St. John's Wins It Late For Lou

 

Photo by Jason Schott.

The St. John's Red Storm, in their first game since the passing of their legendary coach, Lou Carnesecca, last weekend, had another sensational second half to beat Kansas State, 88-71, on Saturday afternoon in the arena bearing his name.

The day began with the team wearing shooting shirts emblazoned with "526," in honor of how many wins Carnesecca notched in his 24 seasons at the helm.

Then, St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino entered and unveiled that he was wearing a replica of a sweater Carnesecca wore in the 1980s. It has been immortalized in a photo that captured Georgetown Head Coach Johm Thompson Jr. wearing the same one before they matched off in one of their classic games from that era.

Rick Pitino in his tribute sweater before tip-off. Photo by Jason Schott.

That was followed by a moment of silence and a tribute video of Carnesecca's career, and the players who marked that era, including Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, and Walter Berry.

Rick Pitino looks on as his starting lineup is announced. Photo by Jason Schott.

The game, part of the Big East- Big 12 Challenge, tipped off at 11:30 AM, and each time had a slow start getting their offenses going. 

Kansas State led 39-35 at halftime, as they were powered by 21 points from Brendan Hausen. As a team, they shot 38.5 percent (15-39) from the field, while also shooting 8-15, or 53.9 percent on three-pointers. St. John's shot just 33.3 percent from the field, or 13-39, and 30.8 percent (4-13) on threes.

Jaiden Glover connecting on a three-pointer that pulled St. John's within 31-26 late in the first half. Photo by Jason Schott.

After Coleman Hawkins opened the second half with a layup for K-State, the Red Storm responded with a 12-1 run capped by a Simeon Wilcher layup at the 16-06 mark that put them ahead, 47-42.

That was just the start, as St. John's would build up a 17-point lead, 70-53, on a Zuby Ejofor layup after he snagged an offensive rebound at the 8:40 mark.

The closest K-State would get was 12 points before St. John's pulled away down the stretch and won by 17, 88-71. 

The Red Storm put up 53 points in the second half, on 52.8 percent (19-36) from the field. K-State was held to 31.3 %, or 10-32, shooting in the second half, and astonishingly, they did not attempt a three-pointer.

Ejiofor led St. John's with 28 points on 11-17 shooting, including 1-3 on three-pointers, with 13 rebounds to give him a double-double, along with two assists and two steals. Also of not was his +22 mark, meaning St. John's scored that many points than K-State when he was on the court.

Kadary Richmond had 13 points (5-11 FG), six rebounds, and four assists, while Wilcher and RJ Luis Jr. had 11 points apiece. Luis also chipped in eight rebounds and four assists, while Wilcher had four rebounds and a +21.

Rick Pitino and Kadary Richmond during pregame introductions. Photo by Jason Schott.

PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, and he opened with this statement: "It was a tale of two halves. There were three keys to us winning this game: Stop the three because we kept telling the guys, like the Boston Celtics, they could take 40 or 50 of them, stop the penetration, stop the second shots. In the first half, we didn't do those things well. In the second half, we stopped them from making the three and didn't give up a lot of second shots. They only had 12 for the game, so the defense picked up because they were shooting well at the end of the game. We didn't turn the ball over much. We played a great second half, and I don't think I would have ever forgiven myself if we lost this game. It’s been an emotional week for me personally, not only with my two best friends, but with Lou [Carnesecca], and it was really, really important that we get a win for Lou. Great crowd, a great second half. A lot of emotion behind the game, and Lou lived a great life. … I told the guys, you got all these St. John's legends, and St. John's ruled the world on the East Coast in the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, and it was all for the name on the front. If you guys can start playing for the name on the front, someday, the back is going to prosper, but you got to play for St. John's. In this day, where all our greats have come back, in this day when our legendary coach has left us, you got to play for that name on the front and nobody characterized that more than Zuby [Ejiofor]. His heart was as big as a mountain.”

On if he is going to prioritize returning players to the program instead of the transfer portal: “I think that's why Marquette is ahead of all of us right now. Their retention is very good. Now, we all may catch up to them, but we have the potential to have Zuby [Ejiofor] back, Brady [Dunlap] back, Simeon [Wilcher] back, Ruben [Prey] back, Lefteris [Liotopoulos] back, RJ [Luis Jr.] and Vince [Iwuchukwu]. That would be awesome but, I want to get that feeling that I had at Kentucky, Providence, Louisville, even Boston University, where they will really understand what it means to be a St. John's Red Storm basketball player. I thought in the second half that Zuby really, really played so, so hard that it was contagious for the rest of the guys.”

 

On the sweater he wore to honor Coach Carnesecca: “I just said to Matt Bernstein, our great equipment guy, look, I looked online, had five people look online, and nobody could find that sweater. Rightfully so. Lou was a legendary person, legendary coach, but one of the five worst dressers in the history of the game. We couldn't find that sweater anywhere, so we found the pieces, cut out the pieces, and took it to a seamstress and put it together, and that sweater is going to rest in peace with Lou.”

 

On his emotions following the passing of Coach Carnesecca: “When I saw all the players come back, and I saw them in church, and you see the grief in their eyes, whether it's Chris Mullin or Mark Jackson or Walter Berry, all the guys that came back. It's just somebody special to them left and the great thing about being a Catholic is celebrating lives. … Prior to one year ago, Lou basically had a healthy life, and we're real, real proud to represent him in some small way.”

 

On creating a culture at St. John’s: “I thought Deivon [Smith] was terrific tonight with his attitude. I thought they all were, but culture takes place over generations. To get the Miami Heat culture of playing hard took decades, and it's really tough do in months, but we still are trying to do it. I think we can do it because we have guys willing to do anything to get better and make themselves better. One of the reasons why I started Simeon [Wilcher] in the second half, it's just something I witnessed, he was on the bench, not warming up, and I could see he was down because of the first half.  I said I'm getting him in there. He's a talented kid. He's worked his butt off and he played terrific in the second half. I started him out not because he wasn't playing well. He was down and I think when you build that type of affection for each other, the culture is built.”

 

On the players playing for Coach Carnesecca: “I think that they knew how important [today] was for all the ex-players and all the fans because of how important Lou was to them. Lou, just a year and a half ago, sat in the film room and talked to Simeon Wilcher and his family. He just happened to be on campus and stopped in. He just said some incredible things, not only about St. John's, but about me and what we're going to do. Sim’s parents were blown away by that. Lou's going to be missed because of what he represented but, the one thing I want is I want all these players to come back. This is their home. Like I told Chris Mullin, when I first got the job, I said, ‘Chris, I'm nothing for this program compared to you. This is your home, your program. I'm just a caretaker for Lou. It's all I am. So please come back to your home. You're the most celebrated player in history, along with Mark Jackson and Walter Berry.”