Ricky Torres was the most surprised player on the court Saturday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena when St. John’s coach Norm Roberts told the freshman to attempt the two technical-foul shots against Niagara.
Torres, the former St. Ray’s star known for his deadly jumper, hadn’t attempted a free throw this season, and he’s acknowledged struggling to adjust to the speed and increased level of play at the college level. Roberts figured this would be the perfect dose of confidence.
So Torres stepped to the line, with no players on the lane and a hushed crowd. His first attempted kissed all sides of the rim before popping out. The second wasn’t really close.
“I know Ricky can shoot the ball,” said Roberts. “The free throws didn’t bother me. Of course, you want to see him make them. But what’s more important is how he responded, and I like the way he responded. Ricky went after it on both ends of the floor.”
The Red Storm (3-0) needed Torres and every other player to go after it last night when St. John’s hosted Hofstra. Not only had the Pride (1-1) won the last two matchups between the teams, but it was announced just 45 minutes before tipoff that star guard Daryll Hill would be sidelined because of a bruised left knee.
Hill suffered the injury in the 67-61 win over Niagara. Hill leads the Red Storm in scoring (15.3 points), meaning Torres and guards Cedric Jackson would have to step up.
Torres wasted little time proving he had forgotten the missed free throws less than two minutes later in the Niagara win by knocking down a 3-pointer from the left corner to halt an 8-0 Niagara run. It was the play he made with 8:04 left, however, that Roberts referred to as a “statement play.”
St. John’s had forced a 35-second violation, but officials did not catch it. The rebound squirted to the floor. Bodies went flying. Torres got to the ball first and had the presence of mind to call a timeout.
“Coach told me he wants to see me attack the game,” said Torres, who averaged 18 points on 38 percent 3-point shooting as a senior at St. Ray’s. “You’ve got to be a pit bull if you want to play here.
“It was the same way in high school, but there weren’t too many other Division I players on the court,” continued Torres. “Here, everyone’s a player. The speed of the game is faster. You have to fight for everything you get.”
Torres learned this long before this season, though. He watched his mother, Yolanda Ortiz, a single mother, raise four children by working the midnight-to-7 shift as a cab dispatcher, then hustling home to get the kids fed and off to school.
“I told Ricky, ‘Nothing you want in life comes easy,'” Ortiz said.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com
