Takeaways from St. John's basketball thrilling exhibition win against No. 25 Rutgers
It's always a tough balance to find the proper form of enthusiasm or criticism in an exhibition game but the second half of the St. John's basketball scrimmage against No. 25 Rutgers on Thursday night felt much more like mid-February than mid-October.
It resulted in a 91-85 victory for the Red Storm that saw the Johnnies rattle off a 14-2 run over the final 3:34 after trailing by as many as 12 points midway through the second half.
Rick Pitino also coached two very different games, using the first half as a chance to get nearly his entire roster on the floor before committing to a six-man rotation in the second half. Pitino even fired off a massive fist pump as the Johnnies forced a backcourt violation in the midst of its game sealing run.
But for St. John's, it is a step in the positive direction with still a lot of room to grow. The Johnnies will have one more exhibition game on Saturday, October 26 against Towson before the regular season tips-off on Monday, November 4.
For now, we take a look at the biggest takeaways from the Red Storm victory in Piscataway.
Kadary Richmond's presence means more than anything
Kadary Richmond was the biggest addition St. John's made in the transfer portal this offseason. In fact, some ranked the Seton Hall transfer as the top available player in the portal and it showed during his debut.
Richmond controlled the pace of the game for every second he was on the floor. He finished with a +20 rating and had nine points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. At times it looked effortless on the floor for him.
However, Richmond being such a vital part of the St. John's operation was not expected this early. After picking up his second foul early in the first half, Rutgers rattled off a 22-0 run with the All-Big East First Team selection on the bench.
The Scarlet Knights outscored the Red Storm by 14 points throughout the game with Kadary Richmond on the sideline -- a number that has to decrease dramatically as the season progresses.
Things will get better for St. John's as Utah transfer Deivon Smith learns more about how to play point guard in Rick Pitino's system, but it was very clear that Richmond is the most indispensable player on the Red Storm roster at the moment.