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00:07This is Eye of the Storm, a St. John's video series presented by the New York Post.
00:13What's up everybody? New faces, big expectations, and we got ourselves a big question.
00:18How far can the Johnnies go? Welcome back to the Eye of the Storm of Dexter Henry.
00:22Joined by our great writer for the New York Post, the great beat writer, the one and only
00:26Zach Braziller, who's smiling because it is college basketball time, and he is so excited
00:31here.
00:31Well, I'm also honest. I remember when I was in here a year ago, I think I was telling you
00:36I didn't think Mike Brown was the answer, so I was just thinking back to that conversation
00:39and, you know, not exactly. If you look at my college football picks, you won't be surprised
00:43that I was wrong there.
00:45So what Zach is saying, even though we're about to do a season for you, maybe you shouldn't
00:49trust anything that he has to say.
00:51But we're here, St. John's, to get ready to play the season opener, Monmouth on November
00:542nd, and we're here to help you get ready. Hopefully, Zach has some good answers for
00:58you. We're going to look at Rick Pitino's new look roster. There's a lot of new faces
01:01to the Big East title race, and the possibilities come this March. So we're going to break it
01:05all down on a season preview. And Zach, this year, I'm telling you, the people are going
01:08to want you to be right.
01:10Okay? They want you to be right.
01:11You know what? I was looking at some of my preseason predictions for last year's.
01:15I was pretty close. I said slow start. I don't think it was as slow as I thought.
01:20You did say that.
01:20I said slow start. I said split the Big East title with UConn. I undersold.
01:24They made the Big East title. And I said a lead eight. I said three seed. They were
01:28five. And hey, they were pretty damn close to the lead eight. You know, gave Duke everything
01:32they could handle in the Sweet 16. And yeah, it was definitely, I don't think I was that
01:38far off.
01:38No, you weren't. I guess what I learned from that is-
01:40I called Dylan Mitchell the X Factor. He was definitely the X Factor.
01:42You did. You did say that. I guess what people should take from that is trust Zach with
01:47St. John's and college basketball.
01:48To an extent.
01:48Don't trust him. Don't trust him with the NBA.
01:51Or college football.
01:51Or college football. You might be wrong at that.
01:54Let's talk about St. John's and their exhibition season, which is interesting. You had an interesting
01:59one. I didn't get to go to any of the games, but they went from needing four overtimes against
02:04Rutgers. Then they beat Texas, which you talked to me about. We talked about it before. It
02:07was going to be a really good test. They win that one 87 to 74. What changed the most between
02:12those games that encourages you about this team and where they can go?
02:17Yeah. I mean, there was that about 15 minutes of the Rutgers game where they outscored them
02:23like 30. After an awful first half where they're down to 18. Then the first 15 minutes of the
02:28second half, they outscored them like 30 to 5. So it wasn't like Rutgers was a complete
02:33dud. I know Pitino said he gave it an F, but it wasn't like Rutgers was awful. I think Rutgers
02:37actually has improved. They have a lot of guys back.
02:39Um, but it was the, the three big, they've three, they have a potential to have three
02:4520 point scores with Ian Jackson, Tunde Yasufu and Keyshawn Hall. All three of those guys
02:50were terrific in the Texas game, attacking the rim, making shots. And then you have Quinn
02:54Ellis orchestrating the early point guard, who's I think has a chance to be the best St.
02:59John's pure point guard, you know, since Omar Cook, Eric Barkley. That's not a knock on
03:03Qadari Richmond. Um, you know, it just, he's just, he controls the game. Um, he doesn't
03:11have to score to make an impact. I, I, he, I think he had like three turnovers in the entire
03:16preseason. Um, he could score more than he's shown. Um, he's terrific. And then you have
03:23those guys. And I think the, you know, the, the most, uh, unreported or just biggest takeaway
03:31I had was the freshman center, Theo Adema, who was really good against Texas. He had
03:35like seven, seven rebounds in a block in 12 minutes. And Texas has a really good front
03:40line. They have one of the best centers in the country. Um, TCU transfer, David Punches,
03:44their power forward is really good. And Theo Adema had to play more than they thought because
03:49Ruben Prey on foul trouble. He was really good. He's really should be a senior in high school.
03:53He's, but he's got a college body, 6'11", 250. You know, they love his motor. Um, and he
04:00was good. And I, I think he's going to play a role for them off the bench. I, I was,
04:04that
04:04was a, a very, um, you know, pleasant surprise as a team that, you know, is a little, they're,
04:10they're a big team, but they're a little undersized at center, if that makes sense. Like
04:13they're going to have really good positional size. When you look at Babacar, Sani, who's
04:17six, seven, six, eight, Keyshawn Hall, who's six, seven, you have, you know, the guards
04:21are all six, four, six, five. So they have good positional size, but they're not huge at
04:25center. Ruben Prey, six, 10. Um, but Theo Adema is a guy that I think they think is
04:30going to be really good in time. And, you know, he's someone I think could really carve
04:33out a role for himself off the bench, especially against bigger teams. And, and you saw that
04:37against Texas. Um, it was just, they played, they played really hard. I, for the most part,
04:43they played smart. Turnovers have been something Patino has talked about all preseason. Um, yeah,
04:50I mean, they, they play with a real purpose like that, that, you know, the early part of the
04:54schedule is not very tough. So Texas was kind of like their last big time opponent until
04:58they go to Vegas Thanksgiving week. So it was, you know, I, I do think we need to
05:02also take in mind, like, keep in mind, you know, Rutgers is improved and Rutgers has
05:07a lot of guys back. Texas has really one key guy back. And so like Texas didn't look
05:12very good. And, um, I think some of that was St. John's, but some of that's just new
05:17team and it's, it like takes these teams time. And I think it was actually a very smart
05:21thing the way they made this schedule where the first, you know, they do play Syracuse,
05:26but Syracuse is supposed to be, you know, better than a top 50, 75 team. So their first
05:31five games are games. You, they could kind of work out some stuff as they try to figure
05:35out who they are and, and not really necessarily worry, um, about losing a game. And, and then
05:41they go to Vegas where they'll really be tested. But I think it's good where the first three
05:44weeks or so of the season, you know, is, you know, they open with Monmouth, they play
05:49Iona, um, you know, they play teams that they're going to beat. Right. And it gives them
05:53time to kind of figure out who they are. Yeah. It's going to be interesting if they figure
05:56out who they are. Speaking of that, after the Texas win, Patino still said this group
06:00understands roughly half of what he wants from them offensively, defensively. Now you've
06:05been around Patino for a long time. We know he's never going to be comfortable and wants
06:09to see his team get to the right place they want to get. What do you think is the biggest
06:12thing that this team needs to grasp maybe in those first couple of weeks before they
06:16get to Vegas? Yeah. I mean, it's, it's like learning to play together. Um, you know,
06:21they, they really didn't have a summer, um, together, you know, Reed Bailey and Keyshawn
06:26Hall, two key guys didn't join until the end of August. Yep. Um, Quinn Ellis and Boba
06:31Carson, it kind of came in June. Like it, they didn't really have a summer. So this team
06:35wasn't together until, you know, the start of the fall semester, which is like the end
06:40of August, right around Labor Day weekend. So they haven't basically, which is why that
06:44Texas game really impressed me was, and look, I'm not saying it was a perfect game by
06:48any stretch. They're right there. You know, um, I didn't think the end was great. Um,
06:52they were up by like 22 at one point, but that's really what impressed me is like how
06:56good they like, I don't think I've seen a Patino team here look that good in even in
07:02November as they looked in that Texas game. And look, it's an exhibition. Texas wasn't
07:07great. They're, they got some young guys. They have some really good returning players,
07:11but they're a work in progress. Like a lot of teams are this year, but I was just impressed
07:14by how sharp they looked and how hard they played. And they did look cohesive,
07:18which really didn't see a ton of, uh, in the first two games. But that, that's the
07:23thing is learning, learning each other, learning, you know, how, you know, Quinn
07:26Ellis is a great passer and guys sometimes surprises guys with passes. So it's to me,
07:31the key is these next few weeks is just learning each other. Like, yes, you know,
07:35they got to learn more about the offense and the defense and all that stuff, but it's
07:39learning each other because this is so new. Yeah. So new whole bunch of new faces.
07:42I kind of want to get to you about the new faces and the new players. Let's start with
07:46the guy you talked about. Would you, you said Quinn Ellis could be the best pure point guard
07:50that the Johnnies have had since, who'd you say? You know, Eric Barkley. Eric Barkley.
07:55Okay. Eric Barkley, Mark Cook. Okay. So there, that, that's a good one. You look at his numbers
07:59in the preseason, 22 assists, three turnovers. That kind of speaks to the pure point guard
08:04nest that you've said. How does having that kind of decision maker with Ellis impact what
08:10Patino can get out of this team offensively this year? Yeah. Yeah. This time of year,
08:14you don't, you, you rarely hear Patino just heap praise on guys. Even last year with Zuby,
08:18he, he would even sometimes say, well, I want to do this. That like, he loves Ellis.
08:22Um, not really having that top shelf point guard last year, I think probably plays a little
08:27into that. Um, but yeah, I mean, they have a ton of guys who want to score. I mentioned
08:31Jackson. I mentioned Yusufu. I, I, I mentioned Hall, you know, you have other guys, Ruben Prey,
08:38um, Babacar Sane, who, who, who thinks score first. So to have that point guard, who's like
08:42thinking past first, second, third and fourth is such a, is such a blessing. There was a play
08:48in the Texas game where he might've had Ellis was on the baseline. He probably could have scored
08:52on a drive, but he kicked it out to Jackson was wide open in the corner for three. And like,
08:57it's that kind of stuff that, you know, ingratiates yourself to teammates. And, um, you know,
09:04it's when you have a lot of guys who want to score, having that real past first point
09:08guard who's going to live in the lane is really beneficial. I do think Ellis needs to look to
09:13score a little more. Okay. Um, you know, because teams are going to play off of him if he doesn't
09:18and he can shoot. He's not, he's not a great shooter, but he's not a bad shooter. Um, and
09:23I think he needs to be a little more aggressive because if not, you're, you're going to, you're
09:28going to see teams just kind of playing off of them. So he's got to be more willing to
09:32me to take shots. Now part of it's a feeling out process. He's also called the Euro league
09:36where he's played with older guys. So he's used to just deferring. Um, and you don't
09:42want him necessarily taking the most, you don't want him taking the most shots or even the
09:45second most shots because they have such good scores. But I do think there needs to be an
09:50element of teams have to play up on him because otherwise, you know, it's going to make it
09:55tough for him to penetrate. Yeah. It's going to be interesting. And then when you talk about
09:58him, that brings us back to not a new player, but a player we both know and Ian Jackson,
10:02and talked to him on big East media day. And this was a guy who said he's worked on his
10:06game a lot thus far. And so I think fans are going to be excited about that because he's
10:10returning to his natural shooting guard position. What do you think is going to look different
10:14about his game this season, as opposed to last season? You know, the big difference I saw
10:18in the preseason, how he's going to the basket, you know, he last year, he would often start
10:23games like shooting threes and stuff like that. And he's really early in the game, especially
10:29the Texas game, but really aggressive going to the basket. And he's good going to the
10:33rim. And that was one thing I heard in the, you know, in the preseason in practice that
10:36like guys were having trouble staying in front of him. And I do think the experience of him
10:41playing some point guard last year helps him. I feel like his ball handling is better.
10:45Um, you know, he, look, he could have easily left last year to not go according to plan.
10:51Um, I know there were people who were in his year saying he should leave and, you know,
10:55Patino thought he was going to leave. And when he even said he was staying, he was kind of
10:58surprised. And to me, it showed a lot of maturity. I think he's a guy that realized like jumping
11:03from school to school, isn't the best for my development. He's also very close with Donovan
11:06Mitchell. Yeah, he is. So I do think that probably played a role that definitely played a role as well.
11:12He talked about, you know, that, um, and what a big jump Mitchell made in his second year with
11:17Patino at Louisville. Um, I think he's having a really big year. Um, he looked, he looked great
11:22in Texas. I thought he looked very good in the second half against Rutgers. Um, playing with
11:26Ellis is going to be great for him. Yeah. I, I, I think he's in line for, you know, I
11:32think they're
11:32going to have three guys are going to average close to around 15 a game between him, Hall and Yusufu.
11:37Yeah. There was a great, good confidence with him when we talked to him on Big East Media. He just
11:41felt very confident coming into this season. Now you just mentioned Yusufu, uh, Tunde Yusufu,
11:4623 points, five assists, five steals against Texas. So that's a, that's a pretty strong game.
11:52When I saw that and I, not just looking at numbers, but you look how he plays, he looks
11:56like he's potential to be a really good two-way player. Do you see, do you see that for him?
12:01Yeah. The, the first two exhibitions, he kind of looked like he was a little unsure of himself.
12:05He wasn't aggressive. His shots weren't coming in. And then, you know, uh, the day, a few days
12:11before the Texas game, Patino talked to us and was like, he was really physical in the
12:15summer, but he has not been that same physical player in the fall. And, uh, I asked Tunde
12:20about that after Texas and he was like, Oh, I didn't even hear that. But they're always
12:23saying I need to be more aggressive. And he was like, he would, he looked like a first round
12:28pick in that game. It was making shots from three attacking the rim, defending like he
12:35like, this is a guy who let, who set the Baylor scoring record for a freshman last year. He's
12:39incredibly talented and might've been a first round, late first round pick. And he stayed
12:43in the draft. Like he's really good. Um, and he's another guy that's going to benefit from
12:48playing with Quinn Ellis. You know, he's, he's a guy who had to, you know, Baylor had big
12:53part of Baylor's problems last year was they never point guard. So a lot of his points had
12:58to come off his own creation. And now he's playing with a really good point guard. Who's
13:03going to get him open shots. And he is great in transition as is Ellis, as is, you know,
13:09all these scores. Um, he was terrific in the Texas game late, you know, it kind of forced
13:15a few shots late, which Patino, you know, it said like he should have more assists. Um, but
13:20yeah, he's, he kind of, you know, he's, he looks like a grown man. He's built. Um, it's
13:26going to be, you know, this team is going to overwhelm a lot of opponents on the way
13:29between him with Hall, um, offensively or defensively or both, I mean both because they're,
13:36they're physical, they're skilled, you know, Keishon holds great scoring around the basket.
13:40He can shoot three shot like 38% last year at Auburn. Like they're going to really be,
13:45be tough on the, that's their strength. I mean, they're going to like, you throw some
13:51of these guys they have out there, like they could come at you in waves on the wing. Um,
13:56they're incredibly talented. It's kind of, kind of reminds me what they had in the paint
13:59last year, but on the way, but on the way, you know, last year, you had the three guys
14:02who got drafted edge of Ford, Mitchell and Hopkins. And it was so hard to deal with all three
14:06of those guys. And, and the thing I think you like about Hall and Yusufu and, and Ian
14:12and Quinn is like, these guys are like, have the physicality of scoring the paint. Ian's
14:17put on weight. Like there were some plays where he like finished over guys and through guys
14:22and he didn't like, you didn't see that last year. Right. You did not see that last year.
14:25So like, yeah, that to me, it's, it's the clear strength of this team is their athletes
14:31and their positional size on the perimeter. Like you're going to, you know, I mean, they
14:35can go six, five, six, seven, six, eight, um, six set. Like they can go with, and these
14:43are guys who are supremely athletic, who can guard on the perimeter, who can, you know,
14:48score in and out. Like they have a chance, their perimeter, they have a chance to have
14:51as good of a perimeter as there is in the country, which you mentioned this guy in that
14:55group too. So Keishon Hall, uh, two things for me is where, where do you see him playing?
14:59Is he going to three, four, where do you, where do you see him? Where do you see him
15:03playing? And then how does he create, what's the biggest matchup problems that he's going
15:08to create from other teams? Because it seems like versatility is such a tool for him, but
15:12where do you see him wrecking havoc for other teams? Yeah. I mean with St. John's, the three
15:16and the four are kind of interchangeable. He'll, he's going to, right now he's starting at
15:20the four. Um, you know, they're, they've at times used him a little in that Dylan Mitchell
15:25role, like ball handling. Okay. Um, especially when Ellis is out of the game, he can
15:29handle the ball. Um, he's a better passer than people realize, you know, I, the Texas
15:35game, he was really good around the rim scoring against bigger guys. Um, that's one thing
15:40like he gets, he gets to the line. He makes free throws. I, yeah, he, he's the kind of
15:45guy, like if you want to put like a quick athletic guy, he kind of post them up over
15:49Palmer a little bit. You want to put a bigger guy on him to take away his, you know, interior
15:53scoring. He can, he can stretch them out and go buy them. Um, yeah, he's, you know,
15:58he's not quite as physical as Bryce Hopkins, but he kind of reminds me a little of that,
16:02that game where like you can make threes, he could score inside. He re like, he's an, he's
16:08an underrated rebounder and he's a guy like, you know, he hasn't really won, you know, he's
16:12bounced around and he hasn't won. And, um, and that's the thing. Pitino has been really
16:18harping on the preseason with him, with Tunde, um, with some of the other guys, new guys
16:24to the program is like, and he's been on them. Like you've put up good numbers, but
16:27I don't care about your good numbers. You did it. Lose it. Like the big thing with
16:32him is teaching these guys like playing the right way and what winning basketball
16:35looks like. And, you know, I think that Rutgers game was a white quality hat. Like
16:41he crushed them all week as he's known to do. Um, said in the media, we're going to
16:46probably lose by 30, which you were like, you rolled your eyes. Well, I, I wasn't sure if
16:51they were quite ready for a Texas for, I mean, Texas has got the potential to be
16:55really good. The center is one of the best players in the country. They have a
16:58big time point guard from Colorado. David Punch at four is really good. They have
17:02two top 25 freshmen. Um, but yeah, I mean, I was, I was really impressed by how
17:07they responded. And even that they won that Rutgers game, they were down 18
17:11early. They, they were sleepwalking. They, they, they had a six point, they should
17:14have won regulation. They had a six point lead, like six minutes left. They flushed it
17:18and they found ways to, they found ways to, you know, keep the game going and win.
17:21And like I said, I don't think, I'm not saying Rutgers is going to be a
17:24tournament team, but like, I think they're improved and they have a lot of
17:28returning. I think they have like four of their top seven scores back. Like
17:30that matters, especially this early when you're playing new teams. Um, so, you
17:36know, I'm going to find a way. Yeah. Right. I think that, that mattered that
17:41they didn't know one that they didn't let that first half get to them and that
17:45they found a way to win like that, that stuff early in the year matters. Um,
17:49especially as now we're going to stretch where you, you would think they're
17:52going to win some of these games pretty handily. Yeah. It'll be
17:54interesting. Another guy I want to talk to you about Barbara Carson. Cause he
17:58started a preseason good 17 and eight had in, in the first game. What does he
18:02need to show consistently with the St. John's team that Patino is going to
18:07trust him. He's going to have a major role shot selection, shot selection, shot
18:11selection. I knew you were going to say another time. Okay. Like they, they think he has the
18:16chance to be really good, but he doesn't really know how to play. Like I, I actually
18:25he didn't play a lot, but I liked what he did in Texas. I thought he made quick
18:28decisions. He was aggressive. He attacked like he's a six, eight guy who plays
18:33small ball center. He's built like truck. Um, he can jump through the roof. He can
18:39make shots from three. Um, it's just going to take some time. You know, he, he's the,
18:46he doesn't grasp shot selection thing. Um, what's a good shot. What's a bad
18:52shot. Um, but he's, he's got a world of ability and right now he's their sixth man
19:00and that's a hell of a sixth man to have. Um, now it's got another court case
19:04coming up. So we'll see how all that stuff works out. But, uh, yeah, he's
19:08currently on a TRO, a temporary restraining order to be eligible. Um, the crux of the
19:14matter is he signed an exhibit 10 contract, which is like a no, no at the
19:18NCAA, even though he was literally under it for a month, never went to training
19:22camp, never played under control of the jazz, but because he signed this piece
19:26of paper, uh, you know, and the, his legal team is saying, well, he didn't get any
19:32benefits from it. You've, you've cleared guys who've played, who've made more money
19:37overseas, who've had more pro experience. So we'll see how that goes. Um, there's
19:42another hearing coming up November 9th. He'll play in the first two games. Um,
19:47you know, I, look, I think for he's important. Um, and he's a guy that could
19:52really, really get better later in the year. All right. That's it. That's one
19:55for fans to watch. All right. Is there somebody else, man, you might've mentioned
19:59this guy already. Is there a sleeper player on this St. John's roster that you
20:03think could have a real impact this season that fans should keep their eye on?
20:06I, you know, I mentioned Theo Adema. Um, he's raw, but he's, you know, do you
20:12think Patino will trust him if he sees more out of him beyond this Texas
20:15game? Yeah. Look, I, I don't think he's a guy who we're going to see play in
20:1920, 25 minutes, but short doses, like, you know, and he's a guy who's coming
20:24in. He's always thinking about is rebounding defense and, um, blocking
20:28shots. And yeah, if the ball comes to him, he'll, you know, try to do
20:31something. But like, that's one thing Patino has said, like everyone on the
20:34team wants to score. And this is a guy whose mind is just like, I'm in there just
20:38to rebound and play defense. And, um, I really liked what I saw in Texas. He's
20:44look, he's got a long way to go. He's like, imagine he should be a senior in
20:47high school. Um, but he's someone, and then I'm going to give, uh, Casper
20:52Poto. He, uh, the back, he played, he's, he's, he's named as the backup point
20:56guard. Um, he was a very unheralded recruit a year ago. He was earning minutes
21:02and then he had a hip thing. He needed a surgery. So he, he was done in early
21:06December, but I actually liked him last year. He can guard. Um, and he gave
21:09him some good minutes against Texas. Like, and he's tough. Like I mentioned,
21:14he can defend and like, you want, you're going to play for Rick T you better
21:17defend. And you know, he, he's, he's a kid that's not scared. You know, I
21:23remember they threw him in and against Alabama last year, second game of the
21:25year, cause they couldn't stay in front of any Alabama guards. And he
21:28actually didn't do a bad job. I, I could see him, you know, being another guy
21:33that, um, he could, he could end up being their, their first guard off the
21:36bench, but let's be, let's be real here. Quinn Ellis, Ian Jackson, Tunde are
21:40going to, they're going to play. You're not going to see, especially Quinn
21:45Ellis. Yeah. I mean, you're not going to see him on the bench very much, but I,
21:48I think Casper Poto the other day, he, you know, he, he opened eyes a little
21:53bit with how he played in Texas and, you know, especially the early part of the
21:56schedule. I think you're going to see guys like him, like Theo Adema, um,
22:00you know, have play, play more minutes than maybe they will once we get deeper
22:05in the schedule, just to see what they have. Yeah. Good time to see what guys
22:08have early in the season. So fans can look out for that too. I'm going to go
22:11back to something we talked about on media day. We saw where St. John's got
22:14picked. Uh, the coaches picked St. John's second behind UConn. How do you
22:19assess the matchup between the two schools that we assume are going to be
22:21going head to head? And do you think there's any other teams that could
22:25complicate the conference title race this year? I know. I mean, I think the
22:29league has improved. Um, I think Providence has done a nice job in the
22:33off season. Brian Hodgins, I think is going to really be a really good coach
22:36there. Um, Xavier had a very good off season. They, they had more money to
22:39play with. Um, Villanova. I like Marquette a lot. Nigel James Jr. One of the
22:45best point guards in the country, Long Island kid. Um, but yeah, it's, I
22:51don't, I don't see anyone. It's going to be St. John's and UConn. I understand
22:57why UConn was picked first. They're ranked higher nationally. They have less
23:01question marks. I think the matchups are going to be great. I mean, let's just
23:06start a point guard. Silas DiMari Jr. against Quinn Ellis. Congrats. That's a
23:10matchup. I mean, uh, UConn is probably gonna be a little better inside. St. John's
23:15better on the perimeter. Um, when you look at the wings. Yeah, I think they're gonna
23:20be great games. Did you pick St. John's to win the Big East? We haven't done that
23:24yet. Oh, you haven't done it yet? Okay. We won't, we haven't, I haven't, I
23:27haven't revealed my, uh, Big East pick yet, but like, I think they're both top
23:3110 caliber teams. UConn had looked, you know, and UConn usually looks really
23:34good early. Yeah. They always have a lot of continuity. Um, UConn has looked
23:39great in the preseason. They won at Michigan State, beat Syracuse
23:43handily, beat a, a work, you know, a Purdue team that's taking a major step back
23:47this year by 30. UConn look great. The, the backcourt's going to be
23:52terrific. The, the, uh, you know, the Seton Hall center transfer to Jai
23:57Hines is going to be a force. I think, um, Colbin Landrieu, their
24:01freshman guard is really good. UConn's gonna be really good. And I
24:04think St. John's gonna be really good. I think there's gonna be, you
24:07know, we're probably gonna be sitting here in March where they split
24:11their two regular season meetings, getting ready for another Big East
24:14tournament championship game. I hope so. I mean, would anybody be shocked?
24:18Look, and I, and I think the league's better. I think he's getting around six
24:22teams in. I think Marquette's gonna be good. I think Marquette is the third
24:25best team. Um, so that, but do you think there's a drop-off between
24:29you and St. John's? Yeah, I think Marquette's, I think Marquette's, I think
24:32Marquette, Providence, Xavier, Villanova, and like, let's not forget
24:35Creighton. I think Creighton's got a shot to be good too. Um, I think the league
24:38is looking at six to seven bids. It's, it's a much improved league. I don't
24:41think St. John's or UConn are going 18 and two again. That's not gonna happen. I
24:45think the winner of this league probably somewhere is 16 and four, 15 and
24:48five. Um, and that should help seeding for everyone. But yeah, I just, I
24:55don't, I just think St. John's and UConn are just, are, are, are better than
24:59everyone else. Class above everybody else. Um, right now. So for fans, when
25:03Monmouth comes to Karnasek Arena on November 2nd, first, first game of
25:07season, Zach will be there. We will be there. We'll have some guys after the
25:10game. Zach can't wait for this. What do you think fans, viewers should watch
25:14beyond the final score that'll tell them, Hey, this is the progress we saw from the
25:17preseason. Now the night one of the, of the regular season, non-conference
25:21players. Turnovers limiting them. It's been an issue all fall. I thought they
25:26did a much better job in the Texas game. The defensive rebounding, um, it was
25:31bet. It was very bad against Rutgers better against Texas, although it wasn't
25:35great at late. That's another area of, of, uh, focus because like rebounding, this
25:41is all about being playing together. Um, it's about learning each other. Those, those
25:46to me are the two, um, you want to see them make some threes. They haven't
25:49really made shot the three. Well, although they have plenty of guys who can
25:51shoot. Um, we joke about the, the St. John's tax guys come here with a great
25:57three point percentage and then, uh, they come here and it drops like 10%. So we
26:01call it the St. John's tax. I like that. Um, but hopefully we don't see that.
26:07Uh, but yeah, no, I mean, I think that those are the two defensive rebounding
26:10turnovers to me are, are pivotal. Like, look, I fully expect them to win, you know, to be
26:16fine and to be going to Vegas undefeated. Um, but those are the areas, um, you know, and
26:23look, last year's team really struggled with defensive rebounding till like
26:25January. Yeah. So, um, but those are, those are clearly cause that's a lot of
26:30that defense rebounds, communication, it's physicality, it it's toughness and so much
26:36more than the Texas game. Okay. There's the last thing for me here, Zach, because
26:40we've seen with the St. John's team consecutive regular season, biggest titles
26:46turn and tournament titles, right? Back to back and a sweet 16 experience last
26:50year. You talked about how close they were to the elite eight. Yeah. The
26:53standard when this happens generally rises. Okay. Okay. Around the fan base and
26:57different people. What do you believe will be a successful season for this red
27:03storm team this year? And how deep can they go in the NCAA tournament?
27:09I'm going to say elite eight. I know there are going to be fans who say, Oh, we
27:11got to get to the final four. I'm going to say elite eight. Okay. Take it one step
27:14further. I think elite eight would be a successful season. I don't really care
27:18the, like you win the league. I am sorry. I don't, it, yes, it'd be nice to say, Oh,
27:23we won the league three years in a row. That would be nice. No doubt. But I think
27:27much more important is March, um, and going a step further. And yeah, I look, can
27:32this team go to the final four? Of course. I mean, last year's team, they beat Duke. I, I
27:36think they would have won to the national. I don't say, I don't think they would
27:38have won, but I think they would have won to the national championship and lost
27:40to Michigan. I think they would beat UConn. Um, you know, the, the one thing that
27:45gets forgotten, you know, going to rabbit hole, the one thing that gets forgotten
27:47is like Duke needed their point guard, Caleb Foster, to play silly play 25 minutes
27:53on a, he had just broken his foot like three weeks ago, three weeks prior. And then
27:57of course, two days later against UConn, he, he had nothing because they, they
28:00want to play him that much. He had nothing left because he was playing on a broken
28:03foot. And if he was like, you know, he was healthy. That's a different, I think
28:07St. John's would go to the national championship. They beat Duke. I do. Um, I
28:11think they probably would have lost to Michigan, but I think they would have
28:13gotten there, which is, they just needed, they needed a little more out of the
28:17backcourt and they didn't get it. All right. Um, but yeah, I say a lead eight is
28:22to me would be a successful season. And, um, and yeah, look, I, I think the
28:27schedule is set up better for them to have, you know, get some good
28:32non-conference wins because they have this month to kind of work on things.
28:36They go to Vegas, figure they'll beat Oregon first game. Then they get either
28:40Louisville or Texas tech. They come home, they get Arizona here. They go to
28:44Alabama. Um, the fact that arguably their two biggest games, Arizona, Alabama
28:49aren't till like mid December definitely helps. Um, and yeah, I mean, I, I, so
28:56look, I think it's important for them to get a few big non-conference wins just
29:00for seeding. Although the big East is better. That should help them with
29:03seeding. Right. Like last year it was like, you better beat UConn or you're
29:06not going to have a big win. Right. So that hurt, even though they did have the
29:10one win over UConn during the regular season. Um, but yeah, so I, I do think
29:15it'll help that they'll have more chances for good wins, but you can, you can
29:19beat an Arizona, you could beat a Louisville or Texas tech that goes a long
29:23way when the seeding comes. And you know, who knows what happens last year? Um, if
29:27there are two or three seasons instead of a five, right. Um, things can have been
29:31different. Although I did enjoy going to San Diego. Of course, of course, there
29:35wouldn't be a show with Zach. If he didn't tell you about the trips he enjoys
29:37going to the fact that he'll be going to Vegas for a couple of days. That's not,
29:43it's not bad. How, how many days we'd be on Vegas? Well, it depends. So they play
29:47this the Tuesday they're off Wednesday. Then they play Thursday and Friday, but if
29:51they win their first three, then they play in a championship game. That's
29:55Saturday. That's a post Thanksgiving tournament. No, it's during Thanksgiving.
29:59Let's just say, let's just say the wife's not happy. She's got to spend time
30:02with her parents and my parents for Thanksgiving. That's going to be a rough
30:06day for her. I'm not going to say anything about that. And when I, when I do
30:09see, when I do see your wife, I do always do see at least once a year, I will just
30:12say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Zach bailed on the family. She's a, she's a soldier. She
30:18could, she could deal with it. She is a soldier. Although I, you know, I'll pay for it
30:22when I get home. I'm sure you will. I have no doubt about that. I'm
30:25sure you will. Well, another trip for Zach Brasile. He always gets a nice trip with
30:28the Johnnies during the regular season. Why don't you come, man? You're trying to
30:31get me in trouble at home. Nah, I'm not trying to be you. Come to Vegas, man. Come to
30:36Vegas? We'd have a good time out there. Yeah. I think we would. All right. I'll
30:39think about it. See if I want to get in trouble for Thanksgiving or not. You heard
30:42from Zach. He is picking. Should I say picking? St. John's? Elite Eight? Are we going
30:47there as a pick? Yes. All right. I'm going to say Elite Eight. Elite Eight. St. John's going
30:51to Elite Eight. I haven't decided on the regular season, but Elite Eight. We'll leave that
30:54for the people. Elite Eight. Elite Eight. That's fair. Okay. Elite Eight, we'll take
30:58it. That's it. I think they have the talent to go that far. I think that would be a nice
31:02step forward. They have the chance to be. I think they have the chance to be. I think
31:05this has the chance to be the best team they've had here. I do. They have. To me, it's their
31:10best balance. Like, you know, think about it. Two years ago, they really didn't. They
31:14couldn't shoot. Nope. Last year, there was just all the front court. This year, well, yes.
31:20The strength is the back court. I don't think they're nearly as weak in the front
31:23court as they were in the back court last year. I think Ruben Prey, given
31:27opportunity, is going to come on and be more than suitable center. I think Theo
31:33Dem has a chance to be nice, complimentary piece. Reed Bailey brings you another
31:37dimension, you know, as like a ball mover at the five. Like, I think they can be. I
31:44think this has the chance, you know, if everything goes right, to be their best
31:46team. Yeah, it feels like it should be. Most explosive, definitely. Definitely. And it
31:50should be a fun team to watch. You know, they're going to play defense. It's
31:52never a question with him. They're going to guard. Yep. Yeah, I think they have a
31:56chance to be really good. Should be a fun year. The games at Carneseca and the
31:59games at the Garden are going to be a lot of fun. I will be there with Zach for
32:03the first game at Carneseca on November 2nd. That's going to be a fun day before
32:06Zach leaves us all and goes to Vegas. Zach, always appreciate you, man. I will see
32:10you soon. Everybody, thank you for joining us on the season preview for the St.
32:14John's Red Storm. For the great Zach Brazile, I'm Dexter Henry. We'll catch you
32:17next time.
32:17¶¶¶¶ ¶¶¶ ¶¶ you
32:30You