Exhibition loss "brutal," but a reminder of St. John's long road ahead

Chris Mullin suffers 32-point loss in debut as head coach, but St. John's exhibition defeat proves that his Red Storm team, for better or worse, is a work in progress. (Photo courtesy of the New York Daily News)

With his first game, albeit one which does not count in the standings, as a head coach only minutes behind him, Chris Mullin concluded his first postgame press conference with a mere three words.

"It was brutal."

Fans in attendance at Carnesecca Arena and fans following on both the live stream which the game was broadcast over, as well as social media, will undoubtedly agree with Mullin's assessment of St. John's 90-58 exhibition loss to Division II St. Thomas Aquinas. But at the same time, sometimes the most stark reminders of the process of rebuilding a program left as barren as the Red Storm cupboard was this offseason are those in which hard lessons are dispensed, to coaches, players, and fans alike.

There are some who are hopeful that Mullin, St. John's all-time leading scorer before embarking upon a storied NBA career that eventually got him to the Basketball Hall of Fame and won an Olympic gold medal in the process, can perform a miracle or two in his first season back on the corner of Union and Utopia. Yet for all the hope that springs eternal in Queens, even the most devout fans of the team that will be known in perpetuity to some as the Redmen will recognize that the path to success is not a short one.

The situation Mullin inherited is one that no man, regardless of how impressive his credentials are, would ask for; a roster depleted by a senior core graduating, two high-profile transfers of star players coddled so much by the previous regime that neither fit in with the new standard of accountability that remains a refreshing, and welcome, change of pace from what had long been the status quo. With only three incumbent players held over from last season, a trio who averaged a grand total of eight minutes per game, St. John's fans found themselves channeling the great Axl Rose, who famously proclaimed that "all we need is just a little patience."

After surrendering 90 points to a Division II program that is actually no slouch, and committing a staggering 27 turnovers, patience may be hard to come by for fans of the Red Storm, a group that lives and dies with the young men who don the red and white every winter, clamoring to embrace a winner perhaps more than any other fan base in the New York area. Amid all the horrors in the box score, these die-hards still managed to take solace in the architect of the new era shouldering the blame for this unanticipated debacle, something that the rank and file viewed as a foreign concept through five years with Steve Lavin at the helm.

"It's embarrassing," Mullin bluntly admitted, "but there's no pointing fingers. I take the responsibility."

He takes the responsibility just as he has through the seven months of his whirlwind hire, his reassembling the roster more or less from scratch, his gradual development of a group consisting of experienced transfers and freshmen who are equal parts highly touted and diamonds in the rough. For the commitment Mullin feels to give something back to the first major contributor to his legend, the task of making his alma mater relevant again means so much to where he remains determined to see the process through, no matter how many humbling experiences like Wednesday's teaching moment there will be.

There were bright spots, such as Federico Mussini leading the way with 16 points from the point guard spot in place of Marcus LoVett, who did not play due to an injury suffered in the team's intrasquad scrimmage last Saturday. Christian Jones, one of the three remaining members of the Lavin tenure, had a 13-point, 11-rebound outing that stoked a long dormant competitive fire. Both of these efforts will not go unnoticed, and will be positive fallbacks as St. John's readies for its next tuneup, a Saturday afternoon affair against Division II Sonoma State in its final exhibition clash before the games count. One more dry run before the eyes watching grow larger, in direct proportion to the scrutiny that will be faced. Ultimately, St. John's is a work in progress, and Mullin is unafraid to concede that, stating he and his staff will live with the results this season before taking a much more significant step in season two.

Rather than castigating a young team learning their way together, St. John's fans are more apt to take advice from another musical icon, the late Joe Cocker, who has a few words of his own for the experience the Red Storm is about to embark upon:

"The road is long, there are mountains in our way."

"But we climb a step, every day."

This 32-point setback may be demoralizing, but in the grand scheme of things, could very well end up a distant memory as St. John's is led up where fans feel they belong.