Ranked for the first time in 11 years and coming off a 60-59 upset of No. 4 Pittsburgh that may have sealed an NCAA tournament bid, St. John’s has returned to relevancy.
Now the Red Storm face a different kind of challenge: to avoid resting on its laurels or being seduced by the sweet sound of the accolades they are receiving.
After rising to the occasion against the Panthers before an energized crowd of 14,514 at the Garden on Saturday and moving to No. 23 in the national rankings Monday, the Johnnies (17-9, 9-5 Big East) have gone from hunters to hunted. Now they must avoid losing a potential trap game tonight against lowly DePaul (7-19, 1-13) at Carnesecca Arena.
“How we manage distractions is a very important part of our staying on the path of progress,” coach Steve Lavin said. “You can’t soar with the eagles in the morning if you’re hooting with the owls. When you have momentum and confidence, you have to be mindful of protecting it. That means everyone . . . has to stay on point.
“We talked in terms of a bigger bull’s-eye on our chest when you’re in the Top 25 and had success,” he said. “People are gunning for you. You’re more of the hunted as opposed to being the hunter. The higher you climb the mountain, the thinner the air becomes. You get that last stretch of the climb, you have to be mindful of your steps.”
Within 24 hours of Saturday’s huge victory, Lavin said he received between 400-450 text messages. Senior Justin Burrell got 56 before he had left the Garden floor, and 84 before he finished doing postgame interviews.
“It’s a test,” senior forward Sean Evans said. “Things like this can become a distraction and you can lose focus on your goals. But I think we’re a mature team and know how to handle things like this.”
The Red Storm have won four straight and six of seven, including marquee victories over No. 3 Duke and No. 10 UConn. Dwight Hardy has entered Big East Player of the Year discussions by averaging 26 points over his past five games and Lavin has emerged as a candidate for national Coach of the Year. But just to make sure the Johnnies are not satisfied by success, Lavin pulled out Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” for the third time this year to provide perspective.
“It’s been crazy, students all excited about us winning, a lot of pats on the back,” senior guard Paris Horne said. “I guess it just puts a bull’s-eye on our backs now. It might be [different], but we wouldn’t know. We’ve always been hunting.”
And rest assured, other teams have taken notice — and are on the hunt.
DePaul’s Krys Faber said, “We’ve been hunting for one of these games ever since we’ve been here. It would finally show the strides we’re making in this program to upset a ranked team on the road.”
