FIXED & DUNN
In need of a spark, Mike Anderson inserted Rasheem Dunn into the starting lineup. It resulted in St. John’s first league win. The new Red Storm coach isn’t going to mess with a good thing.
Dunn, the Brooklyn native and Cleveland State transfer, will remain a starter as the Johnnies hope to build on Saturday’s win over DePaul. Anderson doesn’t usually commit to his starters before the day of the game, but Dunn made such a convincing case.
“Rasheem earned that opportunity to be in the starting lineup,” Anderson said in a phone interview as St. John’s prepared to visit Providence on Wednesday night. “He gives us another opportunity to score and create.”
Dunn finished with 19 points, a team-high eight rebounds, five assists and two steals against DePaul. The team’s third-leading scorer, Dunn has been one of the Johnnies’ most consistent offensive players, reaching double figures in 10 of 13 games, providing another option after LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron. Still, he was coming off the bench until recently. But with St. John’s struggling to find points and digging itself early holes, Anderson made the change.
“He’s getting more comfortable,” the first-year St. John’s coach said. “He’s trusting his teammates and I think they’re trusting him. He’s always been a guy who can score the basketball. You’re playing with other guys as good as you are now. You have to make them better.”
The 6-foot-2 Dunn is averaging 3.3 assists, but 4.3 over his last three games. The change also three assists against DePaul. It was by far his best performance in four Big East contests.
But now St. John’s (12-5, 1-3 Big East) is back on the road, where it is 0-2. While Providence had a disappointing non-conference performance, going 7-6, it enters this game 3-1 in the league, with the lone loss against No. 5 Butler.
“Providence is a very physical, veteran basketball team. Our job is to come in and give ourselves a shot to win [the game at the end],” Anderson said. “We have to match their physicality, especially on the boards. We have to defend, take care of the basketball and most importantly shoot the basketball [well]. That’s something we haven’t done on the road.”