St. John's gets another look at its reserves on Wednesday night, when the Red Storm host Colgate at 7:00 p.m. ET on Peacock. The game gives Rick Pitino a chance to see whether a stronger bench outing against Iona was a step forward or just a one-night spike.
The starters have done their job through two games. Quinn Ellis has looked like one of the best point guards in the nation, Ian Jackson has made the leap many expected in his second season with Pitino, Keyshawn Hall has been a difference maker on offense and Tounde Yessoufou has shown All-American potential. Ruben Prey has also been serviceable at center, even without eye-popping scoring numbers.
What has been harder to pin down is how much Pitino wants to trust the second unit when the opponent is not forcing his hand. St. John's did not face fierce competition in its first two games against Monmouth and Iona, but the bench response changed quickly. The reserves combined for 15 points against Monmouth, with Zsombor Markona going scoreless, then exploded for 39 against Iona. Maronka and Lefteris Liotopoulos led that jump, combining for 24 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, while Babacare Sane missed the game with a minor ankle injury.
Pitino sounded pleased with the group after that showing, saying they are great guys to coach who want to get better, want to learn and want to grow. He added that they work really hard in practice, which is usually the kind of praise that comes when a coach believes more minutes are available if the production stays steady.
That is where Colgate matters. The Raiders enter at 0-2, and St. John's is 2-0, but the bigger test comes right after this one. Syracuse comes into Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening, and after that the Red Storm have a final tuneup before at least three games in the Players Era Festival. If the bench is going to matter in those games, Wednesday is one more chance to show it can handle more than mop-up duty.
