St. John’s vs. William & Mary: Will Grit be found tonight?

By Jason Safford | Relentless Redstorm

Queens feels heavy tonight.
Not with fear.
With purpose.

St. John’s comes out under the hot lights with one truth stuck inside every chest in the building.
They must recalibrate.
Their schedule gets tougher.
This team must show a different version of themselves than the one we saw at The Garden.

The loss to Alabama did more than sting.
It exposed something.
Something real.
Something Rick Pitino said out loud.
“We are a finesse team right now.”

And that is the question that floats over Carnesecca like steam rising off concrete.

How physical will St. John’s become tonight?

An Early Scar

Alabama dropped 103.
That number punched this team straight in the pride.
They clawed back.
Even grabbed the lead.
Then the defense cracked.
Rebounding failed.
And the game fell out from under them.

That loss did not just bruise St. John’s.
It redirected them.
Forcing them into the mirror.

Now William & Mary stands across from them.
Fast. Sharp. Loose.
“Princeton on steroids,” Pitino warned.

This is not just a game.
Tonight is a test of force.
A measure of body.
Examination of will.

Pushing into Pain

Pitino turned this week into a workshop of contact.
He pushed harder closeouts.
Demanded stronger screens.
Made every drill a collision.

Last year’s team grew teeth every night.
They beat teams with defense.
Forced every possession to feel like running into a wall.

This group is still learning how to hit back.
And Pitino knows it.

Tonight we learn if they heard him.
We find out if they rise above the demand.

Zuby Sets the Tone

Zuby Ejiofor did not flinch against Alabama.
He smashed that game open with muscle.
Twenty-seven points.
Ten boards.
Five on the offensive glass.

He played like a man who wanted a fight.
As the man who needed to pull everyone with him.

“We must commit to stops,” he said.
He knows defense is a decision.
Believes rebounding is desire.

Tonight, he sets the bar again.
Will the guards hit bodies on every drive?
Do the wings crash the glass like their lives depend on it?

Match Zuby’s fire, and this game tilts fast.

Oziyah’s Spark

Pitino says Oziyah Sellers is the best shooter “by far.”
He called his growth “scary.”
But the shots didn’t fall last game because he didn’t take enough.

Pitino hated that.
And he made sure Oziyah heard it.
Shoot the ball.
Let it fly.
Make them burn.

Picture it.
Ball swings to the wing.
Sellers catches.
Half-step of daylight.
Crowd leans.

Does he fire?
Will he step into the moment?
Can he bring the spark that turns finesse into fire?

One shot can change the energy.
Shift this team to toughness.

The Fastest Fistfight in Queens

Both teams run.
They can shoot.
These teams want a track meet.

St. John’s scores 102 a game.
William & Mary hits 92.
Each shoots near 50 percent.
The tempo lives in the red zone.

But pace hides a deeper truth.

Fast teams get hit if they stop boxing out.
Exposed if they lose shooters.
Crumble when they do not play through contact.

So this game becomes a war of bodies, not speed.
A war of collisions, not cuts.

Can St. John’s stay attached to shooters?
Will they box out the instant a shot goes up?
Do they bump cutters off their rhythm?

If they bring force, this becomes their night.
Otherwise, the Tribe’s shooters will tear open the seams.

Carnesecca: The Proving Ground

Pitino is 15–0 at Carnesecca.
Fifteen straight wins.
Pure mayhem.
Unbridled energy.

This building rewards hunger.
Punishes softness.
Roars for contact.

St. John’s cannot rely on talent tonight.
Not after Alabama.
They must be better than last week.

This team must earn the noise.
Deliver the sweat.
Win the right to call themselves physical.

Backcourt Truth

The guards took the hardest lessons from Alabama.
They got beat off the dribble.
Did not box out.
Failed on late possessions.

Tonight they get to respond.

Darling returns with pace and pressure.
Sanon showed flashes of real force.
Jackson showed calm under fire.

Now they face the bigger question.

Can they turn finesse into force?
Will they defend with their chest?
Start rebounding with two hands and anger?
Do live-ball steals become storms the way Pitino demands?

Tonight, the guards write the story.
Not the offense.
Forget the pace.
It’s physicality.

The Borough That Owns the Air

Queens.
Night.
Heat rising off the floor.

The Red Storm stand at the line between talent and toughness.
Between finesse and force.
Not who they were in The Garden…
Who they decide to be tonight.

William & Mary cuts fast.
Shoot freely.
Smell an upset.

But St. John’s holds the answer.

Are they in this game with fists up and hearts hot?
Will the Alabama loss become fuel instead of fear?
Do they build the body of a real Pitino team tonight?

The ball goes up.
Noise rises.
Your chest rises with it.

Now we see the truth.

And the question that carried all week finally becomes real. Will grit be found tonight?

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