Lefteris Liotopoulos has always been the biggest mystery for the St. John’s basketball team in the last two seasons.
A fan favorite who entered the program with a decorated background as a shooter at the international level but was still trying to learn the ropes of college basketball even as he entered his sophomore season.
As the Red Storm struggled early in the year the idea was floated around as to why Liotopoulos wasn’t getting more minutes as a player that knows the system and expectations of Rick Pitino.
He was only being utilized in clear offensive situations where the Johnnies could benefit from his 3-point shooting. However, that has changed over the last three games, and it was exemplified in Saturday’s win over Creighton.
Liotopoulos went for a team-high and career-high 17 points on five made 3-pointers and added four rebounds, two assists, and steal. He and Rick Pitino are hoping that it’s the start of a very strong end to the regular season.
“Lefty wants to play as much as anyone, and he doesn’t complain. He knows where his weaknesses have to get better, he never complains, he just keeps working hard,” Pitino said.
“He knows how much confidence I have in him and he’s playing great right now.”
In his last three games, Liotopoulos is averaging 11.3 points per game on 52.9-percent (7-for-19) shooting from 3-point range. He scored nine points in St. John’s 34-11 run over the final 11 minutes of the first half to take control of the game.
“It’s great,” Liotopoulos said about his breakout game. “As coach said, he trusts me more and more, and I’m putting in the work, of course.”
Still, the emphasis on how to take his game to the next level is to improve defensively as Pitino brought him over to the bench during the Butler game and asked him what the weather was in Athens, Greece – his home country.
Liotopoulos looked at Pitino confused, and the Hall of Famer said that he would put him on a plane back to Greece the next day if his defender blew by him again – and he thought he was serious.
“I don’t think about any points or rebounds, I’m just thinking about being good defensively,” he explained.
Pitino eventually told him that he was joking, but since that moment his defense has gotten significantly better and allowed the St. John’s coach to leave him on the floor.
Liotopoulos has played more minutes in the last two games than at any other point in his St. John’s career and he’s never scored in three consecutive contests until this recent stretch.
As ‘Lefty’ improves on the defensive end of the floor, he gives St. John’s a different weapon offensively and a clear floor spacer as so much attention from opposing defenses is put on Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, and Dillon Mitchell.
“Every time he shoots it, I feel like it’s going in,” Pitino added. “And he’s also getting better driving the basketball to the basket as well…He’s a veteran, he played on [the Greece] national team this summer. He knows how to play the game, is a little week defensively, but he’s getting better.”
If Lefteris Liotopoulos can provide St. John’s with the consistent production that he’s been showing over the last two games, it’ll could have the Red Storm on track to accomplish all of its goals this season.