St. John’s basketball Key to Victory No. 1: Slow down Sandro Mamukelashvili
Sandro Mamukelashvili is the best player on Seton Hall, but he’s by no means the player Myles Powell was.
Mamukelashvili is a 6-foot-11 forward who can shoot, post up, dribble, and pass but he’s not a volume shooter like his Seton Hall teammate was.
However, because of his size and strength, teams are not going to shut down the senior forward they can only hope to contain him and that’s what St. John’s needs to do on Friday.
Pending the health of Arnaldo Toro, who did not return to the Red Storm’s win over Rider, expect Mike Anderson to throw a slew of defenders at Mamukelashvili and bring a double-team anytime he puts the ball on the floor near the paint.
Julian Champagnie, Marcellus Earlington, Isaih Moore, Josh Roberts, and Toro could all see the assignment of Sandro Mamukelashvili at some point in the game but keeping his stars out of foul trouble will be key for Anderson and the Johnnies.