St. John’s wins very first game because return to Leading 25

Nov 14, 2024, 12:45 AM ET

NEW YORK CITY– In their return to the nationwide rankings, Rick Pitino and his St. John’s group didn’t precisely look all set for prime time.Not to start, a minimum of. The finish was pretty encouraging.Deivon Smith drained a 3-pointer midway through the

second half to trigger an 18-0 spurt that moved No. 22 St. John’s past Wagner 66-45 on Wednesday night for its first victory as a Leading 25 team in practically ten years.”I’m pleased, even though we’re far more talented than Wagner,”said Pitino, the Hall of Fame coach in his 2nd season with the Red Storm.”They showed up the heat and made shots, and they were really poised when it counted. “St. John’s(3-0) delved into the AP Top 25 poll today for the very first time because January 2019. It made its first win as a ranked team given that topping Tulane on Dec. 28, 2014. And for Pitino, it was his very first game training a Top 25 group since 2017 at Louisville.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated He didn’t believe his players believed much about any of that, though.”It’s nice for the fans. Definitely we take pride in that,” Pitino said.

“We need to get the train alumni back

. We have actually got excellent fans, however we don’t have a great deal of them.

“In New York, there’s a lot to do, so there’s just one way to get fans and that’s to win.”Now the schedule gets much harder, beginning Sunday versus New Mexico(

3-0 )in the very first of 8 home games at Madison Square Garden this season.It will be a family affair pitting Pitino versus his boy, Richard, coach of a Lobos team that reached the NCAA tournament last season and defeated then-No. 22 UCLA 72-64 in Nevada recently.”New Mexico is probably the No. 1 offensive-pace group in the country, and I know it better than any person,”Rick Pitino said.”So, we’ve got to get ready for this rate. They have actually got a terrific guard, they’ve got great assistance players, they have actually got an excellent inside player. This is a difficult, hard test.” The elder Pitino is 2-1 in training matches against his boy, with both wins coming when he was at Louisville. Richard Pitino beat his dad’s Iona group 2 years back at The Pit.”They can

beating us, I understand that,” Rick Pitino stated.”I never ever have thought about disowning a kid, but it may pertain to that.” After that, St. John’s faces No. 12 Baylor next Thursday in the Bahamas and either No. 11 Tennessee or Virginia the following day.”I don’t know how good we are. I don’t understand. It’s an enigma right now, “Pitino stated.”

So, we’re going to learn.” “I am delighted. I like my team a lot. However it’s the unknown right now,” he added.

“We’re going to be in some extremely close games. We’re going to need to make complimentary throws and perform. “Foul shooting was an issue Wednesday

night versus Wagner(1-2), the Northeast Conference school on Staten Island where Dan Hurley, back-to-back NCAA champion at UConn, got his start as a college head coach from 2010-12. St. John’s finished 18 for 30( 60 %)at the free-throw line however held the Seahawks to 29% percent shooting from the field– including 5-for-24(21 %)from 3-point range.”We objected to practically every shot. I believe we’re prepared defensively,”Pitino stated.”I think offensively we have actually simply got to get a feel for each other a little bit more.”Playing before a crowd of 4,751 at Carnesecca Arena on its Queens campus, St. John’s led just 39-37 before Kadary Richmond blocked a shot and fed Smith for a shift 3 with 9:54 staying.”That was a big play, “Pitino stated.”I believe the shooting at the end when the game was in question was splendid. The defense was great the whole night, essentially.”Brady Dunlap made a 3 and later converted a three-point play with 5:48 left that topped the decisive 18-0 run.Even early this season, Pitino called his team’s poise under

game pressure” unique. “” I ‘d say we revealed durability and pulled together,”Richmond said.Richmond, a heralded transfer from Seton Hall, didn’t start and finished with two points and seven helps. RJ Luis Jr. likewise came off the bench and scored a team-high 13.”I understand Kadary is ready to play.

I understand RJ is all set to play. I wanted to see some of the other guys, see a few of the lineups,”

Pitino said. “I wanted to experiment a little bit.” “When(the lead)

was three tonight, there was no panic. They took the shots that were there, so I believe in them,” he added. “But we’re going to need to play excellent to beat New Mexico.

We’re going to have to play excellent to beat Baylor. We know that.”