St. John's Finds Help From Within For Second Straight Win

To be sure the hot topic amongst the hard core internet informed fan base of St. John's men basketball has been whether or not help is on the way. With their coach Steve Lavin still following a modified schedule that allows him to be at practice and on the recruiting trail much has been posted written and said wondering what kind of recruiting class the Red Storm will announce  this spring and whether or not that class will be able to augment the efforts of a talented freshman group that has played well at times but struggled  because of the lack of depth behind them. The interest in the next recruiting class, and coach Lavin's efforts has been so intense that the beat writers from the Daily News and the New York Post watched the game from Lavin's apartment.

            As their coach searches the recruiting trail to hopefully find that depth, the Red Storm may not be adding roster depth just yet but they have become deeper  in a sense because players who are starting out of necessity are beginning to get better and make more significant contributions.

            As the young Red Storm earned their second straight win with a 79-72 victory over DePaul on Tuesday. the guys who have been their most consistent performers were again rock solid.  D'angelo Harrison led the scoring with 23 points and was exceptional with poise and free throw shooting that helped ice the game for St. John's. Moe Harkless  contributed  with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It's likely that tired legs that can be expected when a freshman plays 40 minutes a night have caused his normally reliable jumper to falter. But to his credit he has continued to make his presence felt on the boards and by scoring inside. The double double was his third straight.

            The difference in these last two wins that have helped St. John's snap a four game losing streak has been the play of other freshmen who started more slowly than the two stalwarts but are now finding their stride as St. John's comes down the stretch of the season. Amir Garrett, who joined the team at the semester break appears to have shaken the rust off and is beginning to play some great basketball.  He finished one rebound short of a double-double of his own (18 points 9 caroms). And while he may be happier with the three pointer he nailed from the left corner, a surer sign that the rust is completely gone is the 9 of 11 he shot from the free throw line.  He and Harrison led a free throw shooting effort that coach Mike Dunlap described as the "story of the game" that was "kinda invisible. And it helped St. John's win despite scoring just two field goals in the final 4:46 of the game.

            Garrett also combined with the team's energy guy Sir^Dominic Pointer to lead a defensive effort that forced 18 turnovers. On paper the wins brought St. John's to just 12-16 overall and 5-10 in the Big East but with the rest of the iron five (beyond Harkless and Harrison) beginning to find its stride, good things may happen before re-enforcements arrive.