2016-2017 Season Review
After winning just 8 games in year one under Chris Mullin, St. John’s made strides in year two last season. The Red Storm went 14-19 and won 7 Big East regular season games after winning just 1 in 2015-2016. In non-conference play they went 6-7 with a win over Syracuse. Their worst losses came at the hands of Delaware State and Long Island. They started Big East play with a bang, upsetting #13 Butler and then winning at DePaul. They also took down DePaul again, Providence, Marquette, Seton Hall and Georgetown. They finished 8th out 10 ten teams in the conference. In the Big East Tournament they took down Georgetown in the opening round before falling to Villanova by 41 to end their season.
Key Losses
Guard Federico Mussini decided to forgo his final two years of eligibility and pursue a professional career in Italy. Mussini averaged 8.2 PPG and hit 56 threes at a 42.7% rate. Guard Malik Ellison elected to transfer to Pitt following a sophomore season in which he averaged 7.4/3.3/2.5. Forward Darien Williams left for Nevada as a graduate transfer after putting up 3.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.9 MPG. Forward Richard Freudenberg decided to pursue a professional career in Germany after a freshman season in which he played 9.3 MPG and averaged 1.3 PPG.
Key Returners
Chris Mullin returns his two Big East All-Freshman Team guards in Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett. Ponds, a 6’1 sophomore, averaged 17.4 points (team high), 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.1 steals (team high) per game. He also hit a team best 75 threes at a 37.5% clip.
LoVett, a 6’0 sophomore, put up 15.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists (team high) and 1.3 steals per game. LoVett also hit 50 threes at a 38.2% rate.
6’7 senior Bashir Ahmed recorded 13.4 points and a team high 5.5 rebounds per game. Ahmed hit 52 threes as well. Tariq Owens, a 6’10 junior, averaged 5.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks (team high) per game, while 6’7 junior Kassoum Yakwe averaged 4.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. 6’9 senior Amar Alibegovic recorded 2.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 10.3 MPG.
Key Newcomers
The Red Storm will have three newcomers eligible to play this season. Bryan Trimble is a 6’3 three star guard. Trimble is a strong, explosive athlete that can shoot the ball from the outside. Justin Simon is a 6’5 sophomore that sat out last season after transferring from Arizona. As a freshman in 2015-2016 at Arizona, Simon played 7.5 MPG and averaged 2.3 PPG and 1.2 RPG. He was the #34 recruit in the 2015 class. Marvin Clark II is a 6’7 junior that also sat out last season after transferring from Michigan State. Clark played 10.6 MPG in two seasons as a Spartan and averaged 4.2 PPG and 2.3 RPG. He also shot 42.3% from three during his sophomore season.
Final Take
Chris Mullin certainly has the St. John’s program heading in the right direction. He has an excellent duo in Ponds and LoVett and Ahmed is another really solid player. If Justin Simon can even come close to playing like the player he was expected to be coming out of high school, this back court will be lethal. Inside, Owens and Yakwe give the Red Storm rim protectors down low and the addition of Clark II will help. They aren’t a deep team, but there is some talent there. I think they’re a year away from getting back to the Big Dance, but an NIT bid is a legit possibility this season.
Always March 
Leave a comment