When it comes time for participating in the CBS Sports Classic there are a ton of emotions on the line.
The guy’s head to Atlanta and go against a squad in where Head Coach Rick Pitino helped to bring the team back to National Prominence as they got to see three Final Fours, a runner-up finish and the 1996 NCAA National Championship.
This isn’t the first time that the St. John’s Men’s Basketball team went up against a team that was once led by Coach Pitino but the chapters in his journey were different for each program.
In Kentucky, Coach Pitino rescued Kentucky versus when he was at Iona he was able to see a personal atmosphere that gave him a completely different relationship between the athletes and the people in the community.
Either way the main focus for the St. John’s Men’s Basketball team after winning three in a row against Ole Miss, Iona and DePaul is to show that they are in fact a team to watch for in the basketball season.
After facing tough loses in Las Vegas in the Players Era Championship, this is a great opportunity for the guys to show the quality and caliber of play.
With the team’s first BIG EAST Conference victory of the year under the belt in a very closely contested victory against DePaul there is a ton of heart and grit being shown by this team thus far.
The mantra of team play and seeing everyone contribute is starting to show again, and just in the right time for the squad.
St. John’s Men’s Basketball fans are encouraged to view the following video as Coach Pitino along with Ejiofor and Dillon Mitchell:
In fact an impressive stat compliments of the St. John’s Athletics Department is the fact that the Red Storm was able to outscore the DePaul bench in scoring by 32-4.
Some of the highlighted players against DePaul were Dylan Darling as he had a season-high 17 points, Joson Sanon recording his first double-double with 15 points and a career-high nine rebounds and two blocs.
Playing some stellar defense was Zuby Ejiofor as he was able to block four Blue Demon shots. During the past three games he was able to log an incredible 20 blocks and that is the most in that span by a BIG EAST Player since Chris Obekpa had 22 from November 22-29, 2013.
As for Kentucky they are led by Otega Oweh as he has about 14 PPG, in the rebounding department Malachi Moreno has a 6-8 RBP along with being one of the rim protectors for the team.
When it comes time for distribution of the ball both Denzel Aberdeen and Jaland Lowe are the main facilitators and these are just some of the guys to watch for.
It is going to make for a great showdown and all scheduled to take place on 12/20 at 12:30 p.m. Anyone hoping to catch the action can do so on the CBS Network.
For more information on the St. John’s Athletics Department fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
St. John’s University Athletics – Official Athletics Website