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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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PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 7: Shamorie Ponds #2 of the St. John’s Red Storm dribbles. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 7: Shamorie Ponds #2 of the St. John’s Red Storm dribbles. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Ponds revives his 3-point efficiency

Shamorie Ponds is one of the best players in the country. Plain and simple. Just going to put that out there before I dive into his efficiency as a scorer. He is, without a doubt, one of the best pure scorers in the entire nation and is coming off of a superb season in which he averaged 21.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. A top-notch offensive option for the Johnnies, Ponds is theoretically going to get more help from his teammates this season as well.

And, if that is the case, Ponds could be poised for a resurgence in terms of efficiency. During this past season, the then-sophomore guard was seemingly the first, second, and third player on the scouting report before opponents faced St. John’s. Because of this, Ponds consistently faced some of the toughest defensive coverage of any player in the league while having to deal with double-teams and elite perimeter defenders such as Creighton’s Khyri Thomas and Butler’s Kamar Baldwin.

Considering this, it is easy to see why Ponds’ efficiency from beyond the 3-point arc fell off this past season. For reference, after shooting 75-for-200 (37.5%) from three as a freshman, Ponds dropped to just 47-for-186 (25.3%) as a sophomore.

This dramatic drop-off in 3-point percentage cannot be completely attributed to tougher defense but certainly, that must have played at least a minor role. Now that Ponds will seemingly get more help this season, his scoring burden will be lightened and maybe he will get more open looks from beyond the arc. And, when open, Ponds can definitely make opponents pay.