The timing might not be perfect, but it’s pretty close to that. After a heartbreaking loss in its Big East opener, St. John’s will get its leader back for its first true road game of the season.
Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati, Mustapha Heron will make his return from a sprained right ankle he suffered on Dec. 10. After missing three games, the senior guard is expected to be available as the Red Storm visit Xavier.
“He’s progressed pretty good. He’ll be available, it seems like,” coach Mike Anderson said in a phone interview. “Every practice he’s getting more and more comfortable. It continues to establish our depth, when you look at what he brings to the table. He’s one of our leading scorers. Without a doubt, people have to honor him, because he can score. He’s our most experienced player on our basketball team. That means a lot.”
St. John’s (11-3) survived without Heron, beating Albany and No. 25 Arizona, but fell to No. 11 Butler on New Year’s Eve. In the win over Arizona and loss to Butler, it struggled offensively down the stretch. Heron, averaging a team-best 15.0 points per game, would’ve helped. The team’s best 3-point shooter at 40.8 percent, he stretches the floor, and frees up fellow star LJ Figueroa as well.
Being at full strength is important, as St. John’s enters the most daunting stretch of its schedule. Starting Sunday, five of the next seven games are on the road and one of the two home games in that stretch is against Seton Hall — the Big East preseason favorite. This will be a new experience for the Johnnies, several of whom have never played a Big East road game before.
“I think it’s another question mark to this basketball team,” Anderson said. “How do we play in an unfriendly environment, hostile environment, on someone else’s court?
“It’s a big-time challenge. We’ll find out more and more about our basketball team as this season unfolds early on. You’re going to deal with some adversity on the road.”
Thus far, away from home, St. John’s is 2-1, beating Arizona and UMass and losing to Arizona State. Those were different, however. They were neutral-site games. This is on the road, at Xavier, against a team known for being tough to beat in its own building and that is 8-0 this season there. St. John’s, after all, is a 7 ¹/₂-point underdog.
“I’m anxious to see how they come out,” Anderson said.
It would help if the Johnnies start how they finished against Butler, when they erased a 23-point deficit by forcing 16 second-half turnovers and nearly pulled a major upset. Ultimately, St. John’s came up short, blowing a five-point lead in the final 3:08, but the effort was nevertheless impressive, especially since Heron was still out and Figueroa was on the bench in foul trouble.
“We got to build on that and get more minutes like that,” Anderson said. “Let’s see if we can get 40 minutes like that.”
