WINNING PAIR
Budding frosh duo gives SJU hope to rebound on the road
Confidence sprouted quickly at St. John’s, spreading rapidly after its record-setting blowout win at Syracuse. It peaked with a victory over No. 13 Butler, and traveled with the Red Storm to a victory at DePaul.
Now, one of the toughest stretches of the Red Storm’s season threatens to damage the progress Chris Mullin’s young team has made.
Its three-game win streak snapped in a loss to No. 10 Creighton, St. John’s (8-8, 2-1) will face an equally difficult challenge Saturday at No. 16 Xavier (12-2, 2-0), followed by a road game at Georgetown and a visit from No. 1 Villanova.
Hope for another stunning upset resides on the team’s three straight true road wins — and two star freshman guards.
Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett continue to exceed even the most optimistic expectations, com- bining to average nearly 35 points per game as the Big East’s second-highest scoring duo. Ponds, averaging 17.6 points, ranks fifth in the nation in scoring among freshmen, while LoVett, scoring 17.1 points, ranks seventh. They trail only NBA-lottery-bound Kentucky guards Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox as the nation’s highest-scoring freshman teammates.
“Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett are really talented, young guards,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said following Wednesday’s game. “They put pressure on you every single time. When you have guys that can get to the rim and … shoot it puts a lot of stress on your defense.
“We recruited Shamorie, and I watched him play a ton and his development has been incredible. He’s spent a tremendous amount of time on his game and his handles and his floater. We just weren’t sure how quickly, with his body, he could do it in the Big East, but he’s doing it pretty well for a young player. Shamorie is stronger and I think his ability to shoot the 3, if you leave him open then you’re going to pay for it. … Young guards, you can hurry them up and get them out of rhythm, but that’s really difficult to do with [Ponds].”
Ponds and LoVett combined for 40 points in the loss to Creighton, but Mullin was disappointed with the overall energy of the team. Against the balanced Musketeers, another slow start could lead to another slide.
“The games we played well, it didn’t just happen,” Mullin said. “We made it happen.”