Repeatedly last year after defensive problems cost his team games, Rick Pitino lamented St. John’s shortcomings when it came to lateral quickness, having too many offensive-minded players and lacking size at multiple positions.
When I think of ways in which St. John’s roster has improved, the first player that comes to mind is Aaron Scott.
The senior is defense-first – you don’t play at North Texas otherwise.
He has good size on the wing at 6-foot-7.
He can guard basically every position, so lateral quickness is obviously a strength.
That was all on display Monday night in St. John’s season-opening rout of Fordham.
In the 24 minutes that Scott was on the floor, St. John’s was plus-29.
He scored 12 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers and added five rebounds, two steals and two assists.
He did the little things winning players do, whether it was diving for loose balls, creating deflections or helping when a teammate was beaten off the dribble.
Of the newcomers, Scott was overshadowed by the more splashy adds of coveted point guard Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith.
He never averaged more than 11 points in his three years at North Texas.
But he was a key part of a team that went 75-29 in that span and won the NIT in 2023.
Pitino told The Post before the season that Scott and Zuby Ejiofor have been his team’s two most consistent workers.
On Monday night, he struck a different tune, downplaying Scott’s performance, which looked strong to this reporter.
“I thought he was good tonight, I want to see greatness. … I love Aaron, awesome guy. I just thought he was good tonight, not great,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “He’s capable as a senior of being great. He would attest to that as well.”
Pitino has extremely high expectations for Scott.
On opening night, he looked like a piece that was missing a year ago.
Below are some other takeaways on the St. John’s opener:
A surprising transfer
The biggest surprise for me was how well USC transfer Vince Iwuchukwu looked.
He was the best St. John’s big man against Fordham, outplaying the starter Ejiofor.
The 7-foot-1 Iwuchukwu is a fluid athlete, moves well for his size, can defend on the perimeter and showed off a nice touch at the free-throw line.
Pitino said afterwards that Iwuchukwu and fellow reserve, 6-foot-10 Portuguese import Ruben Prey, have really come along well over the last 10 days.
Frontcourt depth was a question mark entering the season.
The duo combined for 12 points and seven rebounds in 25 productive minutes on Monday, a very promising sign.
A learning experience
I found Pitino’s take on Ejiofor’s off night interesting.
The new starting center was limited to five points and one rebound in 21 quiet minutes.
Pitino thought Ejiofor learned more than any other St. John’s player because of how Fordham guarded him and always had a body on him.
“I told Zuby, you’re no longer a backup, you’re now a starter. So that means they’re going to block you out on every shot and you got to move before they block you out,” Pitino said. “He’s no longer a backup where they don’t respect him. He’s got to understand now, he’s one of the main men on this basketball team, and he’s a target. So he has to learn from this game.”
Rough 3-point shooting
I wasn’t overly alarmed by the 3-point shooting.
It’s obviously not going to be a strength, but I wouldn’t read too much into the 9-for-26 debut.
Scott and RJ Luis both hit a few 3s, Brady Dunlap and Simeon Wilcher each hit one.
Those four project as the best shooters on the team, and they were 6-of-14 from 3.
I felt many of the attempts were rushed overall, in part due to nerves in the first real game.
In the second half, when St. John’s moved the ball well, and had 13 assists on 20 made field goals, it was 6-of-15 from deep, a 40 percent clip.
It just has to hit enough from beyond the arc to keep the defense honest and not pack the paint.
The potential for that is there.
Star off the bench
It’s clear how dynamic Deivon Smith, St. John’s sixth man for the time being, can be when he’s just reacting and not overthinking.
We saw it in the second half of the Rutgers exhibition and again against Fordham.
He’s still adjusting to his new surroundings after missing time in the preseason due to shoulder and hamstring injuries.
But the 6-foot guard, who had five triple-doubles for Utah last season, has natural gifts you can’t teach.
He has incredibly quick hands, is a blur with the ball and is a strong passer.
In one stretch, he found Dunlap for a 3-pointer, set up Iwuchukwu for a dunk and went past his defender like he wasn’t there for a layup along the baseline.
He had five points, six assists and three steals in 19 minutes. Smith is only going to get better as the year progresses.
