Key issues during soft SJU stretch
St. John’s has reached the soft part of its non-conference schedule. Five very winnable games before Big East play begins, a chance to fatten up its record and build momentum entering the new year.
With that in mind, The Post takes a look at some important areas to watch before conference play starts.
RJ Luis’ return
The skilled 6-foot-7 wing will make his anticipated debut Saturday against Holy Cross at Carnesecca Arena. The sophomore suffered a fractured left hand in an open practice on Oct. 1 and was fully cleared for contract last Saturday. Before his injury, he was considered a potential starter at small forward. Expect coach Rick Pitino to ease him in initially. An All-Atlantic 10 freshman team selection last year, Luis is a supremely talented offensive player who can create offense, something the Johnnies could use. Rival coaches believe he may be their most gifted scorer, a player with pro potential.
“He’s going to help us a good deal. He’s an all-around player, can do a bunch,” teammate Chris Ledlum said. “He’s long, he’ll be able to defend well, he’ll create off the dribble. He’ll give us something that we need.”
But, expectations should be muted initially. Luis missed seven weeks, and is playing in a new system with a host of new players. It took Jordan Dingle time to begin to hit his stride after missing a few weeks with a shoulder injury. He will give Pitino lineup versatility as a smallball four-man option.
Take care of the ball
Perhaps the biggest issue over the first five games was turnovers. St. John’s is averaging 15.2, which is tied for 313th in the country. Only two other high-major programs, USC and DePaul, are worse. The Johnnies’ turnover percentage of 17.5, ranked 270th nationally, isn’t much better.
Senior point guard Daniss Jenkins has a poor assist-to-turnover ratio, notching 29 assists to 21 turnovers, though his last two games showed noticeable improvement with 16 assists compared to six turnovers. Obviously, some of this can be attributed to a new team getting used to not only playing with another, but adjusting to the fast pace Pitino’s teams play at.
Most worrisome about the turnovers is a lot of them are of the liveball variety, which leads to easy opportunities for the opposition. St. John’s is allowing 18.6 points per game off of the turnovers.
Clean up the glass
The second biggest issue after turnovers has been defensive rebounding. St. John’s defensive rebounding percentage of 69.0 is 265th in the country.
It is giving up 14.6 second chance points per game, a high number. It kept St. John’s from running away from Utah in the Charleston Classic finale and was a major problem in the blowout loss to Michigan.
Overall, St. John’s has been a good rebounding team so far, plus-41 on the glass. But it has not taken care of the defensive boards, which is part of why the defense has been shaky. Finishing off defensive possessions, which will lead to transition opportunities, is so important.
Pitino has harped on the need for his guards to rebound better, particularly since St. John’s is undersized with the 6-foot-6 Ledlum at the four. Only Jenkins (4.4 rebounds) has been active on the glass among the guards.
Avoid the bad loss
The next five games are about survival, avoiding the dreaded bad loss. Of the next five opponents — Holy Cross, West Virginia, Sacred Heart, Boston College and Fordham — only the Mountaineers are a top-100 team according to KenPom.com, and they just make it at No. 97.
As important as big wins are during non-conference play, so are losses that will ruin an NCAA Tournament resume. So far, St. John’s has two top-100 wins over Utah (No. 46) and North Texas (73), and two quality losses to Michigan (40) and Dayton (64). There will be plenty of opportunities for resume-boosting victories in the league season. The Johnnies have to avoid the setback that will be a pockmark on their body of work.