St. John’s Red Storm: Future looks bright despite losing three players
The St. John’s Red Storm will look to continue their improvement in year three under head coach Chris Mullin. The Red Storm will once again need to rebuild its roster following the departure of three players, including Richard Freudenberg.
St. John’s made considerable strides in year two under Mullin, especially on the offensive end. Really, how could the Johnnies not? The Red Storm were one of the worst teams in the nation in 2015-16, winning eight games overall and just one in Big East play.
St. John’s went 14-19 this past season, including 7-11 in the Big East. The Red Storm lost seven of their last 12 games as the gave up over 80 points in nine of those games. The Red Storm finished the season ranked 302nd in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering 78.7 points a game. On a positive note, the Johnnies ranked 230th in defensive efficiency per Team Rankings.
Some of St. John’s problems on the defensive end can be directly attributed to St. John’s youth. Six of the seven players that registered the most minutes for the Johnnies were underclassmen. In fact, the Red Storm only had three juniors and seniors eligible to play in 2016-17. Effort and technique were also an issue for the Red Storm, particularly in terms of defensive rebounding.
Mullin, who has a 22-42 record as a head coach, probably figured he would finally have some roster stability in 2017-18. However, sophomore center Yankuba Sima transferred to Oklahoma State in the middle of the season. Now, senior Darien Williams, sophomore Malik Ellison, and freshman Richard Freudenberg have decided to move on.
Williams, a junior college transfer, played sparingly last season and would likely not have seen much action this year. Ellison showed significant improvement from his freshman campaign, though consistency was an issue. The 6-foot-6 wing averaged 7.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
Freudenberg’s departure has to be the most disappointing for the Johnnies. The 6’9 forward announced that he would return to his native Germany to play professionally on Thursday. Freudenberg saw limited playing time this past season as the 18-year old had trouble adjusting to college basketball, which is typical of young Europeans.
What makes Freudenberg’s decision to leave painful for the Johnnies is that he had shown so much potential during his time with Bayern Munich before coming to Queens. His combination of athleticism, length, and ability to stretch the floor from the four position was intriguing for the Johnnies, as no other frontcourt player currently on the roster as all three of those attributes.
Freudenberg finished the season averaging 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in 26 contests. The four-star recruit connected on just 25.0% of his shots from the field and 20.0% from beyond the arc. He had his best stretch of games in mid-December, compiling 17 points along with 14 boards in 52 minutes over three games. St. John’s faced Syracuse, Penn State, and LIU-Brooklyn during that stretch.
Still, theJohnniess have to be excited about the 2017-18 season and their future. The Red Storm return their three top scorers, led by freshman sensation Shamorie Ponds. Ponds, named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ All-District Second Team, broke the program’s freshmen scoring record as he averaged 17.4 points a game. The 6’1 guard scored at least 20 points 11 times, knocked down 75 triples, and was a pesky defender.
Redshirt Freshman Marcus LoVett also had an excellent campaign, averaging 15.9 points on 46.4% shooting from the floor and 38.2% from beyond the arc. Junior college transfer Bashir Ahmed averaged 13.9 points a game.
Add in newcomers Marvin Clark Jr. and Justin Simon, and the Red Storm appear to have some serious firepower. Clark and Simon sat out last season due to the NCAA’s transfer rule. Bleacher Report projects Clark and Simon to make a significant impact this season.
Clark transferred from Michigan State and will have two years of eligibility remaining. The 6’7 forward is capable of playing both the three and four. He is athletic, strong, and has a nice shooting stroke. Clark has career averages of 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds.
Simon is an extremely gifted, explosive guard who got caught in a numbers game at Arizona. The 6’5 sophomore is an athletic slasher with the ability to find the open man. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds as a freshman.
The three players that left the program leaves Mullin scrambling for more players. The Red Storm currently have 12 players on their roster and four scholarships available. The Johnnies have not signed a 2017 recruit since dropping 7-foot-1 center Zach Brown following his latest arrest.
A few of the players that St. John’s is reportedly interested in for this season include Alex Yetna, Isaac Kante, along with transfers Mickey Dixon, Isaiha Mike, and Mike Weathers. The Red Storm are also looking at center Moses Brown and Luther Muhammad in 2018.