After months of intrigue, hype and buildup, the Rick Pitino era began in earnest Tuesday night.
This performance added to the fascination with the Hall of Famer coach’s first team at St. John’s.
It wasn’t perfect.
There were issues Pitino will undoubtedly address.
But for the regular-season opener, nine days after an exhibition loss to Division II Pace University following an uneven preseason marred by injuries to key players, St. John’s almost brand new team looked the part.
The Johnnies showcased their depth and senior firepower.
They were cohesive, prepared, organized and, for the most part, disciplined.
St. John’s won the battle on the glass by 13, shot 50 percent from 3-point range and was potent in transition. It opened with a commanding 90-74 victory over Stony Brook at sold-out Carnesecca Arena.
“It was amazing. We worked hard all summer just for this moment and for this season to start,” Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum said. “It meant a lot to go out there [and] play together, play the right brand of basketball.”
As expected, St. John’s relied on its most experienced players: Returning star Joel Soriano and senior transfers Daniss Jenkins (Iona), Ledlum and Jordan Dingle (Penn).
The quartet combined to score 68 points on 28 of 51 shooting.
Soriano hit the first two 3-pointers of his career, a new weapon of his, and was dominant in the paint with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Ledlum was a monster on the glass, grabbing 14 rebounds to go along with 16 points and four assists.
Jenkins, the point guard who followed Pitino from Iona, added 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds after a shaky start taking care of the ball.
Perhaps most important was the play of Dingle, the nation’s leading returning scorer.
He has been slowed by an assortment of injuries and missed both exhibition games.
But he lived up to his scoring reputation with 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench.
“Jordan has just got to play basketball. He’s missed so much time,” Pitino said. “He’s going to be fine, he’s going to be a good player for us. … He did remarkably well tonight.”
This game drew no resemblance to the exhibition loss to Pace.
For one, Soriano and Dingle were on the floor, and St. John’s saw a different Pitino from the preseason.
After the Pace game, Pitino dismissed the defeat’s significance, because it didn’t count. Judge us, he said then, on how we play starting against Stony Brook.
“Today he was really intense. He was on guys for pretty much everything, any little thing that we did wrong,” said Soriano, who credited Pitino for igniting his 16-point second half with some choice words at halftime. “I would say his intensity level brought us a lot of energy. He fired us up. I loved the way he coached us today.”
Pitino had three specific goals for the opener: Defend the 3-point line, control the glass and take care of the ball.
Turnovers were an issue — St. John’s committed 15, six by Jenkins — but it really was strong guarding the three, limiting Stony Brook to 4 of 16 shooting from distance.
“I’ve gotten too much credit for being one of the original [proponents of the 3-point shot], but it’s only good if you stop it,” Pitino said. “If you make nine, they make eight, it’s not a weapon. Tonight, they made four, we made 11. It’s a weapon.”
One major first-half issue was turnovers, eight of them, that led to 10 Stony Brook points.
It allowed the Seawolves to hang around, and trail by just 11 at the break.
St. John’s came out for the second half more disciplined with the ball, and in attack mode.
The result was a 16-6 run out of the gate, and soon, a 20-point edge.
When Soriano stepped out and sank a 3-pointer, the first of his five-year college career, the result was no longer in doubt.
The big man pointed and smiled at his former teammate, Julian Champagnie of the Spurs, who was in town to face the Knicks on Wednesday.
“He always says I can’t really shoot,” Soriano said. “That was really for him. I just pointed at him, just so he knows.”
Soriano and his teammates had plenty of reasons to smile Tuesday night.
But they know it will get much tougher very soon, starting Monday when Michigan comes to the Garden.
Pitino brought up the Wolverines multiple times in his postgame press conference. In fact, as he left the court after his television interview, and shook hands with a few fans, Michigan was already on his mind.
“In an exhibition, they beat Marquette 106-101 playing four NBA quarters,” Pitino said. “So we’re gonna have to play great at the Garden. It’s going to be a helluva game.”