Rick Pitino has been consistent throughout the fall.
St. John’s, as talented and experienced as it may be, is going to take time.
After two exhibition games against Drexel and Rutgers, it is clear the Johnnies are a work in progress. It feels similar to last season so far at this point, except last winter there was a clear leader (Zuby Ejiofor) this group lacks. There is clearly a ton of talent. But cohesion isn’t going to happen immediately.
Sunday’s meeting with Rutgers, which could be improved after returning three of their top four scorers, produced some good and some bad. There was the shaky first half, in which St. John’s shockingly trailed by 18. There were the first 12 minutes of the second half, in which the Red Storm ripped off a 30-4 run. And there were the four overtime periods, when St. John’s struggled to finish off Rutgers before finally prevailing, 104-99.