PITTSBURGH – St. John’s guard Eugene Lawrence didn’t need a vote of confidence, but he got one following the Red Storm’s 68-46 loss at Connecticut on Saturday.
When a reporter asked coach Norm Roberts if he was concerned about Lawrence’s recent shooting woes, Roberts’ response was swift and definitive.
“We’re sticking with Geno,” he said.
Roberts doesn’t have a choice. This is a team that went into last night’s game at Pittsburgh – a team the Red Storm upset 65-62 in January – with just nine scholarship players, two of whom rarely play.
With Lawrence, Cedric Jackson and Daryll Hill in the starting lineup, Roberts doesn’t have a fourth guard he can turn to. It’s one of the reasons Lawrence has fouled out of four of the last five games.
“There’s not much else we are going to go to,” said Roberts. “Gene is doing a good job, trying well, he is only a freshman and I want him to shoot the ball when he’s open. I don’t want to take any of his confidence away. He’s trying to make plays for us.”
Lawrence isn’t going through anything that thousands of freshmen before him haven’t experienced. Last night’s game against the Panthers (15-4 overall, 5-3 in the Big East) was to be his 20th game of the season, the point where first-year players historically hit the wall.
“I think it’s starting to take a toll on me,” said Lawrence. “The last couple of games I’ve felt it in my legs. Your brain tells you to get to a spot but you don’t get there. I see it in my shot. It’s why so many seem to have gone in and out.”
Mostly out. Lawrence was just 1-of-10 against Connecticut, the lone field goal a layup. He missed all four of his 3-point field goal attempts. He was 3-of-17 in the win over Rutgers and 4-of-11 in the loss to Seton Hall. Add it up and Lawrence is 8-for-38 in the last three games, including 4-for-20 from beyond the arc.
But he has continued to make plays. Against Connecticut the 6-foot-1 Lawrence grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. He had five rebounds, two assists and two steals against Rutgers.
Lawrence has been forced into the role of shooter, one he didn’t play at Lincoln High School when he was Sebastian Telfair’s backcourt partner, and one he wasn’t supposed to fill at St. John’s, where Daryll Hill is the first option. But teams have made a decided effort to neutralize Hill, leaving Lawrence open.
“I don’t think of myself as a shooter or a scorer,” said Lawrence. “I’m a basketball player who will do whatever I can to help my team win.”
