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Amidst the Red Storm's renaissance, somewhere alongside the breathtaking finishes, the surprise beatings, the Lavin-sanctioned swagger, and the roaring Madison Square Garden crowds, D.J. Kennedy, former St. John's alpha male scorer became... almost secondary. For those who watch the simple plus/minuses of the scoring outcomes, Kennedy faded to Dwight Hardy's creative offensive brilliance.
In some ways, however - before Kennedy tore his ACL against Syracuse in the Big East Tournament - it was the best season of his collegiate career.
Despite stepping back on his scoring role, Kennedy became an integral part of St. John's two way attack, tightening up his all-around game. And his season capped an excellent four-year career for the Storm - he was possibly the best player Norm Roberts brought to the Queens campus. A look back at Kennedy, the player who tried to drag the Red Storm to victory for years.
Kennedy's season saw him score a lot less; but he covered a lot of bases for the Johnnies when he was on the court. Kennedy was:
- the best at drawing fouls (as a ratio of free throws taken over shots taken) at 79.4% in Big East play.
- the best at stealing the ball, 3.7% of opponent possessions.
- the best defensive rebounder, grabbing 21% of available defensive boards - and this from a wing position.
- one of the best passers/ facilitators on the squad, assisting on 16.3% of the team's made shots.
All of which is to say that D.J. Kennedy was the glue that held St. John's together, the player who a lot of the unheralded dirty work on the floor.
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D.J. Kennedy - All Games
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|||||||||||||||
|
All
|
G
|
GS
|
MPG
|
Poss%
|
ORtg
|
eFG%
|
2p%
|
3p%
|
FT%
|
FTR
|
DReb%
|
Ast%
|
Stl%
|
TO%
|
Blk%
|
|
2010-11
|
32
|
31
|
28.7
|
19.8
|
109.9
|
50.0
|
48.6
|
36.4
|
77.8
|
59.2
|
18.2
|
14.3
|
3.6
|
18.1
|
2.1
|
|
D.J. Kennedy - Big East Games only
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Big East
|
G
|
GS
|
MPG
|
Poss%
|
ORtg
|
eFG%
|
2p%
|
3p%
|
FT%
|
FTR
|
DReb%
|
Ast%
|
Stl%
|
TO%
|
Blk%
|
|
2010-11
|
18
|
18
|
29.8
|
19.2
|
111.2
|
46.5
|
45.8
|
32.4
|
80.6
|
79.4
|
21.0
|
16.3
|
3.7
|
17.6
|
2.2
|
Kennedy - who didn't miss a game in his four years as a Johnnie - didn't take the huge step forward he needed this past season to demonstrate himself to be a clear-cut NBA draft pick, which is unfortunate. And the injury he suffered at the end of the season was certainly no help in highlighting his skill set.
Still, before the injury, it seemed at times that Kennedy didn't take to the new Steve Lavin/ Mike Dunlap style of play. In January, as the team started to struggle to score, Kennedy seemed to fade. Perhaps he was asked to scale back on the shot attempts and drives; perhaps it was a team-wide malaise. But his reluctance to shoot (or adherence to the team concept) made him more of a dark-horse pick to get called by an NBA team come draft time.
Which is okay. D.J. Kennedy has had the chance to be the alpha scorer on the Red Storm, taking upwards of 25% of the team's possessions in 2009-2010, and scoring with solid efficiency. He'd already proved he could pass well, assisting on more than 20% of his teammates' made shots in Big East play for two years. He has great athletic defensive markers, blocking shots at a decent rate for a guard and consistently thieving the ball.
Kennedy could be a very nice free agent NBA guard, like Wesley Matthews was for Portland, especially if he focuses on defense. His game is crafty, and he doesn't need the ball to be effective. But maybe Kennedy's the kind of player who is destined for a long career on a top European team, a solid, gritty player in some balmy historic locale with really good food.
Once he heals from his injury and can work out for teams - especially when the NBA lockout ends and the established US players return to their stateside clubs - we'll find out what direction his pro career is heading. But here, we think he has a pro career in front of him.
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D.J. Kennedy - All Games
|
|||||||||||||||
|
All
|
G
|
GS
|
MPG
|
Poss%
|
ORtg
|
eFG%
|
2p%
|
3p%
|
FT%
|
FTR
|
DReb%
|
Ast%
|
Stl%
|
TO%
|
Blk%
|
|
2007-08
|
30
|
29
|
26.5
|
18.2
|
98.6
|
48.8
|
48.5
|
33.3
|
70.6
|
48.0
|
17.8
|
11.9
|
2.7
|
23.2
|
1.4
|
|
2008-09
|
34
|
34
|
34.6
|
21.1
|
107.0
|
45.6
|
43.6
|
33.3
|
73.3
|
56.1
|
16.7
|
17.6
|
2.6
|
17.5
|
1.2
|
|
2009-10
|
33
|
31
|
31.5
|
25.6
|
111.0
|
52.2
|
49.1
|
38.3
|
75.6
|
49.0
|
16.3
|
21.4
|
2.2
|
18.8
|
2.2
|
|
2010-11
|
32
|
31
|
28.7
|
19.8
|
109.9
|
50.0
|
48.6
|
36.4
|
77.8
|
59.2
|
18.2
|
14.3
|
3.6
|
18.1
|
2.1
|
|
D.J. Kennedy - Big East Games only
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Big East
|
G
|
GS
|
MPG
|
Poss%
|
ORtg
|
eFG%
|
2p%
|
3p%
|
FT%
|
FTR
|
DReb%
|
Ast%
|
Stl%
|
TO%
|
Blk%
|
|
2007-08
|
18
|
17
|
24.6
|
16.2
|
94.9
|
45.2
|
50.0
|
20.0
|
64.6
|
57.1
|
16.4
|
9.3
|
2.7
|
21.3
|
0.7
|
|
2008-09
|
18
|
18
|
34.9
|
21.5
|
102.9
|
41.6
|
35.6
|
36.4
|
76.2
|
60.6
|
17.3
|
21.6
|
2.8
|
19.1
|
0.9
|
|
2009-10
|
18
|
17
|
31.9
|
26.3
|
103.5
|
48.2
|
44.4
|
36.5
|
73.3
|
45.0
|
16.3
|
20.3
|
2.5
|
18.8
|
2.2
|
|
2010-11
|
18
|
18
|
29.8
|
19.2
|
111.2
|
46.5
|
45.8
|
32.4
|
80.6
|
79.4
|
21.0
|
16.3
|
3.7
|
17.6
|
2.2
|
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Previous St. John's Red Storm in Review posts: offense/ defense | dele coker | dwayne polee | malik stith | sean evans | the risky coaching pick | the roster shakeup | malik boothe | justin burrell | paris horne