By Anthony E. Parelli (@reportedbytheAP)
On January 9, St. John’s was on life support.
It had just given up 97 points to Creighton to fall to 1-5 in the Big East, the defense was nonexistent, and even the NIT seemed like a pipe dream.
So, what has changed over the last month? In a word: Everything.
The Red Storm downed Providence on the road Saturday, 92-81, behind Julian Champagnie’s 24-point, 10 rebound performance and Posh Alexander’s 21-point effort. The win made it six in a row, seven of eight and four straight on the road for the Red Storm, who sit just percentage points behind UConn for fifth place in the 11-team Big East. What was once a lost season now has national attention, with the Johnnies sitting firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament.
“It was knowing what we have here, and just keep believing and keeping the faith,” senior guard Rasheem Dunn said after the Providence win of turning things around this season. “Things aren’t going to always go right. We have a lot of new players like Vince [Cole] as a transfer, Posh and Dylan [Addae-Wusu] as freshmen, so it was basically getting everyone together and knowing we were trending in the right direction and not to hang our heads. Every game wasn’t going to go our way and we were going to make mistakes, but needed to show some resiliency and that is what we are doing this season.”
Easy to say, harder to execute. But the Red Storm have executed, and done so with contributions from all nine players it routinely puts on the floor. Obviously, it all starts with Champagnie, who as a sophomore was thrust into the primary scoring role with the departure of St. John’s top three scorers from a year ago. All he’s done is lead the entire Big East in scoring, filling it up from all three levels and proving to be at his best late in games. But it isn’t just his ability to put the ball in the basket that’s driving the Red Storm. During this streak, Champagnie has stepped up as a plus defender, and at 6-foot-8, plays much bigger down low, showing a knack for blocking shots as well as rebounding, grabbing 13 and 10 boards over his two games.
If Champagnie is the engine of the Red Storm, Alexander is the gasoline, appropriate given the high-octane manner in which the freshman routinely operates. The Brooklyn native has been every bit as advertised and then some. He plays the game at 100 miles per hour and is a tenacious defender. Alexander leads the conference in steals, and absolutely dominated star Villanova senior Collin Gillespie on Wednesday, holding the veteran to four points and helping force six turnovers in St. John’s win over the No. 3 Wildcats.
The rate at which his offensive game has developed is surprising, even for a player with his acumen. During the six-game win streak, Alexander has averaged 17.5 points, and is shooting 53 percent from the field and 46 percent from 3-point range, a skill that has suddenly been refined after looking like a weakness for the first half of the year. It seems that nothing Alexander does is a surprise anymore though, as established coaches like Villanova’s Jay Wright and UConn’s Dan Hurley both heaped praise on the frontrunner for Big East Freshman of the Year.
But it hasn’t just been a two-man show in Queens, and that’s really why this season has turned around. Guys have found their roles and are thriving in them. Saturday’s game may have been the best example of that, as the Red Storm bench outscored Providence’s, 32-1, in the win.
Junior Josh Roberts found his way off the bench and has started every game of the win streak, providing length and strength under the basket, despite his offensive deficiencies. That’s paved the way for former junior college All-American Isaih Moore to thrive off the bench. Moore struggled early in getting acclimated to elevated competition, but has flourished of late, stepping up as the go-to option down the stretch against Providence.
Wildcards like junior forward Marcellus Earlington and freshman guard Dylan Addae-Wusu have also provided a spark off the bench. Their size – Earlington is 6-foot-6, 240 pounds and Addae-Wusu is 6-4, 235 – is a matchup nightmare for opposing teams. Both play relentless defense and can provide an offensive spark on any given night.
Like Moore, Cole is a junior college transfer who struggled with consistency in the early going. After being the hero of non-conference play, Cole grappled with turnovers and his shot, leading to breakdowns in other parts of his game. Despite not scoring against Providence, Cole has quickly developed into a much better all-around player. Still susceptible to the occasional errant pass, Cole makes up for it as St. John’s best threat from deep, averaging 13.8 points in the four games before Saturday on 52.3 percent from long range.
Dunn, a redshirt senior, was the Red Storm’s leading returning scorer, but him taking a back seat in recent weeks has paid major dividends. Not only has he proved to be an invaluable mentor for Alexander, but efforts like his 13-point, 10-assist performance on Saturday has opened up Alexander to be able to create off the ball. Dunn has also been a plus at the free throw line, previously a weakness for the senior. In his last seven games, Dunn is 27-of-30 from the line, including several in tense, late-game situations.
Junior Greg Williams was the Red Storm’s second leading scorer before injuring his back last month, but he’s made his way back to the court in the last two games, and if he can stay healthy is another multidimensional scorer and defender or the Johnnies.
There is still work to do, as St. John’s sits at 65 in the NET rankings and 67 in KenPom, but the Johnnies control their own destiny. If they can keep things rolling, the question won’t be whether or not they’re dancing come March, but who will want to face this Red Storm team?
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