Ponds-Powell showdown headlines marquee Big East opener for Pirates, Johnnies

Shamorie Ponds brings undefeated St. John's into first major test of season when Red Storm visits Seton Hall to begin Big East play. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

At 12-0 and off to its best start since its head coach donned the red and white as a sophomore guard, St. John's still continues to be overlooked heading into the start of conference play Saturday night. But as the Red Storm prepares to open the Big East season against local rival Seton Hall in perhaps the biggest showdown between the pair since the Clinton administration, its players are unfazed by the criticism surrounding the non-conference schedule and lack of respect in the national polls.

"We can't control what they say," Shamorie Ponds said of the cynics that still linger around St. John's despite the program's best record since the 1982-83 season, when Chris Mullin ended the year by winning his first of three consecutive Haggerty Awards. "They're gonna say what they're gonna say. We can only control what we can control."

"As for getting wins, we may not be playing the top competition, but 12-0 is 12-0. We just have to continue to push and bring out a couple more wins."

While a considerable group of doubters remain in Queens, the team hosting St. John's on the other side of the Hudson River is not taking anything about its opponent for granted, even with the wins it possesses over Kentucky and Maryland in the past three weeks.

"I just don't think they have a weakness offensively," Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard said when assessing St. John's and the challenge it represents for the 9-3 Pirates, who emerged from a gauntlet of a non-league slate better than the ninth-year skipper initially envisioned. "Even when, at some times, you think you have them locked down, they have five guys on the floor that can score at any time."

Myles Powell and Seton Hall prepare to defend home court Saturday against undefeated St. John's in Pirates' Big East opener. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

And while the main attraction Saturday night is the battle between friendly rivals Ponds and Powell, both of whom have expressed their enthusiasm for the latest chapter in their budding basketball legacies, at least one of the coaches recognizes the other pieces to the puzzle that has proven impenetrable to opposing teams to date this season.

"It obviously all starts with Shamorie, but when you have Mustapha Heron out there, Marvin Clark...I've really been impressed with what Justin Simon is doing," said Willard. "And I think, probably, the biggest key going forward for their team has been LJ Figueroa. He just adds another scorer, some length, some toughness, and really causes some matchup problems."

The multifaceted attack has concerned Willard to the point where, on Thursday's Big East coaches' conference call, he cited attempting to figure out which players his own pupils would guard to be his main objective. But when it comes to the two stars of the impending Saturday night special in Newark, he is not as affected, highlighting the maturation of his junior playmaker as he embraces the challenge of locking down his counterpart.

"I would have last year when he was a sophomore," Willard admitted when asked if he were worried about Powell perhaps taking on too much responsibility in defending Ponds. "But as this season's progressed, he's really evolved and understood his role, and understands every night he's gone up against a pretty good player. He's matured to the point where he understands it's not about just him and Shamorie, it's a team game."

One of Powell's backcourt partners, however, could not help but to get caught up in the hype as Ponds -- whom Willard referred to as the second-best player in college basketball, after Powell, of course -- heads into the Garden State.

"I even want to see it," Myles Cale proclaimed. "I'm playing in it, but I want to see what happens. So, yeah, I'm ready for it."

"I think now that I've really studied them, Shamorie and Myles are two of the elite-level players right now -- not only in this conference, but in all of college basketball -- and I think it's going to be a real treat seeing those two on the floor battling each other," Willard said. "Shamorie's assist-to-turnover ratio is so impressive, his shooting percentages are so impressive. I think what he does for them -- getting everybody involved and controlling the game -- is very similar to what Myles does for us. So I think you're looking at two of the elite-level players in college basketball going up against each other Saturday night."