St. John's Red Storm Backcourt One To Watch
Nov 13, 2015; Queens, NY, USA; St. John's Red Storm head coach Chris Mullin talks with guard Federico Mussini (4) during the first half against the Wagner Seahawks at Carnesecca Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

The St. John’s Red Storm men’s basketball squad have a new look backcourt and one that could create a lot of noise this season.

The St. John’s Red Storm men’s basketball team had a dismal 8-24 season including a 1-17 record vs. Big East opponents. They will look to highly improve on that record this season.

One reason to feel good about their chances to improve is their backcourt.

St. John’s added two new players on their backcourt, who are likely their starting guards. They are Marcus Lovett and Shamorie Ponds.

LoVett was actually supposed to be in the team last season but was unable to, due to academic issues, forcing him to sit out a year. He will be here this year and will be a big impact. He is a four star guard who can play the point. He is a dynamic playmaker who can dish it out and get others involved, providing more scoring opportunities for others. St. John’s didn’t have much of that last year.

Lovett can also score when he wants to. He doesn’t have an overly consistent outside shot but he can still knock it down and he has the athleticism to drive to the lane and score from anywhere.

Ponds is a dynamic scorer who can score from anywhere. He can knock down the outside shot and is not afraid to take big shots as he showed in the PSAL championship game when he led Thomas Jefferson High School to the title.

Both of them are capable defenders. In their exhibition win over Baruch, they both combined for eight steals. Lovett had 14 points and Ponds had 12 in that game.

That pushed last year’s starter Frederico Mussini to the bench and he would definitely provide a spark there with his outside shooting and capable playmaking as well. He scored 21 points in the exhibition game vs Baruch.Coming off the bench could benefit the sophomore guard from Italy more with less responsibility and he could provide capable scoring as a reserve.

So this will be a backcourt worth watching, especially the starters and one that could vault the Red Storm back to respectability. It should be a really fun one to watch with the two newcomers paving the way.

Other than God, sports are my biggest love. My teams are the Mets, Knicks, NY Giants, NY Rangers and St Johns basketball (St. John's alumni). I especially love the Mets like crazy, more than any other team and seeing them win the World Series would be a dream come true and definitely the best sports moment. The Knicks are a close second. I also like to write, so combine that with my passion for sports equals a perfect scenario, I would love to do sports writing long term. If not that, then probably sports broadcasting, cause I love to talk sports as well. In addition to writing for ESNY, I'm also currently writing for Metsmerizedonline.