St. John's, with Big East regular season title in reach, not letting injuries slow them down
St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino talks to guard Kadary Richmond in at the second half of a Big East men’s basketball game against the Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
A Big East regular-season championship is so close St. John’s can practically taste it and no member of the seventh-ranked Red Storm intend to let an injury keep him from getting it.
Kadary Richmond has been playing despite groin pulls on both sides. RJ Luis Jr. returned from the groin pull that sidelined him last Wednesday at DePaul to play in Sunday’s win over Connecticut at the Garden.
Both players declared Tuesday they will be in the lineup for the Red Storm (24-4, 15-2) when they face Butler (13-14, 6-10) in Indianapolis at Hinkle Fieldhouse. A St. John’s victory would give it a share of the title for the first time since 1992.
After St. John’s blew out the two-time defending national champions, Storm coach Rick Pitino called Richmond “more injured than any player I’ve coached” and added that he needs time off to heal.
“I’ll be ready,” said Richmond, who had 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals against the Huskies. “We’re managing it as it goes on. There’s not much I [can] do but just go out there and do what I can to get a win.”
“[Richmond] has done a great job. I mean you can’t tell he’s hurt],” Luis said. “He’s hurting and he’s in pain. So, just to see him play through that], it means I have to do the same thing.”
St. John’s is zeroing in on its first outright Big East regular- season crown since the 1985 Final Four team and has a two-game lead on second-place Creighton, which hosts last- place DePaul the same night.
In the unlikely event DePaul pulls the upset and the Storm win, they’d have their first outright title in 40 years. If St. John’s and Creighton both win, the Red Storm can earn it Saturday with a win over Seton Hall at the Garden.
“I wish it was anybody else,” said Richmond, who played for the Pirates the past three seasons before transferring. “I did a lot of good things over there. I’ve got a lot of good relationships with some of the players still. So celebrating in front of them and all that stuff wouldn’t probably be on my ‘to-do list,’ but it will be done.”
Richmond estimated that his groin issues began around the Feb. 1 victory over Providence at the Garden. It hasn’t kept him out of a game and he has not looked hampered at all. In the six games since, he’s averaging 16.8 points on 49% shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists while playing an average of 33 minutes.
“I’ve told myself, ‘Once I get out there, I’m out there,’ ” Richmond said. “It’s no time to complain or try to put on a show like ‘I’m hurting. I’m hurting.’ I just keep playing and going as I can go.”
Because of his injuries, Richmond said the process of getting loosened up before the team even comes out and warms up before a game is “much longer” and that it begins even before the team arrives at an arena.
Luis said he was sent for an MRI exam that revealed a muscle strain between the Feb. 16 victory over Creighton and the win at DePaul that he sat out. He had 14 points in 37 minutes against UConn and explained his 4-for-18 shooting as being rust from missing four practices.
As for the chance to rest and heal, St. John’s will play one game in 12 days — at No. 21 Marquette on March 8 — between the Seton Hall game and the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. The first priority, however, is a feat not accomplished in 40 years.
“It just feels great to be in arm’s reach. but anything can happen,” Luis said. “[We’re] definitely just staying focused, staying humble, and really just staying hungry.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
