CHARLESTON, S.C. — Neither Rick Pitino or Daniss Jenkins is worried yet about his high-turnover numbers.
Through three games, the Iona transfer has coughed up the ball 15 times, and his fifth and final giveaway Thursday was a major blunder that could’ve cost St. John’s in its opener at the Charleston Classic if not for a stop on the final possession.
“Some of it is definitely fatigue. Sometimes, I just put myself in bad positions,” Jenkins said after the Johnnies’ 53-52 win over North Texas. “I don’t turn the ball much in my career, so I’m not worried about it. I just know when I put myself in bad positions, try not to do it again.”
Jenkins did score 17 points, but those five turnovers continued a concerning early-season trend.
St. John’s offense has struggled in the last two games.
All the new pieces are still trying to get on the same page.
But Jenkins refused to use that as an excuse.
“It’s nothing with the team,” he said. “It’s really just me putting myself in bad positions, picking up my dribble when I shouldn’t.”
Pitino faulted himself for playing the senior 38 minutes Thursday.
Highly regarded freshman Simeon Wilcher is going to see his role expand more as the year goes on — he only saw three first-half minutes in Thursday’s win.
“He’s playing too many minutes and that’s leading to [the turnovers],” Pitino said. “I want to play ‘Sim’ more and play Daniss at the 2. This wasn’t Sim’s type of game. We got to get Sim at least 15, 16 minutes a game. “I have to get him a lot more minutes, and I’m going to.
“He’s going to play a lot in the next game. [The decision was] all based on defense, it’s all based on switching and making calls, things that are way over his head right now from a mental standpoint. But I love him, I think he’s going to be a great player.”
Jordan Dingle and Chris Ledlum, the Ivy League grad transfers, combined to score just six points on 2-for-10 shooting, but Pitino was encouraged by their play on the defensive end of the floor.
It was Ledlum’s contest of Aaron Scott’s jumper in the final seconds that helped St. John’s prevail, and the forward also had six rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists.
“We know they can score. They played defense tonight, and that’s what made me happy,” Pitino said. “They’re going to score. Dingle’s going to have nights when he goes 8 of 10 from the field. Ledlum is going to have great nights. We have a bunch of offensive players that we brought in, and we’ve got to get the offensive players to play defense. The only thing I’m bothered by the offense is the turnovers.”