed.
St. John’s (11-2) was a pillar of the Big East then and they figure to be among contenders now. The conference season will produce many showdowns that will have a throwback flavor as several traditional Big East programs are off to terrific starts.
Villanova is 13-0 and ranked No. 6 in the country. Seton Hall, like No. 15 St. John’s, is 11-2 and the Pirates defeated the Johnnies 78-67 in the Big East opener Wednesday.
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Among the programs that Big East teams have defeated this season are VCU, Illinois, Michigan, Syracuse, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina and Notre Dame.
After all the recent conference realignment upheavals, the Big East is the No. 2 RPI conference in America. Despite the new look, somewhere Dave Gavitt is smiling and enjoying the revival.
St. John’s has enjoyed a steady climb under Steve Lavin but have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2011. In 2011-12 the Red Storm finished 13-19. The Johnnies improved to 17-16 in 2012-13 and last season Lavin guided St. John’s to a 20-13 mark, but once again they settled for an NIT berth. This may be the year the Johnnies return to The Dance.
St. John’s is off to a hot start this year despite falling to Seton Hall in the Big East opener. They look to even their conference record as they next host Butler (10-4) Saturday at Carnesecca Arena. Let’s take a closer look at the St. John’s scouting report.
Personnel
Projected Starters:
- 0 – Guard – 6’3″ – Senior – Jamal Branch
- 1 – Guard – 6’2″ – Senior – Phil Greene IV
- 11- Guard – 6’4″ – Senior – D’Angelo Harrison
- 15 – Forward – 6’5″ – Senior – Sir’Dominic Pointer
- 12 – Center – 6’9″ – Junior – Chris Obekpa
St. John’s is a senior-laden squad and that experience could serve them well. Thanks mostly to Obekpa, the Johnnies led the nation in blocks per game (7.5) last season. Obekpa is the St. John’s career leader in blocked shots and he has already rejected 50 shots this year. His mid-range game has improved and he is now a threat to score on the baseline, but offense is not his strong suit. He attempted only 96 shots in 32 games last season.
Pointer is an end-to-end player playing slightly out of position at the forward spot. But with 10.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game he is Lavin’s most versatile player. As a tandem, Pointer and Obekpa have helped St. John’s become sixth in the country in blocks per game (6.8) and a Top 20 rebounding club.
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Make no mistake, the Johnnies are a guard-dominant squad and that is where their experience is paying dividends. Harrison, a first-team All-Big East selection last season, is leading the charge this year. He is the focal point of the Johnnies’ offense and slowing his touches and making his chances more difficult is the key to stopping St. John’s. Nonetheless, Harrison is pouring in 19.5 per game despite the defensive attention.
Branch runs the show at point guard and Greene provides three-point ability. Greene started 28 games in 2013-14 and the senior is playing heavy minutes this year.
Depth is the alarming issue for the Johnnies in the frontcourt and the backcourt. Lavin has a short rotation of six players who all play more than 24 minutes per game. There is a huge drop off after that.
The key reserve is sophomore guard Rysheed Jordan. And the depth issue will only become more pronounced as Jordan has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the team for disciplinary reasons. Jordan trailed only Harrison in scoring (14.0 ppg) and played starter minutes.
Offense
Getting Harrison the ball is the primary goal of the Red Storm attack. Lavin uses a set commonly referred to as a “floppy” screen to get Harrison the ball on the move. The term “floppy” comes from the cutter’s freedom to choose which screen he wants to use. The play can “flip-flop” sides of the floor if you will.
Early in the game against Seton Hall we see Harrison take his man under the basket and attempt to free himself. Harrison has the choice of using the single screen at the bottom or the double screen up top. He elects to use the double and when his defender trails him, he curls for a basket in the lane with the foul.
The Johnnies use this set several times per game to get Harrison the ball. In a recent game with Tulane we see the same “floppy” action.
Harrison is under the basket and this time the double screen is on the bottom and the single screen is on top. Harrison elects to use the single screen and straight cuts to the perimeter. He then gets into pick-and-roll action with Pointer. The rest of the Johnnies clear a side for Harrison and Pointer and Pointer is able to get a basket.
Whether he is scoring or not, containing Harrison on this “floppy” action and making his touches more difficult is key. The St. John’s offense goes through Harrison.
Defense
Depending on jump shots and not getting much offensive production from the frontcourt has made becoming a top-notch defensive squad a priority for Lavin and the Johnnies. And they have done just that.
Obekpa is second in the nation with 3.85 blocks per game. As a team, St. John’s is in the Top 20 in field-goal percentage defense. (37.1%) With a rim-protector like Obekpa behind them, the St. John’s guards can extend pressure.
The Johnnies play some man-to-man and showed it extensively against Seton Hall, but they spend much of the time in an active and unique 1-1-3 zone. While they are not the only squad in the country playing this zone, it is rather unique and presents a rare challenge for offenses.
In the 1-1-3, the top guards set a tandem and share the job of covering the ball on the perimeter and defending the high post. The guard tandem often trades jobs mid-possession. They get help on quick ball movement from the wings. The wings play the ball on the sides of the floor and must make sure to defend the corners.
Obekpa plays post defense and patrols the paint for any opponent who has managed to penetrate. Often teams have a hard time getting inside and settle for contested shots late in the shot clock.
Against Seton Hall, the Johnnies extend the zone with early ball pressure. The top two players share the responsibility of containing the basketball and sealing dribble penetration. The Pirates are left passing the ball harmlessly around the perimeter.
The wings help the guard tandem defend on the edges and St. John’s is pointing and communicating the movements of Seton Hall. Finally, the Pirates are left with a deep, contested shot near the end of the shot clock. Exactly the sort of attempts the Johnnies want to force.
Another feature of the 1-1-3 zone is the short corner trap. A common strategy against zone defense to attack from the short corner, the area along the baseline just off the free throw lane line.
When teams put the ball in that area St. John’s sets an automatic double-team trap. In this clip against Tulane the Red Storm execute a beautiful trap for a turnover.
St. John’s has senior leadership, a rare commodity in today’s college basketball landscape, but they are an undersized team with little frontcourt depth.
Harrison is arguably the best guard in the Big East and their starting guard play is elite. Setbacks like the Jordan leave of absence will be hard to overcome as a thin team got even thinner.
For the Johnnies to do enough damage in the Big East to become an NCAA tournament team Harrison & Co. will need a greater and more consistent contribution from the frontcourt. The electric guard trio and the hot start are reasons for hope.