Rick Pitino, St. John's bringing freshman Simeon Wilcher along slowly but expecting big things
Simeon Wilcher of St. John's with the ball during a game against Holy Cross at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Credit: Errol Anderson
HARTFORD — He’s been dubbed “the heir apparent,” and Rick Pitino has never expressed doubt that someday he’ll hand point guard Simeon Wilcher the so-called ‘‘keys to the car.”
When Pitino took over as St. John’s coach, he did a massive renovation of the roster by bringing in 12 new players. He had both short-term and long-term goals in mind.
For the former, he brought in six experienced players going into their final year of eligibility. For the latter, he signed blue-chip high school players Wilcher and Brady Dunlap and sophomore RJ Luis, a transfer from the University of Massachusetts.
Wilcher might have been the newcomer with the highest profile, the best high school recruit for St. John’s since Maurice Harkless or perhaps Rysheed Jordan.
He’d been the star at Roselle Catholic and NJ.com’s New Jersey Player of the Year for two straight seasons. He’d originally committed to North Carolina, then reopened his recruiting and ultimately chose the Red Storm.
Daniss Jenkins, who helped Pitino take Iona to the NCAA Tournament last season, is the starting point guard and one of the team’s most indispensable players, along with center Joel Soriano.
And so Pitino is developing Wilcher to take over the role next season.
“I think the more time we get Simeon, the better he will perform,” Pitino said recently. “Once he values the basketball, once he shoots more open shots, I think we got ourselves a lethal weapon.”
Wilcher is averaging only 9.8 minutes through 11 games but has had some strong moments. He had five points, five assists and two steals in the win over Holy Cross and five points, four assists and two steals in the win over Sacred Heart.
Pitino said he might have the most raw talent on the team and added, “The only thing he’s got to learn is to value the basketball more. He loses the ball a lot in practice, and that’s what we’re working on, but I think he’s going to be great.”
Jenkins is an excellent example for Wilcher to follow and they have an excellent relationship, but the starting point guard is loath to turn it into a mentor-student type of connection.
“My approach to things like that is you just have to go out and do it at practice,” Jenkins said. “My biggest thing is to be an example rather than go out and just tell him. I don’t want to come to him like that . . . I just try to go out and try to be the best example I can be.”
And Wilcher seems to be understanding about the patient approach.
“I just trust the process because it’s just the beginning — I’m not really worried about how much I’m playing as of right now,” he said recently. “This coach has been doing this for 45 years, so he knows [it all]. I’m just really trusting him and I’m happy that he believes in me.”
Said Pitino, “I’ve had, with the exception of Jamal Mashburn, [no] great freshman, but I’ve had so many great sophomores like [Donovan] Mitchell and [Terry] Rozier. And there’s like 15 of them I’ve had. So he’s going to be another great sophomore.”
At St. John’s, there is a high value in performance at practice that can dictate playing time. Wilcher has been somewhat inconsistent there. But Pitino is unconcerned.
“Peyton Siva played 11 minutes a game and scored three points a game [3.9, actually] as a freshman and turned it over [a lot],” Pitino said. “Russ Smith [hardly] even played as a freshman and [averaged] two points.
“Now Russ Smith’s jersey is hanging at Louisville and Peyton Siva and Patrick Ewing are the only two players to win back-to-back MVPs in the Big East Tournament. So certain players just need time.
“Peyton Siva was a sponge to learn things and I’m hoping [Wilcher] can be a sponge, too, because he’s going to be one of the leaders next year.”
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.
