Deep Dive Thread for St. John's

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The Red Storm are coached by Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, who is in his third season in New York. Pitino looks to try and get the Johnnies to the NCAA Tournament, a place where they were a 2 seed just a season ago.

The Johnnies are led by 6-9 Zuby Ejiofor. Just a season ago, he averaged nearly 15/8. Ejiofor is an elite offensive rebounder and a presence in the interior who thrives at getting to the line. Zuby was in double figures nearly all season last year, but the place he made teams pay was on the offensive glass, logging 17 games with over 5 O boards.

In the screen and roll game, Zuby is a beast. https://x.com/CBBonFOX/status/1985492842291286128

His backcourt mate for this game will be 6-8 Dillon Mitchell. Previously from Texas and most recently from Cincinnati, Mitchell averaged 10 per game and 7 boards. The things he does best are defending the paint without fouling and being an efficient scorer. He can step out, but it is not really his game.

Mitchell showing how easily they turn defense to offense. https://x.com/StJohnsBBall/status/1985508809935098177

Providence transfer 6-7 Bryce Hopkins will start at the 3, after playing just 17 games the last 2 seasons due to injury. He averaged over 15 per game with 8 rebounds in the games he did play. Alabama should have some familiarity with him from his time at Kentucky; he will not be afraid to step back and shoot from deep, given the chance.

The two starters in the backcourt are 6-5 Oziyah Sellers and 6-5 Ian Jackson. Sellers is a transfer from Stanford, and Jackson from UNC. Both guys are lethal from behind the arc, shooting over 39% last season on very high attempts. They are both elite shot makers, so Alabama’s perimeter defense will have to be sharp.

Jackson can get hot in a hurry. https://x.com/StJohnsBBall/status/1985491565956010416

Also in their backcourt is 6-5 Joson Sanon and 6-1 Dylan Darling. Sanon, Alabama fans should know decently well, as we recruited him both out of HS and the portal due to his time with Preston Murphy; he's an athletic wing that can shoot well from deep. Darling transferred from Idaho State, where he was a super high assist rate guy but also a 36% shooter from deep.

The last 2 guys that you will probably see in this game are 6-6 Sadiku Ibine Ayo and 6-11 Ruben Prey. They are 2 of the only returners on this team other than Ejiofor, but they are more of rotational pieces in the front court that I would not expect to play huge minutes.

St. John’s is an elite defensive team that plays with tempo often through causing turnovers and blocking shots on defense. Alabama will need to play strong with the basketball and make smart decisions, or else it will lead to easy offense for the Johnnies. Additionally, Pitino held Alabama to their lowest attempts from deep for the season in their other 2 matchups during his time at Iona.

For Alabama to have success in this game, it will be crucial to rebound the basketball on the defensive end and take care of the ball on offense. Pitino is a legendary coach for a reason, and that's because he takes away what you do best and makes you beat him a different way. Expect Alabama not to get many 3s in the half-court, so for us to get shots from deep, we will need to play in transition.

My player to watch is Aiden Sherrell. Aiden will draw one of the toughest matchups in Zuby Ejifor, and with that, he will be asked to battle in the paint for 40 minutes. If Aiden can knock down any shots from deep to draw out the shot blocker and keep him off the offensive glass, it will be a success going against one of the elite front-court players in America.

No matter what, this game will be very close. I think that both Nate Oats and Rick Pitino will have their teams ready for this heavyweight bout in MSG. I think that Oats, however, has been able to have some success against teams similar to Houston, which I think St. John’s is similar to on defense. Because of that, I have Alabama winning a close one in NYC.

Prediction: Alabama 87 - St. John’s 84

I broke down this game in much more detail over on YouTube. Check it out if you are interested and subscribe for more Alabama Basketball Content.