Post college basketball writer Zach Braziller answers questions from Sports+ subscribers about St. John’s:
Is Deivon Smith going to be back in the starting lineup for the Kansas State game on Saturday? I feel like he is an integral part of the team on both sides of the floor. The offense looks out of sync with him in the doghouse the last 1 ¹/₂ games. Too many turnovers.
— Russell Indemaio
My guess is Smith plays against Kansas State but comes off the bench. I agree about his value. The 6-foot Utah transfer is a key for this team. His overall numbers — 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists — don’t accurately sum up his importance. He sets the pace for St. John’s, is a one-man fast break, routinely turning defensive rebounds into transition opportunities, and is an underrated shooter, especially from midrange. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that St. John’s two worst performances of the season, the Georgia loss and the shaky win over Harvard, have coincided with Smith being tied to the bench. They have outscored the opposition by 79 points in Smith’s 208 minutes and scored 45 more than the other team in the other 82 minutes. I think the message has been received after Smith acted out following and during his benching in the Georgia game.
What should we make of Brady Dunlap and Simeon Wilcher’s development? Who’s a player who can emerge later in the year?
— Dylan Kitts
Admittedly, I expected a little more out of Wilcher so far. He started well but his play has fallen off of late, reaching double figures once in the last six games. I think he still lacks confidence when a shot or two doesn’t drop. He needs to be more aggressive. To me, Dunlap is a product of this offense. When the ball is moving and St. John’s guards are getting into the lane, he will get clean looks, and shoot a high percentage. Of late, that hasn’t happened. The sophomore wing is also dealing with a hip injury that required a cortisone shot. As for a player to emerge, look no further than Jaiden Glover. A four-star recruit, Glover is coming off an 11-point performance against Harvard. He has good size for a guard at 6-4 and loads of confidence that his next shot is always going in. Like most freshmen, his defense needs work. But I can see his role expanding, especially if Wilcher and/or Dunlap don’t provide the outside shooting that this team needs.
After the failure of the Bahamas trip, and the overall down play of the Big East, how much smaller does their margin of error feel than it did a week ago?
— Keith Raleigh
It has absolutely shrunk. I wrote recently that I was more concerned with the state of the league than St. John’s, and this week’s first NET rankings back up that assertion. The Johnnies opened at No. 42 — on its own, that’s not a bad place to begin. The issue is the league only has three other top-50 teams in the NET — a sorting tool the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses to evaluate teams — in Marquette (7), UConn (38) and Butler (47). The Big East’s average NET ranking is 84. Last year, it had three teams in the top 10 in the first NET ranking. At the moment, St. John’s will have just five Quad 1 opportunities in league play and is 0-2 in such games. That’s a minuscule amount. I expect that to increase — Creighton and Xavier are better than 99 and 103, respectively. Some big wins in this week’s Big East-Big 12 Battle would certainly help matters. Clearly, the losses to Baylor (22) and Georgia (27) by a combined four points hurt. Then again, if St. John’s has a strong league season — and the only team I believe is superior to Rick Pitino’s team is Marquette — it won’t matter. I also think the New Mexico victory will wind up being a quality win. The Lobos are 66th in the NET, and nearly knocked off impressive Arizona State last week.
Why did we phone it in vs. Harvard?
— James Deckinger
I wouldn’t say they phoned it in. I think the effort against Harvard was subpar for a few reasons: 1. Deivon Smith didn’t play; 2. Aaron Scott was limited by foul trouble and was a nonfactor; 3. These guarantee games can be tough to get up for. You see big-time programs struggle in these contests all the time. Xavier nearly lost to South Carolina State on Sunday. I do think the past two games have been concerning, particularly the 3-point shooting. St. John’s was 8-for-46 from beyond the arc in the loss to Georgia and win over Harvard. When the ball doesn’t go in, you’re going to look bad. I fully expect to see a much different St. John’s team on Saturday against Kansas State.