marley paul covers the johnnies for rivals. i asked him a few questions. these were his responses:
1) How would you rate/describe SJU's perimeter attack?
2) How would you rate/describe SJU's frontcourt attack?
3) Can the Johnnies do big things with question marks upfront?
4) favorite offensive sets?
5l favorite defensive sets?
1 When things are clicking and the ball is moving — St. John’s can be one of the most dangerous teams in the country on the perimeter. As a team, they shot 40 percent from 3-point range with Marvin Clark (49%), LJ Figueroa (40%) and Mustapha Heron (49%) all lethal catch-and-shoot threats off penetration created by lead guard Shamorie Ponds
2 The absence of Sedee Keita has forced St. John’s to essentially abandon a traditional interior post presence. The 6-foot-9 forward returned to the court Tuesday for the first since knee surgery following an injury sustained on Nov. 9. The Red Storm have found success posting Justin Simon and Mustapha Heron on the block against undersized guards.
3 Shamorie Ponds will dictate the ceiling of this St. John’s team. He has established himself as one of the top players in the Big East and has increased his playmaking skills to complement his lethal scoring ability. Team rebounding will be the biggest thing to monitor going forward, but the Johnnies have shown the ability to simply outscore most teams with an efficient and balanced offense this season.
4 In the half-court, posting their guards — either Shamorie Ponds, Mustapha Heron or Justin Simon — in the low post and having them scan the defense or take advantage of their mismatch has been one of the more frequent strategies exercised by St. John’s. Keep an eye on Simon or LJ Figueroa breaking free on the baseline for an alley oop following a timeout.
5 Chris Mullin has traditionally stuck to man-to-man defense and they haven’t trailed much this season so we haven’t seen the team press too often. Count on Justin Simon to be tasked with guarding the toughest opposing guard — he’s had success shutting down Myles Powell and Markus Howard in the first 2 Big East games.
1) How would you rate/describe SJU's perimeter attack?
2) How would you rate/describe SJU's frontcourt attack?
3) Can the Johnnies do big things with question marks upfront?
4) favorite offensive sets?
5l favorite defensive sets?
1 When things are clicking and the ball is moving — St. John’s can be one of the most dangerous teams in the country on the perimeter. As a team, they shot 40 percent from 3-point range with Marvin Clark (49%), LJ Figueroa (40%) and Mustapha Heron (49%) all lethal catch-and-shoot threats off penetration created by lead guard Shamorie Ponds
2 The absence of Sedee Keita has forced St. John’s to essentially abandon a traditional interior post presence. The 6-foot-9 forward returned to the court Tuesday for the first since knee surgery following an injury sustained on Nov. 9. The Red Storm have found success posting Justin Simon and Mustapha Heron on the block against undersized guards.
3 Shamorie Ponds will dictate the ceiling of this St. John’s team. He has established himself as one of the top players in the Big East and has increased his playmaking skills to complement his lethal scoring ability. Team rebounding will be the biggest thing to monitor going forward, but the Johnnies have shown the ability to simply outscore most teams with an efficient and balanced offense this season.
4 In the half-court, posting their guards — either Shamorie Ponds, Mustapha Heron or Justin Simon — in the low post and having them scan the defense or take advantage of their mismatch has been one of the more frequent strategies exercised by St. John’s. Keep an eye on Simon or LJ Figueroa breaking free on the baseline for an alley oop following a timeout.
5 Chris Mullin has traditionally stuck to man-to-man defense and they haven’t trailed much this season so we haven’t seen the team press too often. Count on Justin Simon to be tasked with guarding the toughest opposing guard — he’s had success shutting down Myles Powell and Markus Howard in the first 2 Big East games.