St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson will look back at this season and exhale deeply. That sigh of relief will be loud enough to be heard throughout the tri-state area.
He’ll look up and say, man, that was a 12-round fight of a season.
This may or may not happen, but I’m predicting it’ll be something close to it.
Because it’s been that type of season for the Red Storm.
And if the 12-round fight analogy doesn’t work, then storm would be the next word I’d use when describing the 2019-20 season for this team.
To conclude that Anderson, in his first year coaching the Johnnies, has had his work cut out for him, would be an understatement.
Since losing to Seton Hall earlier this season at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s dropped five of their next seven games. They blew a 17-point lead to Georgetown at the Garden and wound up losing by one point. In their most recent defeat, a desperate Xavier team scored eight unanswered points to leave the Garden with a three-point win.
Mustapha Heron’s senior season more than likely came to a disappointing end because of a lingering ankle injury. Not too long after that, the team announced sophomore forward Ian Steere has been suspended indefinitely by the university. Steere only appeared in five games this season.
Ups, downs, more downs, plenty of lessons for St. John’s
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Anderson in his first year in Queens. But if there’s anyone built tough enough to lead this team through the storm, it’s him.
The storm includes four straight losses at Madison Square Garden and five conference losses by five points or fewer.
The problems at home are a concern, especially with the Big East tournament right around the corner. Anderson is likely reminding his players about the importance of protecting their home court.
The close losses, however, are indicative of a team that’s not giving up, despite the uphill battles they’ve faced all season. They play the type of defense Anderson loves to coach and that’s been key to their staying in some of these games. The next step is to take the lessons learned from those tough losses and apply them to finishing ballgames better.
Meanwhile, this season won’t be an easy finish for St. John’s. Their last five games on the schedule are all against ranked teams. It begins with a trip across the river to face Seton Hall at “The Rock”.
This season has been tough on the fans of St. John’s but the first few bricks laid to a foundation are never easy. Mike Anderson has his players staying the course, it’ll be worth it in the long run.
