Keeping positive
Chris Mullin’s demands for his young, struggling team are simple. Show up with a positive attitude, tune out the negativity from outside and work hard. That’s it. “Experience comes the hard way. This is the process of getting experience,” the St. John’s coach said in a phone interview Tuesday. “This is the price you pay. I think we’ve got guys who are willing to pay it.
“I look at it as the fact we have to keep working, stay positive and encourage [them], and we’ll break through. To think that there’s that magical formula, it doesn’t work that way. That’s why they call it a process. I’m not really looking for sympathy, not looking for anything like that. Just go out and compete.”
Mullin understands the negativity that surrounds his program right now. Coming off an eight-win season, this was supposed to be a step in the right direction. So far, however, it hasn’t been. The Johnnies (5-7) have lost seven of their past 10 games, and sopho- more forward Yankuba Sima recently bailed on the team, opting to transfer.
St. John’s now heads to the Carrier Dome to face Syracuse on Wednesday night having lost two straight games, to LIU Brooklyn and Penn State, desperately needing a win to generate some momentum entering the daunting conference season.
With a young team lacking confidence — St. John’s is the 348th youngest group among 351 Division I teams — there is the possibility the Red Storm could fail to win double-digit games for the second straight season. The last time that happened was in 2003-04, in the midst of a program-shaking sex scandal.
“Losing bothers me as much as anything in life,” Mullin said. “I know what it takes to get to the other side. That’s what we’re focusing on. This is what you go through to become a winner.”
While Sunday’s loss to Penn State was ugly — the Nittany Lions ripped off a 35-5 run to end the first half — Mullin took away positives in that his team performed better in the second half. Aside from Sima leaving, he sees signs his young players are determined to turn it around, rather than fade in the face of this difficult start.
“Yeah, the results are frustrating. If you want to get on the other side, you have a positive attitude, keep working,” he said. “We don’t give up. Never, ever, ever. ... This is what you go through to be a winner.”
St. John’s will be without sharpshooting reserve Federico Mussini against Syracuse, multiple sources said. Mussini was in the hospital Monday night with an infection and didn’t make the trip. It is unknown when Mussini, a sophomore guard averaging 9.7 points per game and shooting 48 percent from 3point range, will return, a source said. Without Mussini and Amar Alibegovic (knee), St. John’s will be down to eight scholarship players.