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St. John’s brand of small ball takes hold in surprising 15-3 start
By Brandon Lilly / The ATHLETIC
NEW YORK — Does size matter?
St. John’s coach Chris Mullin was left to ponder this age-old question after his team’s 81-67 dismissal of Creighton on Wednesday night. The Red Storm are 15-3 with a starting lineup that features no player taller than 6-foot-7. Whether by design or out of necessity, Mullin has brought an NBA-influenced brand of position-less basketball to the Big East with sparkling results.
“As far as size, you can be big and bad,” Mullin said. “I think you see that at every level. Being good is better than being big.”
No one doubts that Mullin knows the NBA game. After retiring in 2001, the five-time All-Star went to work in the front offices of the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings as the pro game evolved. Stretch-fours became all the rage and then gave way to stretch-fives. Bombing from deep replaced mid-range floaters. Mullin had a front-row seat for the revolution and has brought the trend back home. The Red Storm’s pace-and-space style features star guard Shamorie Ponds at the point, and three wings (Justin Simon, L.J. Figueroa and Mustapha Heron) who all are around 6-foot-6 but bring different skill sets to the table. Figueroa and Simon are slashers who can shoot from distance, while Heron is more of a Swiss Army knife offensively, able to connect from the outside and post up smaller guards inside. There’s often room for Heron to maneuver on the block because the Red Storm’s nominal big man, Marvin Clark II, is only 6-7 and is more of a threat from behind the arc than he is down low. (He leads the team in 3-point attempts, with 105.)
This offensive versatility can cause headaches for opposing coaches if they want to play a big man to help exploit the Johnnies’ lack of size on the defensive end. Play man to man, and you have to hide your center. All five starters are capable of hurting you from 3-point range, as Clark, Figueroa, Heron and, most surprisingly Ponds are all shooting better than 39 percent from deep. Putting your big on Simon, as Creighton did on Wednesday, is also problematic. He’s quick enough to blow by most big men, and the Johnnies’ ball-screen-heavy sets are designed to take advantage of teams that switch everything by getting the lightning-quick Ponds matched up on a slow-footed big. Play small, and Heron can go to work on the block on a smaller guard with plenty of room to work because you can’t double him without leaving yourself open to a ball-rotation three. After watching his team get walloped by St. John’s earlier this month, Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski called the team’s offense “a juggernaut.” Creighton’s Greg McDermott was similarly impressed.
“There is a lot of versatility in their lineup,” he said. “We’re not the only ones that have had a hard time matching up with them. They have done a good job of that all season. It’s a hard matchup.”
“We have good players,” Mullin said when asked about his team’s vertical challenges. “We rebound a little differently, and we play the post a little differently. But it doesn’t mean we are at a disadvantage. If we impose our will and have the right disposition, then we have the advantage.”
Necessity is the mother of invention, and it’s entirely possible that Mullin’s implementation of these NBA offensive philosophies was a product of desperation. Tariq Owens, who last year played a significant role for the Johnnies in the middle and developed into a premier shot blocker, announced he would transfer to Texas Tech for his final year of eligibility after last season, citing a desire to play for a winning team and also to be a bigger part of the offense. He’s gone for 1-for-2 on that, as the Red Raiders are one of the bigger surprises in the country with their 15-2 start. However, Owens’ minutes, points and rebounds are all down from a year ago. Sedee Keita, a 6-foot-9 transfer from South Carolina, was supposed to be a key cog for St. John’s as the team’s only returning big. But a knee injury suffered in the second game of the season sidelined him for the next six weeks, and he is just now beginning to play his way into the rotation.
And to be sure, playing small ball has not been all sunshine and rainbows for the Red Storm. The team had been outrebounded significantly in four of its first five Big East games before besting Creighton on the boards. St. John’s fought Marquette to a draw, but no one would describe the Golden Eagles as rugged and they were playing without two injured front-court starters. All coaches preach about the importance of putting pressure on the ball, but few teams need to deny post entry more than St. John’s. Bigs Jessie Govan of Georgetown and Eric Paschall of Villanova had their way with the Red Storm earlier this month. The team’s lack of size often forces Heron and Figueroa to guard bigger players on the block and has resulted in the two, and Heron in particular, often getting into foul trouble. He has fouled out of two conference games.
“It’s hard sometimes guarding bigger guys, but we just have to play fast on the defensive end and make their big men make mistakes,” Figueroa said. “We know that we’re small. We can’t change that, so we have to make up for it in other ways. We have two Hall of Famers on our coaching staff (Mullin and assistant coach Mitch Richmond), so if we just listen to them and do what they say, we’ll be in good shape.”
On offense, none of this works without Ponds, who had one foot out the door last spring after declaring for the NBA Draft, only to somewhat surprisingly return to Queens. He had heard from NBA scouts that he needed to improve his ball distribution and his outside shooting, and the Brooklyn native has taken that advice to heart. His points per game are down slightly, but his assists average has risen from 4.7 per game last year to 5.9. Most dramatically, his 3-point shooting percentage has skyrocketed from 25.1 percent to 40.4. With Ponds, the Red Storm can blow the doors off of Marquette and go toe-to-toe with Villanova on the road. Without him, they can lose to DePaul at home, as they did last week when he was out with a mild back injury. Mullin said that he talks with his former coach, Lou Carnesecca, about the team all the time, and he said that when the two talked before the game against Creighton, Carnesecca only had one piece of advice.
“Make sure Shamorie plays,” Mullin said with a smile.
Despite the gaudy record, the Johnnies still have some significant résumé-building to do in order to ensure the school’s first NCAA berth under Mullin, who is in his fourth season. A weak out-of-conference schedule allowed the Red Storm to garner a bit of the New York City spotlight with their 12-0 start, but it did little to enhance their at-large profile. There is still work to do, but the talent is there for St. John’s to be a factor come March with its entertaining brand of basketball in a city where style points matter, even if size may not.
By Brandon Lilly / The ATHLETIC
NEW YORK — Does size matter?
St. John’s coach Chris Mullin was left to ponder this age-old question after his team’s 81-67 dismissal of Creighton on Wednesday night. The Red Storm are 15-3 with a starting lineup that features no player taller than 6-foot-7. Whether by design or out of necessity, Mullin has brought an NBA-influenced brand of position-less basketball to the Big East with sparkling results.
“As far as size, you can be big and bad,” Mullin said. “I think you see that at every level. Being good is better than being big.”
No one doubts that Mullin knows the NBA game. After retiring in 2001, the five-time All-Star went to work in the front offices of the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings as the pro game evolved. Stretch-fours became all the rage and then gave way to stretch-fives. Bombing from deep replaced mid-range floaters. Mullin had a front-row seat for the revolution and has brought the trend back home. The Red Storm’s pace-and-space style features star guard Shamorie Ponds at the point, and three wings (Justin Simon, L.J. Figueroa and Mustapha Heron) who all are around 6-foot-6 but bring different skill sets to the table. Figueroa and Simon are slashers who can shoot from distance, while Heron is more of a Swiss Army knife offensively, able to connect from the outside and post up smaller guards inside. There’s often room for Heron to maneuver on the block because the Red Storm’s nominal big man, Marvin Clark II, is only 6-7 and is more of a threat from behind the arc than he is down low. (He leads the team in 3-point attempts, with 105.)
This offensive versatility can cause headaches for opposing coaches if they want to play a big man to help exploit the Johnnies’ lack of size on the defensive end. Play man to man, and you have to hide your center. All five starters are capable of hurting you from 3-point range, as Clark, Figueroa, Heron and, most surprisingly Ponds are all shooting better than 39 percent from deep. Putting your big on Simon, as Creighton did on Wednesday, is also problematic. He’s quick enough to blow by most big men, and the Johnnies’ ball-screen-heavy sets are designed to take advantage of teams that switch everything by getting the lightning-quick Ponds matched up on a slow-footed big. Play small, and Heron can go to work on the block on a smaller guard with plenty of room to work because you can’t double him without leaving yourself open to a ball-rotation three. After watching his team get walloped by St. John’s earlier this month, Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski called the team’s offense “a juggernaut.” Creighton’s Greg McDermott was similarly impressed.
“There is a lot of versatility in their lineup,” he said. “We’re not the only ones that have had a hard time matching up with them. They have done a good job of that all season. It’s a hard matchup.”
“We have good players,” Mullin said when asked about his team’s vertical challenges. “We rebound a little differently, and we play the post a little differently. But it doesn’t mean we are at a disadvantage. If we impose our will and have the right disposition, then we have the advantage.”
Necessity is the mother of invention, and it’s entirely possible that Mullin’s implementation of these NBA offensive philosophies was a product of desperation. Tariq Owens, who last year played a significant role for the Johnnies in the middle and developed into a premier shot blocker, announced he would transfer to Texas Tech for his final year of eligibility after last season, citing a desire to play for a winning team and also to be a bigger part of the offense. He’s gone for 1-for-2 on that, as the Red Raiders are one of the bigger surprises in the country with their 15-2 start. However, Owens’ minutes, points and rebounds are all down from a year ago. Sedee Keita, a 6-foot-9 transfer from South Carolina, was supposed to be a key cog for St. John’s as the team’s only returning big. But a knee injury suffered in the second game of the season sidelined him for the next six weeks, and he is just now beginning to play his way into the rotation.
And to be sure, playing small ball has not been all sunshine and rainbows for the Red Storm. The team had been outrebounded significantly in four of its first five Big East games before besting Creighton on the boards. St. John’s fought Marquette to a draw, but no one would describe the Golden Eagles as rugged and they were playing without two injured front-court starters. All coaches preach about the importance of putting pressure on the ball, but few teams need to deny post entry more than St. John’s. Bigs Jessie Govan of Georgetown and Eric Paschall of Villanova had their way with the Red Storm earlier this month. The team’s lack of size often forces Heron and Figueroa to guard bigger players on the block and has resulted in the two, and Heron in particular, often getting into foul trouble. He has fouled out of two conference games.
“It’s hard sometimes guarding bigger guys, but we just have to play fast on the defensive end and make their big men make mistakes,” Figueroa said. “We know that we’re small. We can’t change that, so we have to make up for it in other ways. We have two Hall of Famers on our coaching staff (Mullin and assistant coach Mitch Richmond), so if we just listen to them and do what they say, we’ll be in good shape.”
On offense, none of this works without Ponds, who had one foot out the door last spring after declaring for the NBA Draft, only to somewhat surprisingly return to Queens. He had heard from NBA scouts that he needed to improve his ball distribution and his outside shooting, and the Brooklyn native has taken that advice to heart. His points per game are down slightly, but his assists average has risen from 4.7 per game last year to 5.9. Most dramatically, his 3-point shooting percentage has skyrocketed from 25.1 percent to 40.4. With Ponds, the Red Storm can blow the doors off of Marquette and go toe-to-toe with Villanova on the road. Without him, they can lose to DePaul at home, as they did last week when he was out with a mild back injury. Mullin said that he talks with his former coach, Lou Carnesecca, about the team all the time, and he said that when the two talked before the game against Creighton, Carnesecca only had one piece of advice.
“Make sure Shamorie plays,” Mullin said with a smile.
Despite the gaudy record, the Johnnies still have some significant résumé-building to do in order to ensure the school’s first NCAA berth under Mullin, who is in his fourth season. A weak out-of-conference schedule allowed the Red Storm to garner a bit of the New York City spotlight with their 12-0 start, but it did little to enhance their at-large profile. There is still work to do, but the talent is there for St. John’s to be a factor come March with its entertaining brand of basketball in a city where style points matter, even if size may not.
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