St. John’s basketball: Jordan Dingle impresses in return after lengthy injury

St. John’s basketball guard Jordan Dingle impressed in his return to the court. 

One of the biggest question marks entering the season for the St. John’s basketball team was how Penn transfer Jordan Dingle would look after missing a large majority of the preseason with various injuries.

Head coach Rick Pitino said on Monday that Dingle, who is 100-percent healthy but not in 100-percent basketball shape, would not start as he works his way back into the rotation yet he was one of the first players off the bench in Tuesday’s 90-74 victory over Stony Brook.

“Jordan [Dingle] just has to play basketball,” Pitino said after the victory.

“He’s missed so much time. He’s going to be fine, he’s going to be a good player.”

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Despite the rust from the graduate student, the country’s second leading scorer last season still managed to add 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 20 minutes and provided stability and a much needed spark for the Red Storm after a sloppy start to the game.

“What he has to learn, is that he has to do more than just score the basketball,” Pitino added.

“He has to steal the ball, rebound the ball, pass the ball.”

St. John’s basketball guard pushing to return to starting lineup

Jordan Dingle, while he did not have any turnovers in the game, also failed to register a rebound, assist, or a steal but was credited with two blocks.

“He’s going to get it, he’s just missed double the amount of time than anyone else. He did remarkably well tonight,” Pitino added.

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Dingle was originally slated to be a starter this season for the Red Storm and despite coming off the bench he played more minutes than Sean Conway and Nahiem Alleyne, who both started on Tuesday for the Red Storm.

It would not be a surprise if Jordan Dingle were in the starting lineup on Monday night against Michigan (6:30p.m. ET, FS1) at Madison Square Garden.