Saint John’s Basketball: Ponds and LoVett make up a great backcourt

For Saint John’s basketball, it is time to be excited. Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds make up the best backcourt in the Big East and they can do damage.

Saint John’s had not made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons, but that might change in 2017-18. Now sophomores, the talented young backcourt of Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett is ready to make a major difference in the Big East. In each of Chris Mullin‘s first two seasons as head coach, the Red Storm have finished under .500 both overall and in the Big East.

With the addition of Ponds and LoVett last season, the Johnnies jumped from one conference win in 2015-16 to seven this past year. With another year of experience under their belts and incoming four-star recruit Sidney Wilson, this team could be something to reckon with in the Big East Conference.

Saint John’s will also return Bashir Ahmed, the third leading scorer from last year’s team who averaged 13.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Yet, this will be a team run by Ponds and LoVett all season long.

Ponds averaged 17.4 points per game (43.9 FG% and 37.5 3P%) last season and led the team in made three-pointers. In addition to his scoring, Ponds was also able to snag 4.4 rebounds and dish out 3.1 assists per game. On the defensive end of the floor, Ponds was very difficult to beat. With his insane quickness on the perimeter and knack for knowing where his opposition wanted to go, Ponds also averaged 2.1 steals per game. This was good enough for tops in the Big East Conference as the best at swiping the ball.

As for LoVett, he was slightly overlooked due to Ponds’ excellent season. Another freshman last year, LoVett dropped home 15.9 points per game (46.4 FG% and 38.2 3P%) and led the team with 3.8 assists in each contest.

Aside from just statistics, LoVett and Ponds are going to be seen as leaders both on the court and off this season. They are the clear best players on a team that is hoping to compete for a NCAA Tournament bid and they will need to act the part. There are a lot of talented players who miss the Big Dance every season (see Fultz, Markelle and Simmons, Ben the past two seasons), and having talent coupled with leadership is important.

This backcourt duo has now played together for an entire season and the experience they gained playing together as freshmen will be evident in this upcoming season. Ponds and LoVett will both contend for All-Big East teams in 2017-18 and as long as their supporting cast keeps up solid play, Saint John’s should be able to finish above or around .500 in the Big East and potentially see their name called on Selection Sunday.

Next: Top returning players in the Big East

LoVett and Ponds are two of the best guards in all of college basketball and they make up a tremendous backcourt. With their combination of scoring and defense, it is very hard to match-up with Saint John’s. This season, they could take another step up under head coach Chris Mullin and make a run at a NCAA Tournament bid.