St. John’s Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Red Storm

Starters

Even with the Red Storm’s exodus of players from last season, St. John’s will still return their two most crucial cogs – all the while adding an influx of transfers that should contribute almost immediately – both within the starting lineup and off the bench.

Among the stars returning is Posh Alexander, who – again – was wildly impressive in his debut campaign with the Johnnies, having amassed a frenzy of awards that few players before him have been fortunate enough to rack up.  Alexander earned a reputation of being a defensive nightmare, ranking sixth in the nation in steals per game (2.6), including a six-steal performance against Marquette.

The now-sophomore logged 13 double-digit games, including a near triple-double showcase against Xavier in mid-February, with 15 points, eight boards, and nine assists.  Coming off a season where he earned Big East Freshman of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors, Alexander could very well find himself named to the All-Conference team by the season’s end – and is decidedly in the running to receive sole Defensive Player of the Year accolades, as well.

Whereas St. John’s roster has been brutalized by departures, Mike Anderson has reaped the rewards of the frenetic transfer portal – and that includes finding a replacement to slot into the shooting guard position.  Enter Montez Mathis, who becomes a member of the Red Storm after a solid three-year career at Rutgers, which included starting 67 games and averaging 8.0 points per game for his tenure.  Despite some late-season offensive struggles, Mathis still ended his time as a Scarlet Knight on a high note, tallying 10 points in Rutgers’ NCAA Tournament loss to Houston.

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Small forward will be a bit of an oddity this season, considering Vince Cole – who started and played a bulk of his late-season minutes at that position – transferred to Coastal Carolina after just a season with the Johnnies; but Dylan Addae-Wusu appears to be the safe option to replace him.

Addae-Wusu never started for St. John’s during his freshman campaign last year, but he was a key contributor off the bench throughout the year, logging in a pair of clutch double-digit showcases in narrow wins over UConn and Seton Hall – all the while ranking among the best two-point shooters on the team (56.3%).  Addae-Wusu saw the most amount of minutes at small forward in the final five games over either Cole or Greg Williams, and will most likely be the starter come the beginning of the season.

Despite a majority of the Johnnies’ starting lineup being filled out by new personalities, two constants from last season remain: Alexander and star Julian Champagnie.  The leading scorer in the Big East behind a 19.8 point clip, Champagnie had a historically phenomenal season as a member of the Red Storm, being named First Team All-Big East as well as being a co-winner of the Big East’s Most Improved Player Award.

Ranked 25th in the nation in scoring and sixth among high-major players, Champagnie was an offensive machine, tallying double-figures in all 25 games played, which also included seven double-doubles.  The 6-8, now-junior ranked in the top 500 nationally in percentage of minutes, possessions, and shots, all the while sitting 380th in 3P% (38.0%) and 28th in FT% (88.7%).  Along with Villanova’s Collin Gillespie, Champagnie is a clear contender for Big East Player of the Year honors in 2021-22.

Rounding out the assortment of incoming transfers who should immediately find themselves in the starting lineup is Fordham’s Joel Soriano, who was a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster campaign for the Rams.  At 6-11, Soriano was a reliable offensive anchor, maintaining Fordham’s highest offensive rating, ranking 490th in the nation in 2P% (54.5%), and averaging 10.4 points and 9.2 caroms.  With Champagnie at forward and Josh Roberts gone, Soriano should step in immediately and take over responsibilities at center.

St. John’s has the potential to claim one of the deadliest and most talented starting fives in the Big East, largely courtesy of two offensive and defensive anchors in Alexander and Champagnie – but the talent showcased by Mathis and Soriano at their previous stops indicates that the Red Storm could be even more skilled than last year’s team that lived on the bubble.  That high level of talent may be enough to thrust St. John’s back into the playoff picture – and this time, keep them there by the end of the season.