Mike Anderson’s imprint as head coach at St. John’s was apparent immediately: The energy. The urgency. The aggressiveness. The defense, always swarming. The boards, always crashed. The leads, always too small.
There is no change — especially after a loss.
Returning from the shock of Saturday’s last-second defeat against Vermont, the Red Storm responded by removing all doubt about Wednesday’s outcome long before halftime and cruising to an 82-63 win over Columbia at Carnesecca Arena.
In a balanced, 10-man effort, St. John’s (4-1) produced 10 steals and 15 offensive rebounds, while holding the Lions (1-4) under 38 percent shooting from the field.
“This team is building right in front of your eyes,” Anderson said. “Guys came out with a sense of urgency and I believe we kept that sense of urgency throughout the game. … They’re starting to understand how hard they have to play. They’re starting to understand we’re not just a two-man team. … Defensively, we’ve gotta be good every night. There’s not a lot of room for error for our team and how hard they have to play. It’s a new team and we’re still identifying roles with this team.”
The roles are forming fast.
Mustapha Heron (15 points) led St. John’s in scoring again. Freshman Julian Champagnie continued his strong start to the season, adding 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Transfer Rasheem Dunn caused nonstop havoc, recording 14 points, three assists and three steals. Josh Roberts intimidated in the paint, collecting 11 rebounds and three blocks.
The aggression was relentless on both ends of the floor, allowing the Johnnies to break open the game with an early 11-0 run and seize a 25-8 lead. When halftime hit, the Red Storm led 49-27.
“We had to just take our anger out on the opponent,” Dunn said. “It was a tough loss we dealt with and we felt we had to bounce back.”
In the opening minutes of the second half, Columbia, behind Mike Smith (20 points, nine rebounds, six assists), cut the deficit to 15. A timeout hit. The new coach reinforced his principles.
“He was yelling,” Heron said of Anderson. “More just trying to motivate us to continue doing what we’re doing and not change what got us the success in the first place.”
In less than six minutes, St. John’s doubled its lead, going up 70-40, while holding the Lions to just two points. The Red Storm finished with just eight turnovers, while hitting 7 of 15 3-pointers.
“It gets you to play instinctively when you play that way,” Anderson said of his system. “We want to play in attack mode, not let people get comfortable, make the game chaotic.”
St. John’s now hits the road for the first time this season to play in this weekend’s Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. The Red Storm will open Saturday with a rematch of last season’s NCAA Tournament game against Arizona State, then will play either No. 7 Virginia or Massachusetts.
“Ready or not, it’s the next test,” Anderson said. “Will we be ready for it? We’re prepared for it.”