Joson Sanon has hit a wall during his sophomore season with the St. John’s basketball team.
The talented guard who was the first player to commit to the Red Storm during the offseason has shown promise but recently his play has tailed off.
After staring eight of nine games from late November until early January, Sanon has come off the bench in the last three outings for the Red Storm, all victories, and his minutes have decreased.
Yet Rick Pitino is expressing confidence in the 6-foot-5 guard to find his rhythm again.
“I think that Joson got his confidence a little bit back,” he said after the Johnnies thumped Marquette 92-68 on Tuesday night. “But I still want him to take the open shot, not count misses. He’s in a little bit of wondering whether the shot’s going in. I got great confidence in him that the shot will go in.”
After playing 36 minutes and only scoring three points in St. John’s loss against Providence, Sanon has played a total of 43 minutes over the last three games.
He’s shot 6-for-27 in the last four games, scoring 19 points. Against Creighton last Saturday, a 17-point victory for the Red Storm, he did not play in the second half, but responded with eight points against the Golden Eagles.
"Just do what [Lefteris Liotopoulos] did. Just dig in,” Pitino said on Monday of what his message would be to Sanon. “His attitude has been great.”
Liotopoulos’ play forced Pitino to play him over Sanon, making a major impact in the Johnnies’ wins over Butler and Creighton with seven made 3-pointers.
“I think if you’re talking about physical talent, [Sanon’s] the most talented guy on this roster,” Pitino continued. “If you’re talking about understanding how to play, he’s not.”
“Does he want to learn the things that he doesn’t do well? That’s what it’s going to come down to whether or not he reaches greatness.”
St. John’s has adjusted to some of its struggles by starting Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell, and Zuby Ejiofor together and putting the ball in the hands of Hopkins and Mitchell much more, but it will still need its talented sophomores of Ian Jackson and Joson Sanon to positively add to the team.
The Red Storm backcourt will have a tall task on Saturday night (8:00 p.m. ET, Peacock) in Philadelphia against Villanova’s veteran guards and are hoping its players are ready for the challenge.