Rick Pitino wanted to be clear: He’s not down on his high-upside sophomores, Ian Jackson and Joson Sanon.
The St. John’s coach drew headlines on Saturday after the 14th-ranked Johnnies crushed William & Mary for saying he told Jackson and Sanon that playing time will be based on what he sees, and not their prior accomplishments as top prospects.
“I love both of those guys, I think they can really play. But it’s a deep team,” Pitino said on Wednesday, as St. John’s prepared to host Bucknell on Thursday at Carnesecca Arena. “My point to them was this game is not just about offense. Against Alabama, they got outplayed and they gave up too many points defensively. Now they can score themselves. You can’t score 14 points and give up 20 points — that’s not good. … They’ve got to match their defense to their offense.”
Against William & Mary, Jackson and Sanon came off the bench.
