Game thread: St. John's vs San Francisco State

Some tendencies to watch for:

The Johnnies return 91.6 percent of its scoring and 88.3 percent of the team's rebounding from last season, earned a preseason first-team selection in D`Angelo Harrison, a second-team selection in JaKarr Sampson, a preseason Rookie of the Year selection in Rysheed Jordan, and a preseason honorable mention in Chris Obekpa (who is suspended for this and the next preseason game on Monday).

The Johnnies have obvious talent - "Kentucky-like", in the words of Villanova head coach Jay Wright. It's time to see if that talent can meld into a winning Big East record, into 23 wins or more, into an NCAA Tournament bid.

And we'll be keeping an eye on the team's cohesiveness, as new players (Orlando Sanchez, Rysheed Jordan, and Max Hooper) start to take returnees' minutes (which is likely a good thing). From the Rumble Game preview:

Fans saw a small taste of of the team's versatility when they went on their "Taking Europe by Storm" tour. But those games were played without guards Phil Greene IV (hip), and Felix Balamou (ankle) - and with a limited Rysheed Jordan (back). The management of minutes at guard will absolutely be something to watch not only now but throughout the whole year as well.

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