Supporters began congregating at the 1870 Court gathering in the build-up to the start of conference play for the Red Storm on Tuesday night. There was an aura of general optimism combined with a nostalgic
look back at the successful 2024-25 season, as St. John’s was set to begin its Big East title defense in only a couple of short hours.
Red Storm fans took time to compare last year’s team with this year’s team. It was not a player-to-player comparison but rather each team’s progress at the start of the season. Both teams began with high expectations, but each suffered losses in winnable games. This similarity was noted by most fans, who appeared quite knowledgeable about this year’s team’s problems on defense and with rebounding. Most noted the improvement in the past two games, but one young man pointed to the drop-off in competition. All fans spoken to were relatively optimistic for the season.
It was noted that DePaul entered the game with an 8-3 record but was a heavy underdog. The Blue Demons had not played the caliber of schedule St. John’s had played, only facing three top-100 teams before Tuesday.
First Half
DePaul scored first on a C.J Gunn jumper to take an early 2-0 lead. In response, the Johnnies struggled to get a shot off, but with a half-second on the shot clock, Joson Sanon hit a desperate three-pointer from the right wing to take a 3-2 lead.
With 17:17 to play, Zuby Ejiofor drove into the paint and attracted DePaul defenders. Instead of forcing up a shot, he kicked out to Ian Jackson at the top of the key, who drilled a 28-footer to give St. John’s an 8-4 lead. The Johnnies were displaying good ball movement, and Ejiofor, it was clear, was looking for opportunities to feed his teammates. The fans were very vocal and, after the Jackson three, loud chants of “Defense … defense” were heard.
The early game ball movement was impressive. So was the Red Storm defense, as a minute later, tight “D” resulted in a 30-second violation and a turnover by the Blue Devils. With fifteen minutes to play, Dylan Darling entered the game for Jackson. A minute later, he hit a three from the top of the paint, and a fan yelled out, “That’s what we’ve been waiting for, Dylan”.
Darling was only beginning to make a difference. A minute and a half later, after DePaul rallied to cut the deficit to two at 16-14, Darling fed Ruben Prey, who drilled a three from the top of the key, giving Johnnies a 19-14 lead. Then, a minute and a half later, Darling hit a three this time from the right wing and the Red Storm led 22-16.
Prey and much of the second team, now in the game, were impressive. With eight minutes to play, Prey stole the ball at midcourt and, without hesitating, drove hard down the court and dunked for a 31-16 lead.
The Johnnies coasted to a 39-28 halftime lead. The bench unit, particularly Darling and Prey, led the way.
Halftime
Fans were asked which Johnnie impressed them the most. One young fan did not hesitate. “It was Dylan Darling. Not only did he score and assist, but Dylan drew a charge, was rebounding well, and overall played good defense”. Once again, there was balanced scoring for the Johnnies with the guards leading the way. Sanon had eight points, and Darling and Jackson had seven.
Second Half
The fans were ready as the half began. “Defense … defense” was heard as the student section, seated above the rims, led the way. The energy was empowering.
Forty seconds into the half, Ejiofor kicked the ball out to Oziyah Sellers, who found Jackson at the top of the key for a 25-footer, which he swished, increasing the lead to 12. The Johnnies stretched the lead to fourteen on a Sanon layup with Jackson assisting. The Johnnies’ ball movement was impressive.
Slowly, the Blue Demons began cutting into the Red Storm’s lead. With 12:52 to play, Ejiofor argued what he deemed to be a missed call by the officials and was assessed a technical foul. Gunn of DePaul hit two free throws, and the Red Storm’s lead was now cut to seven at 49-42. However, like the first half, it was Darling to the rescue. Joining Darling on the court were Prey, Mitchell, Sellers, and Ayo.
Eleven seconds afterwards, Prey set a screen for Darling at the top of the key. Around the screen, Darling freed himself from his defender and drove down the right of the paint, going under the basket and scoring with a left-handed, under-the-basket layup. Fans jumped out of their seats with cheers. Thirty seconds later, he hit a three from the right wing for a 54-42 lead, and the arena erupted with the loudest chant of “Defense, defense” of the night.
With eleven minutes to play. Prey again stole the ball at midcourt and drove the half-court to lay the ball in. With just under ten minutes to play, Sellers initiated a nice give-and-go with Prey, passing to him on the wing, making a cut to the basket, and receiving a return pass from Prey. Sellers was fouled, making two foul shots, his first points in the game. The Johnnies led 60-45, then team coasted to a final score of 79-66.
Takeaway #1: The Red Storm is finding its defensive identity
The defense has held an opponent to under seventy points a game for the third straight game. In the DePaul game, this was particularly noticeable in the first half when the Blue Demons scored only 28 points. Fans observed that there was rarely a time when the Blue Demons got off an uncontested shot, and the result was several 30-second violations or shots put up with less than two seconds on the clock, still under some pressure.
Center Zuby Ejiofor covers a lot of territory guarding opponents, even guards, well away from the basket, yet he’s able to drop back from his assignment and contest shots of opponents who are attacking the basket. This skill, combined with his teammates becoming increasingly proficient at fighting through pics and switching off as needed, is predictive of an increased defensive performance.
It is noted that St. John’s has been able to perform so well defensively despite playing an uptempo, attacking offense.
Takeaway #2: The backcourt players are finally working hard on the glass
Rebounding by the guards has improved over the past three games in response to Rick Pitino calling them out to make a greater effort to clear the defensive boards.
Let’s compare the performance of the primary individuals called out by the coach to assist on the defensive boards: Dylan Darling, Joson Sanon, Oziyah Sellers, and Ian Jackson. This quartet pulled down 46 combined rebounds in these three games (DePaul, Ole Miss, and Iona). In the three prior games at the Players Era Festival, those four combined for only 26 total rebounds. This improvement undoubtedly played a role in the improved record. It was called for by Pitino, and the four guards responded.
Takeaway #3: A point guard platoon is developing with Darling and Jackson
It is still, relatively speaking, the beginning of the season. An argument can be made for each individual to be the starting point guard. While Ian Jackson was the starter on Tuesday night, he only played 14 minutes compared to Darling’s 25 minutes of action.
Darling is steady, somewhat predictable for opposing coaches to plan against, and, except for the DePaul game, has not shot well. His short stature leaves him vulnerable against teams that defend the basket well. However, when he begins hitting the three-ball as he did against DePaul, this can change, as opponents have to play him farther from the rim. Darling’s steadiness, ball security, and ability to hit foul shots have made him a true asset in late-game situations.
As for Jackson. His upside is still uncertain. His quickness is unquestionable, and he can hit the three-ball. What remains a concern is his decision-making. Sometimes, when he beats his opponent, only to find others stepping in his way, he charges forward and attempts shots from poor angles. This can be corrected as he is a willing learner and has good coaching. Both of these assets seem to define Jackson’s promise.
Of course, matchups with opponents may well decide who the starter will be. Ian Jackson is tightening his grasp on the starting point guard spot, but the Johnnies have an adequate replacement in Darling. Rick Pitino should not hesitate to replace Jackson with Darling when the situation calls for it.
Outlook
The Johnnies remain a ranked team, but have few games left against top-level teams. This makes the matchup with Kentucky in Atlanta critical.
This is a winnable game, and the team must focus on simple principles throughout Saturday’s contest: defense, rebounding, and unselfish play. St. John’s shot very well in the DePaul game, hitting 45 percent from the field and 45 percent from three. This will not happen every night, and the continued focus on defense will make up for the games the team simply does not shoot these percentages. The future is a positive one.
