One month impressions: Bryan Trimble Jr.

The freshman Bryan Trimble Jr. was not expected to have a huge role, but came to St. john’s with some intrigue surrounding his game. A one-time Florida State commit, Trimble was said to be defensively stout, a decent scorer and a solid shooter.

In fact, Jon Rothstein listed him as an under-the-radar-freshman to watch.

Seven games in, St. John’s has an intriguing player who might not see minutes in every game if he was part of a roster with 13 fully-available players.

But St. John’s only has nine players on the roster. Ipso facto, Trimble is a major bench contributor, ready or not.

So when the Kansas City freshman was sidelined with the flu on Sunday against UCF, it was noticeable, especially as Marcus LoVett fouled out (on an offensive foul, hooking a UCF player to get around him). We got to see the vision of Amar Alibegovic defending guards, which wasn’t a terrible effort!

But Trimble also brings the potential of zone-busting threes from the wings and the top of the arc.

His defense has been willing, but he hasn’t seen enough minutes for us to fully evaluate it yet.

By the numbers

Best game: vs Central Connecticut, 8 points (3/5 shooting)/ 19 minutes played

In six games, Trimble is averaging 2.3 points per game. All of his shot attempts except one have been from outside the arc, where he is shooting 29% (4/14). On the season, he has one steal, one turnover, two assists.

His defense is eager, but so far, the team has been a bit worse defensively with him on the floor, though his minutes have been limited.

But overall - Trimble has been a solid find, especially when considered as a direct replacement for Federico Mussini. Trimble knows his spots on the floor, shoots confidently, doesn’t try to do too much and does not turn the ball over.

In this role? Those are excellent traits.

And if he finds his stroke one game a la Freudenberg last season against Syracuse? Even better.

Trimble has room to grow his role this season, especially given the Johnnies’ struggles against the zone last weekend.

What have you liked about Trimble’s game?