A week ago, Rick Pitino stressed the need for patience after an underwhelming quadruple-overtime win over Rutgers.
He warned that the exhibition finale against Texas could be ugly. Just two days ago, he reiterated that his new roster wasn’t ready for an opponent like this.
“I try to use you people as much as I can, and you oblige me all the time,” the Hall of Fame coach said with a smile. “I felt that we had to make a quantum leap from the Rutgers game. I was on them constantly about certain things and they made a quantum leap today.”
Pitino had plenty of reasons to be pleased Sunday afternoon. These Johnnies made last Sunday’s version seem like impostors. They looked every bit worthy of their preseason No. 13 ranking, torching Texas early and cruising to an 87-74 victory at the Garden in the final dress rehearsal before the regular season begins against Monmouth on Nov. 2.
“We wanted to come out and set a standard and be dominant in our home court,” said forward Keyshawn Hall, who had 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting. “We had to come out and not let them guys get ahead of us or be more physical than us and play harder than us. We match up skill-wise with probably anybody in the country. It’s the physical toughness and little intangibles that are going to matter.”
There was so much to like in this performance, from the big three of Hall, Ian Jackson and Tounde Yessoufou combining for 65 points on 23-for-41 shooting to the defense turning 16 Texas turnovers into 20 points and Quinn Ellis’ continued poise running the show.
The ball moved, to the tune of 19 assists (seven by Ellis) on 34 made field goals, and the Red Storm received a strong effort off the bench from freshman big man Theo Edema (seven rebounds).
The seventh-ranked Longhorns were among the biggest spenders in the offseason, adding elite transfers like forward David Punch (TCU), point guard Isaiah Johnson (Colorado) and wing Elyjah Freeman (Auburn). They returned standout center Matas Vokietaitis. It was an exhibition showdown similar to last year’s meeting with eventual national champion Michigan. St. John’s lost that game in overtime.
St. John’s had struggled on the interior in the first two exhibition games against Drexel and Rutgers. They were outrebounded in both contests. But the Johnnies were the more physical team on this day, plus-five on the glass and plus-22 in points in the paint against the bigger Longhorns.
“That’s the main key if you want to win, is to hit people,” Yessoufou (23 points, five assists, five steals, four rebounds) said. “That’s what [Pitino] always emphasizes to all of us.”
Afterward, Hall and Yessoufou acknowledged they didn’t finish well, lamenting some loose defensive possessions and rebounding shortcomings. The talent is clearly there with this group. It’s the little things that could take them to another level.
“This is a good win to give us confidence, but we have a long way to go,” Hall said.
It is still October, after all. The group has been together for just over a month and Pitino believes they understand roughly 50 percent of what he wants to do at both ends of the floor. There are only two key returners back from last year, in Jackson and Ruben Prey. But they made real progress over the last week. This game has Pitino thinking that St. John’s could be prepared for the loaded Players Era Festival in Las Vegas Thanksgiving week after all.
“I think we can be ready now,” Pitino said. “I wasn’t sure after the Rutgers game. We just have to cram.”
