Here’s the good news: Mike Anderson knows what his team needs to work on before its next game.
Cutting down on turnovers.
In an otherwise strong season-opening victory, St. John’s treated the basketball like it was on fire.
The first two offensive possessions resulted in turnovers, a sign of the two hours to come. Mistake after mistake that created an uneasy feeling at Carnesecca Arena.
Some were careless. Others were merely poor decisions. In all, there were a whopping 29 turnovers that cast a pall on the Johnnies’ 97-72 victory over Merrimack, the preseason favorite in the Northeast Conference, on Monday.
Part of it was the result of the breakneck pace Anderson wants to play at with what he believes is his best roster in his fourth season at the Queens school. Some of it was bad timing among new teammates. It was the one major negative Monday night as St. John’s began what it hopes is a breakthrough season.
David Jones led St. John’s in scoring during their season-opening win on Monday. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post“We got to take care of the ball. We got to get better next game,” said junior Posh Alexander, who committed five turnovers. “That’s [on] us. We’re going to talk about that and next practice we’re going to get better.”
Anderson attributed it to his players trying to make the home run pass, instead of the simple one. There was overpassing, and rushed possessions that led to turnovers. Alexander felt once the lead ballooned above 20, there were lazy possessions.
Posh Alexander going up for a layup during St. John’s win over Merrimack on Monday. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post“I thought we got sloppy. We got a lead and we got a little sloppy with the basketball,” the coach said. “That will be addressed. That’s something I don’t condone, because we work too hard to get [the ball] and not give it away.”
When the Red Storm (1-0) did take care of the ball, they cruised. They forced 21 turnovers and at times looked terrific when they were able to run, piling up 28 fast-break points. They shot 57 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by 21. There was a 21-5 run in the first half and a 16-2 spurt in the second half, stretches in which Anderson’s ball-moving team were easy on the eyes.
The two projected impact transfers, Andre Curbelo (Illinois) and David Jones (DePaul), both showed promise. Jones poured in a team-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds alongside his team-best plus-28 rating in 21 minutes, while Curbelo had 13 points and seven assists. Montez Mathis produced 16 points and Alexander, the team’s top returning player, contributed his usual all-around game, notching 14 points, six steals and five assists. He looked in sync with Curbelo, the two trading off which player would bring the ball up and create for his teammates.
Andre Curbelo drives to the basket for St. John’s. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post“That’s my guy,” Alexander said with a smile. “That was everybody’s biggest question, how are y’all going to work out? Today showed everything. I get hyped for him, he gets hyped for me. We’re just building that brotherhood.”
There are obviously kinks to work out for the two, as there are for St. John’s. At the top of the list is cutting down on the turnovers. But to Anderson, it was a quality opener because of the potential he saw.
“It was a good win to start off the year,” he said.
