Busting Brackets
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St. John’s Basketball: 5 keys to a successful 2018-19 campaign

By Lukas Harkins

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 7: Bryan Trimble Jr. #12 of the St. John's Red Storm high fives Shamorie Ponds #2 against the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 7: Bryan Trimble Jr. #12 of the St. John's Red Storm high fives Shamorie Ponds #2 against the Villanova Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center on February 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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PHOENIX, AZ – DECEMBER 05: Marvin Clark #13 of the St. John’s Red Storm boxes out. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – DECEMBER 05: Marvin Clark #13 of the St. John’s Red Storm boxes out. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Key reserves take on significant roles

Heading into this season, I do not think anyone is going to dispute the idea that the Red Storm’s starting lineup has the potential to be extremely dangerous, especially so if Heron receives his waiver. Yet, regardless of this, possibly the biggest issue facing Coach Mullin is the lack of experienced depth on the roster. In fact, after the main trio of Ponds/Clark/Simon, all of whom are guaranteed starters, only one player who averaged more than five minutes per game last season is returning (Bryan Trimble Jr.).

As we saw last season with the Red Storm, it was very difficult for the team to finish off close games due to the starters all playing upwards of 30 minutes per game. And now that Bashir Ahmed, Kassoum Yakwe, Amar Alibegovic, and Tariq Owens are no longer on the team, there will be even more pressure on the depth. This means that Trimble, who averaged just 3.1 points in 17.3 minutes per game last season, and a large group of newcomers will need to play significant roles off the bench.

Of these newcomers, the most important will be a trio of transfers. In the frontcourt, LJ Figueroa (JUCO transfer) and Sedee Keita (South Carolina) look poised to compete for a starting spot in the rotation. Regardless of who wins this battle for playing time, though, both players will be thrust into featured roles within the rotation and will need to compete at a high level right away. Additionally, Quinnipiac transfer guard Mikey Dixon will hopefully provide quality minutes behind multiple guards in the rotation.

In order to fill out the rest of the bench, Coach Mullin will need at least one or two incoming recruits to emerge as solid options for minutes. Of these freshmen, fringe top-150 guard Greg Williams looks to be the most likely candidate for minutes but the class as a whole is ranked at only No. 60 in the country. While these newcomers might surprise people with strong seasons, their overall recruiting rankings do not project incredibly well.