00:07This is Eye of the Storm, a St. John's video series presented by the New York Post.
00:13What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Eye of the Storm, and we are back. We're back on the court
00:17here at Carnesec Arena, your boy Dexter Henry, alongside my guy, Zach Braziller, and we got to
00:21see the St. John's Red Storm get their first victory of the year, 78-63, at home over the
00:27mind with Hawks. This man, very happy that Kyle's basketball is back. You saw the Red Storm
00:33in this one. They got off to a good start in the first couple of minutes, and they really
00:38did it behind defense. How impressed were you with the start they had in this game?
00:41Yeah, the first 10 or 11 minutes were great. I mean, it was 24-6. The press really created
00:46problems. The ball moved, and then, you know, after that, it was, you know, they weren't
00:51great. It was kind of what we saw in the preseason, where they've had, you know, stretches where
00:57they were really impressive, and you're like, wow, this team is just really good, and then
01:00you're kind of like, well, there's a long way to go, as Rick Pitino has said. You know,
01:05today was kind of emblematic of the preseason, you know, where they've played well at times,
01:10but they've also been shaky at times. Yeah, you saw some of that, but it was defense that
01:15got them the early lead in this game, and Quinn Ellis, the new point guard, he talked about
01:19that after the contest. I think more than anything it gets is a lot of easy buckets. We get a
01:23lot
01:23of steals, and then it's at least easy transition points, and then most of all, it just gives
01:29us energy, you know. When we press him, when we trap him, when everyone's active, it looks
01:32great, and the crowds get involved, and it's hard to play against, so we've got to be better
01:37and play like we did in the first four minutes, the pressing and aggressors, and so on.
01:42Another bright spot in this game for the Red Storm, Keyshawn Hall. Looks really good
01:46offensively. He made his first six shots in this contest, finished with a game-high 26 points.
01:50What did you like about how he was able to score in this one?
01:54Yeah, he really got going in the flow of the offense, offensive rebounds, moving without
01:58the ball. I was like Rick Pitino said, like him and Quinn Ellis are two guys who really
02:03understand what they're trying to do both offensively and defensively. You know, Hall,
02:07he can make threes, he can score inside, he's a terrific free-throw shooter. I mean, look,
02:13this is a guy who was top five in the SEC in scoring last year for a reason. He's an
02:17incredibly
02:18talented player, and yeah, he was a real bright spot, no doubt about it.
02:21Yeah, my first look at him, I could see that he could score from all over the floor, and
02:25he talked about his ability to score however the team needs him after this one.
02:29Growing up as a kid, I played point guard, and obviously I got taller and bigger, so I still
02:34established my handle, and being able to do that, my father always told me, like, have
02:38an all-around game, so being versatile, so yeah, I would say scoring comes kind of easy for me.
02:43That's why I just try to worry about the other things nowadays. Like, yes, when I first got
02:48in college, I wanted to score a lot, but I have done it already in multiple ways, so it's not
02:53really about that, but yeah, I think I can do a little bit of everything, but that's not
02:57the main focus no more.
02:58I want to talk about Captain Jack, Ian Jackson. Interesting game for him, because he got in
03:01foul trouble in the first half, but in the second half, he had some bright spots, finished
03:05with 15 points. What did you make of how he looked in year two under Rick Pitino here?
03:11Yeah, it's kind of a little like the preseason with Ian. He's really going to the basket well.
03:15He made some threes tonight. He's, you know, that second half was kind of how he's looked
03:19preseason. Attacking, confident, not hesitating. You know, the foul stuff is something he's got
03:27to worry about. Rick Pitino says they're fouling too much as a team, and look, they don't have a ton
03:33of depth in that backcourt, so you would prefer if he kind of avoids getting in foul trouble.
03:40But yeah, I mean, he looked, that second half, he was pretty good, and he just looks like someone
03:46who's very confident in his abilities and kind of understands what Rick Pitino wants out of him.
03:50You know, definitely a, you know, a strong start. You'd like to avoid the foul trouble,
03:54but a strong debut for him.
03:55You know, confident is a word I saw with him tonight. Does he also look stronger to you?
03:59He looks stronger to you, right?
04:00Yes, he's finishing at the rim a lot more than he was a year ago. Last year, he was, you
04:05know,
04:05last year early, he would start off shooting threes. This year, it feels like he's trying
04:10to get to the rim more early, and then the threes come.
04:12Yeah, you saw that. He definitely was finishing at the rim very well, taking contact with Zorbin
04:16and finishing right through, so that was good. The other play I was impressed with, and I
04:19got to give you credit, because you talked about this play. You talked him up. You said he looks
04:23like one of the best pure point guards that this team has seen in quite some while, and that's
04:27Quinn Ellis. What an all-around game for him today. Eight points, seven dimes, five steals
04:32as well, too. How impressed are you with what he can do on the court, and is there another
04:37level to his game that we still have yet to see?
04:39Yeah, he just controls the game, you know, without scoring. You saw it again today, though.
04:45There are times where he's, like, hesitant to shoot, and he's got to be more, like, especially
04:50when you get in league play, teams are going to play off. He's going to have to be more
04:53aggressive with his shot. It's kind of something he's always done. He's going to realize soon
04:59that he can get to the rim any time, and that's just going to open everything up. I think as
05:03the year goes on, you'll see him be more aggressive, and that's, I think, something you would like
05:09to see. But yeah, I mean, he's terrific both ends on the floor. I thought he was big in that
05:14first 10 or so minutes when they set the tone of his defense, coming up with steals. He blocks
05:19shots here and there. I mean, yeah, he's, like, he's terrific, and it's easy to see why they were
05:25so happy to get him.
05:26Yeah, very impressive start by him. See if he can score a little bit more. All right, next up
05:30for the Johnnies will be a matchup at the Garden on Sunday against Iona. Should be a good crowd
05:36for that one. Zach will be there, so will I. Here's the thing. Rick Pitino, he called the rest of
05:41this performance after the first couple of minutes. He called it mediocre. So what do
05:44you think the Red Storm needs to improve on on Sunday against Iona? Yeah, to me, it's
05:51twofold. The on-ball defense wasn't great after those first 10 minutes. I think they
05:57got a little comfortable 24-6. They, you know, low-major opponent. Think we're just going
06:02to win this game by 40, and they relaxed a little. And then the ball movement, like he
06:05said, you know, we were doing well when the ball was moving, and we weren't going one-on-one,
06:10and they kind of fell into those one-on-one habits. They have a lot of good one-on-one
06:13players. But yeah, I mean, look, it's a really new team. It's going to take time. We saw in the
06:19preseason, they have these spurts where they look incredible, and they look kind of sluggish
06:24and stagnant, and that's kind of what we saw tonight. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to
06:27see if on Sunday they come out and put together a full 40 minutes. But they get the victory here
06:32tonight, 78-263 over the Monmouth Hawks here at Karnasak Arena. Oh, and they were able to put up
06:37the banners. We saw that we did get to see that for the back-to-back Big East Championship,
06:42what they did last year, winning the conference, winning the tournament. It was nice to see
06:46for the great Zach Brasile, who is so happy that basketball's back. I am too. Definitely
06:50college basketball's back. Less Jets, the better. Well, I know that. That's better for your soul.
06:54We need that. We need you happy. Less Jets, the better. More Johnny's, less Jets. That's always
06:59good. That's going to do it for us here on Out of the Storm. We'll catch you next time.
07:02We'll catch you next time.
