There was a lot for the St. John’s basketball team to improve on following its first game of the season against Monmouth as it gets ready for the grind of its non-conference schedule in two weeks when it heads to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival.
Yet some of the things that Rick Pitino wants to see his squad improve at don’t necessarily start on the basketball court, he also wants to see his bench more involved.
In speaking on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden before the team’s first practice inside the building this year, Pitino said that this group is still building chemistry and needs leaders to emerge despite a “shy” personality.
He thinks that begins with celebrations on the bench.
“We showed them films the other day of how our bench reacted in just regular season games to show them the difference,” Pitino explained. “ We showed them [this year’s] bench, how they’re clapping but their sitting down and we showed them the culture of last year’s team, that every single play they were up going crazy.”
“And that’s the European way,” he joked. “Europeans are laid back having a cigarette and a cup of coffee.”
On the court, he wants the Johnnies to let it fly from 3-point range more often, although that hasn’t been a strong suit of the team.
“We’ve got to get more 3-pointers up,” the Hall of Famer added. “Our usage is down.”
St. John’s went 6-for-20 from distance in its 15-point win over Monmouth with half of the made triples coming from Ian Jackson in five attempts. The rest of the team shot 3-for-15 from deep.
In its three preseason games, St. John’s was 23.6-percent (18-of-76) from 3-point range.
“Last year, I think we were 200-something in 3-point usage, and if you look at the National Champions the last few years – or the Top-5 teams – their usage was much greater than ours, so we got to do a much better job in that area,” Pitino added.
St. John’s averaged 21.7 attempts from 3-point range last season, making 33.5-percent, and 20.3 attempts in the 2024-25 season, making 30.1-percent. Despite the poor shooting numbers, the Red Storm still won the Big East regular season and tournament championships.
It’ll be one of the key statistics to watch as the No. 13 Johnnies (1-0) make its Madison Square Garden debut on Sunday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, Peacock) against Iona (2-0).
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