There were, Mike Anderson admitted, a lot of questions marks when he arrived in Queens. He had to assess a new roster, a new conference and a new school.
As his first season nears a close — beginning with this week’s Big East Tournament and then potentially an NIT bid — he has provided some answers. He’s given St. John’s an identity, one of pressure defense and all-out effort.
“I feel for the most part we’ve come in and kind of put our face out there in terms of who want to be and what we’re going to be about,” the first-year St. John’s coach told The Post in a wide-ranging interview. “New York is a blue-collar kind of town. St. John’s is going to be a blue-collar type of basketball team. I think how we played up until this point – maybe not the full 40 minutes we talked about – but I think our guys, they’re leaving it out on the floor.”
There is plenty of evidence to support that belief. Despite losing senior star and team leader Mustapha Heron to a season-ending ankle injury on Feb. 8 and junior LJ Figueroa (14.3 points on 37.5 percent shooting) battling consistency issues, St. John’s (16-15) is in play to reach the postseason. It defeated four likely tournament teams – Arizona, West Virginia, Providence and No. 7 Creighton – and of its 13 Big East defeats, seven were by single figures. The Johnnies outplayed No. 16 Seton Hall, No. 24 Butler, Georgetown and Xavier at home, blowing late leads. It enters its Big East Tournament opener against Georgetown Wednesday night third in the country in turnover margin at plus-5.5 and second-best in the Big East allowing 71.9 points per game.
The program’s young players, in particular sophomores Marcellus Earlington and Greg Williams Jr., and freshman Julian Champagnie, all made significant strides. Champagnie became the first St. John’s freshman since Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett in 2017 to make the All-Big East freshman team. Williams has emerged since Heron’s injury, averaging 14.7 points over his last four games, and the physical Earlington has become a productive player, notching 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
“I think they’re core guys. That’s how you establish your program,” Anderson said. “You got to build it with guys who are going to be there for the long haul. A big piece of what we do is our kids develop, and you’re seeing that.”
There is a lot more work to be done. Anderson admitted the talent level needs to be raised. “That’s at every position,” he said.
Anderson said he believes that’s being done through development and recruitment. He thinks all four members of the incoming class – junior college stars Vince Cole and Isaih Moore and three-star recruits Posh Alexander and Dylan Wusu – can be contributors next season.
Off the court, the team has the highest cumulative grade-point average, above 3.0 during the fall semester, in over two decades, according to the school. Six scholarship players had at least 3.3 GPAs and two registered perfect 4.0s. One source said this current coaching staff is the most visible on campus in decades, making sure everyone is handling academic responsibilities. Every player has to check in with Anderson’s office daily. He will frequently call players after games. Athletic director Mike Cragg called the year an “A-plus” in building a culture.
“He gives you lessons that’s more than basketball,” Earlington said of Anderson.
Anderson still isn’t doing backflips about this season. St. John’s could easily be on the NCAA Tournament bubble, if it just won a few more games it blew with late leads. He doesn’t care about his head-coaching streak of never having a losing season, which it doesn’t appear will end this year. That’s not what motivates him.
“I despise losing. I said that from day one,” he said. “But something you have to go through to get where you want to go. It tests your patience. I know that my patience has been tested.”
The season, of course, is not over. St. John’s could make a run at the Big East Tournament, especially since Creighton could be without star point guard Marcus Zegarowski (knee) in the quarterfinals. The NIT seems very possible. No matter what happens the rest of the way, considering what Anderson inherited and the progress that has been made, the arrow appears to be pointing up for this team’s future. His boss agrees.
“Fantastic. He’s done everything I would have dreamt of,” Cragg said. “Nothing has been a surprise as far as building the culture, building the infrastructure, having great coaching on the sideline.”