Fordham @ St. John's preview
Carnesecca Arena
Last Meeting ( Dec 16, 2023 ) Fordham 55, St. John's 77
During Big East Media Day, St. John's coach Rick Pitino gushed about all of the attributes of Kadary Richmond, the 6-foot-6 guard the Red Storm added from the transfer portal following his three seasons at Seton Hall.
"Well, there's really nothing he can't do," Pitino said. "He has great hands, he scores, he rebounds, he knows the game extremely well, he's an outstanding passer. He has most of the skills you need to win, and to have a (6-foot-6) point guard, it bodes well for mismatches as well."
Pitino and St. John's will get a first look at Richmond in a game that counts on Monday evening when the Red Storm host Fordham in New York City.
One of Richmond's last games for Seton Hall also was Pitino's final win of his first season with St. John's, as the Red Storm beat the Pirates 91-72 in the quarterfinals of last season's Big East tournament.
Richmond joins St. John's after averaging 15.7 points per game a season ago. The Red Storm, who finished 20-13 last season, were picked to finish fifth in the conference in the Big East preseason poll.
Aside from poaching Richmond, the Red Storm added Deivon Smith and Aaron Scott from the transfer portal. Smith was tied for the most triple-doubles in the nation last season with five, and Scott was regarded as a standout defensive player during his time with North Texas.
Fordham followed its thrilling 2022-23 campaign by finishing 13-20 last season under coach Keith Urgo, who hopes to see his team continue to defend the paint well and score effectively down low.
"We take pride in getting the ball in the paint on offense," Urgo said after an exhibition game against UMBC on Sunday. "One of the things we've done really well in the last several years is preventing people from getting paint touches on defense, so that's something we have to continue to clean up."
Will Richardson (9.8 ppg) and Japhet Medor (9.8) are the top returning scorers for the Rams, who were picked 14th out of 15 teams in the Atlantic 10's preseason poll after losing leading scorer Kyle Rose (10.8).
--Field Level Media