10 Super Duper Early St. John’s Season Takeaways
By Joe Nardone
The Arc Must Have STDs, but is NOT Contagious
I can literally make this as simple as one sentence. The St. John’s Red Storm cannot make shots from behind the arc. End scene?
Okay. I’ll delve into this puppy a little deeper, but you guys are all smart enough to figure this out.
Three-point shooting is important. A team doesn’t have to be full of Steve Kerr-ish players, but they should at least have a few guys who can knock down a couple a game to keep opposing teams honest as well as giving their own team a chance to score more than two points in a single possession from time to time.
Well, I can’t remember the last player St. John’s had where I honestly felt like he was a legitimate three-point threat. I don’t mean a guy who COULD make a three, but a guy people expected to make them.
As a team St. John’s shoots a horrific .237 percent from behind the arc (14 for 59 on the year). That is, um, like really bad.
It’s also worth pointing out that the assumed sharpshooting savior was going to be Max Hooper. Hooper has, well, played a whopping 22 minutes in four games and is a mere 1-7 from three.
This might not seem like a huge issue now, but it is. Teams are going to start throwing the same junk defenses that they did on the Red Storm last season (focusing on stopping D’Angelo Harrison and packing it in and forcing JarKarr Sampson away from the basket). Not only will it prevent the Johnnies from getting easy baskets, but it will force players with less offensive ability to carry the load. Which will make the Red Storm less proficient. Yes, I know. Redundant.