A look at each of the St. John's Red Storm ballers who played during the conference season, with high points, aspects of their game they need to work on, and more. I used tempo-free stats to form my thoughts, with a mix of traditional stats for the explanations.
The players' order was sorted by the average minutes per game each athlete had during Big East play. Links to each players' review below the fold.
The Short Version of the Red Storm Players' Years
Rob Thomas, even without the hops (which don't seem to be on the verge of coming back) and while only banging inside, was a bit of a bull, effective under the basket.
The team had three centers. None of them saw the floor very often, and averaged under 10 minutes per game each. I'm not sure if that's a player development problem or a recruiting problem, but the team could have used some capable bangers inside.
Dele Coker has signs of being a capable shot-blocker and rebounder... if his fouling doesn't keep him off the floor.
The recruiting class last year was of little help. TyShwan Edmondson seemed overwhelmed. Quincy Roberts shows flashes of ability. Phil Wait barely got to play. Quincy needs work, strength, better ball control, and shooting accuracy - all of which sounds like a lot, but might just be the transition to the Big East. When he improves, I suspect that Quincy will be nice slashing to the basket.
Speaking of Quincy, he should not be a backup point guard. Then again, Malik Boothe's point guard game lacked ball-control, shooting, and defense. That might have been because of the injury, but his stint in the Canadian preseason games is cause for worry... still too many mistakes.
Sean Evans is a small forward in a college power forward's body. If he can improve his free throw shooting, he will find himself with more double-figure scoring efforts. Meanwhile, Justin Burrell is a power forward, but he looks too mechanical, or like he's thinking too much. And he needs to hit that midrange shot as well.
DJ Kennedy and Paris Horne were a two-man gang keeping St. John's in games. Horne is a more natural scorer, but Kennedy is like a glue guy, a throwback player - he doesn't do all the sexy athletic things but he hits his free throws, draws fouls, and plays craftily. Both got much better, even if Kennedy's ability to score inside the arc deserted him at times last year in his determination to make plays for the struggling squad.
Player-by-Player Recaps
Phil Wait
Tomas Jasiulionis
Dele Coker
TyShwan Edmondson
Rob Thomas
Quincy Roberts
Sean Evans
Justin Burrell
Malik Boothe
DJ Kennedy
Paris Horne