St. John’s at a crossroads entering Big East play after losing to Pitt without Champagnie

Mike Anderson looks on as St. John’s, which led Pitt by 10 points in first half, ultimately loses to Panthers on last-second shot. (Photo by Vincent Dusovic/St. John’s University Athletics)

NEW YORK — Well, it seems to me that you’ve seen too much in too few years

And though you’ve tried, you just can’t hide your eyes are edged with tears

You better stop, look around

Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes

— The Rolling Stones, “19th Nervous Breakdown”

Stop me if you’ve heard this before in relation to St. John’s. I may not even have to get more than a handful of words in, I understand.

The Red Storm, in its non-conference finale Saturday afternoon, welcomed former Big East foe Pitt to Madison Square Garden in what was the showcase game of the Gotham Classic, a multi-team event in which St. John’s already defeated Monmouth and Colgate in on-campus home games. But, as is usually the case on the corner of Union and Utopia, or 33rd and 8th on this day, the event was not without its share of drama, or indigestion among the red-and-white-clad faithful.

Johnnies fans arose from their slumber this morning to find that Julian Champagnie, far and away St. John’s most gifted offensive weapon, would miss the day’s festivities due to a positive COVID-19 test that head coach Mike Anderson would later say was diagnosed “a few days ago.” And so began yet another of those classic and undesired moments among the Red Storm fan base where thousands could do nothing but wait for the other proverbial shoe to drop.

It did exactly that Saturday afternoon.

Leading by as many as 10 points midway through the first half, St. John’s could not sustain its momentum, allowing a Pitt team that lost to The Citadel and UMBC last month to remain within earshot and seize the lead three times, the last of which coming on a game-winning Jamarius Burton floater with four-tenths of a second remaining in what will enter the record books as a 59-57 win for the Panthers, and a deflating punch to the solar plexus for a St. John’s team that concludes its non-league slate with an uninspiring 8-3 record.

“We had a lot of chances to really get some distance with ourselves,” Anderson assessed, trying to explain a loss that, for all intents and purposes, Champagnie or not, remains largely inexplicable. “Our inability to take care of the basketball — we had three straight possessions where I thought we didn’t cash in— allowed them to stay and hang around. We’ve got to get the toughness factor, and it can’t come from just one or two guys. Obviously these guys here (Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu, who were on the press conference dais with Anderson), they bring it. We’ve got to get other guys to bring it.”

And therein lies the problem that has befallen this team all season, the lack of a consistent third option. Addae-Wusu was pressed into primary wingman duty behind Alexander in Champagnie’s stead, but even he has had up-and-down moments on the whole. Aaron Wheeler, thought of to be an impact player upon his transfer from Purdue, has been largely nonexistent in the grand scheme of things. So have Tareq Coburn and O’Mar Stanley. Esahia Nyiwe has impressed with his motor and high energy, but remains a work in progress on the offensive end. Rafael Pinzon is coming along as a freshman, and while Montez Mathis, Stef Smith and Joel Soriano all played well in this outing, it fell two points short of mattering more than it ultimately will.

“It’s a tough loss, but we’ve got to learn from it,” said Anderson. “We’re a team where our defense is a big part of what we do, so it’s kind of like shooting yourself in the foot. We had some things like that earlier and we got better at it, but I thought our guys were trying.”

“I’ve got a disappointed locker room, but at the same time, we know the sun’s going to come up tomorrow and it’s not the end of the world. There are a lot of things going on in this world right now that are more important than just a basketball game.”

As true as that last quote is, the leather-lunged die-hards in the stands will feel differently as the Red Storm, despite its valiant effort, failed to provide anything of substance to a resume that is seemingly vapid in its content. In fact, the younger generation would probably describe it as “meh” as Big East play starts Thursday evening against Butler, another game Champagnie is expected to miss as he remains in health and safety protocols. Adding to the conundrum is Monday's win via forfeit at the expense of virus-riddled Seton Hall, ranked 16th in the country and on a normal day, representative of a potential statement to be made. Alas.

“Let’s give Pitt some credit, too,” Anderson proposed in a flashback to the Norm Roberts era. “I thought they didn’t give up on plays, they got to the free throw line 28 times — that’s double than what we did — and they made 23 of them. There lies the game right there.”

St. John’s did get the short end of a one-sided whistle, particularly in the second half, which prompted Anderson to admit he was visibly frustrated with “more than a few” of the calls that went against the Red Storm, but neither the officiating, nor the loss of Champagnie, excuses the dud that was thrown up in midtown Manhattan a week before Christmas. Nevertheless, Anderson tried to look on the bright side going into the next phase of the season, even if a chagrined fan base is still drowning itself in misery.

“We’re going to be in a lot of games like this where it’s going to come down to the last play, last second, and we’ve got to learn from it,” he reiterated. “When you’ve got nine new faces and you’re trying to get a team ready for what’s going to take place in league play, this is the epitome of what takes place in there. A loose ball here, a charge there. Those are the things that we’ve got to watch film and get better at.”

Time is running out. St. John’s, its personnel, and its fans can ill afford another nervous breakdown.