St. John’s seeks to maintain status quo of postseason success amid roster reshaping

 

After COVID-19 deprived him and his team of returning to postseason, Joe Tartamella is eager to lead St. John’s deep into March once more. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Joe Tartamella has presided over the richest period in St. John’s women’s basketball history, be it as the head coach for the past eight seasons or the seven years prior in which he served as Kim Barnes Arico’s lead assistant. Yet after a year in which the Red Storm missed the postseason for the first time since 2007, and then having COVID-19 cancel any potential late March reservations 12 months later, the 41-year-old hits the hardwood with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and commitment akin to a first-year coach running the show for the first time.

“The best part you can take away from it is the ability to play in those pressure games,” Tartamella said as he recounted St. John’s late surge into bubble contention to end last season. “The way Leilani (Correa) played in those games as a freshman and how she stepped up was really great to see, and obviously Q (Qadashah Hoppie) coming back battle-tested and Kadaja Bailey, same thing. We had to play with our backs to the wall the second half of the Big East (season), and I thought we performed pretty well.”

The Red Storm will look almost entirely different when it opens its season Saturday at Fairleigh Dickinson, even with Correa, Hoppie and Bailey coming back. Gone are Tiana England to Florida State, and Alisha Kebbe to graduation, but Tartamella did not sit still while college basketball was shut down during the infant stages of the coronavirus pandemic, retooling his roster into a uniquely styled unit that matches some trademarks of past teams in Queens.

“We’ve added some things up front to help our rebounding situation,” he said. “We’re not as fast, I would say, but we’re going to look to continue to score the ball the same way and be stout on defense and clearing the glass. We recruited players we feel that could help us, two junior college players in shoring up where Alisha was and helping us rebound, younger players like Unique Drake and Cam Clegg. It’s never easy to replace anybody, and Alissa Alston was a big piece to what we did as well, so although we did lose a lot, we still have some pretty good pieces in there with Leilani and Q and Kadaja. From what I’ve seen, I feel pretty good about how we can fill those gaps right now, and I think they’re only going to improve with time and with experience.”

Correa, in particular, looks the part of a future superstar. With three 30-point games already under her belt, the New Jersey native captured Sixth Player of the Year honors in the Big East and likely would have won Freshman of the Year recognition if not for Madison Siegrist of Villanova. Correa’s transcendent talent already bears resemblance to program legends the likes of Da’Shena Stevens and Aliyyah Handford, with the best only yet to come.

“She certainly proved what she’s capable of doing,” Tartamella reaffirmed. “I’ve never seen a kid score — she had three 30-point games, she was averaging 20 a game in the last five games, had 28 against Creighton in the Big East tournament — as a true freshman. She was that important to what we did, and for a player of her stature with the success she had, she was willing to do whatever she needed to let her team win, and that was the most impressive thing about her, because a lot of other players in her position may not have been happy with the role she was in at the time. But she embraced it, and obviously it’ll be a different role this year, but I think she can be as great as she wants to be.”

Hoppie and Bailey add a level of security with their experience, and Tartamella is also hopeful that Raven Farley can impact the game in the paint similar to how Amber Thompson protected the rim for the Red Storm in the past. Drake and Clegg will lead a by-committee approach to replacing England at the point guard spot, with twins Emma and Sophia Nolan being counted on to take on more of a role than last season. All in all, with a slightly younger roster and mounds of experience coming back, expectations are high and optimism is pervasive within the walls of Carnesecca Arena.

“I’m going to make sure you see the same thing offensively,” Tartamella declared when asked what to expect from St. John’s this season. “We’re going to be a little more balanced from the defensive side, but we’re going to keep up our speed and our fast tempo game, we hope to spread the wealth as always and take care of the ball, and we hope to bring some excitement to whoever we’re allowed to play in front of.”