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Eighteen days later, St. John’s is back.
Just under three weeks ago, the Johnnies suffered their worst loss of the season, without star forward Julian Champagnie. That was followed by a COVID-19 outbreak that wiped away three games. But they will return to the court Wednesday.
St. John’s will almost certainly be shorthanded for their Big East opener against DePaul — how shorthanded is uncertain — but among those expected to be available will be stars Julian Champagnie and Posh Alexander.
“It’s been kind of weird not having basketball this time of year,” coach Mike Anderson said in a phone interview. “And then seeing other teams play, it was a void really. So it’s nice to be playing a game here [on Wednesday].”
On Dec. 17, Champagnie tested positive for the virus, and the following day St. John’s dropped an ugly game at the Garden to Pittsburgh, one of the worst power-conference teams in the country. Four days after the Pittsburgh game, two more players — Joel Soriano and Tareq Coburn — tested positive. The following day, after more positive tests, the Butler game that night was postponed. Games against Marquette and Georgetown were likewise called off.
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St. John’s (8-3) has declined to say how many players have tested positive or how many will be available against DePaul. Champagnie hinted that there would be players out on Wednesday. When the symptom-free Champagnie came out of quarantine on Dec. 26, he said only five to six players were able to practice. That has meant more individual work for players not in isolation, practices in small groups in which players have been asked to learn multiple positions. The team did run more of a regular practice on Tuesday.
“It’s weighed on everybody,” Anderson said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. “That’s been my biggest worry, the mental preparation for our guys, not necessarily just for basketball. I’m talking about life now.”
What St. John’s looks like on Wednesday is uncertain, and that isn’t even factoring in player absences. The Johnnies seemed to be making progress before the loss to Pittsburgh, defeating quality mid-major opponents Colgate and Monmouth. But they laid an egg that day and now will have been away for so long.
They won’t have much time to jell. An underwhelming performance against a light non-conference schedule created less margin for error during the conference season. After hosting DePaul, St. John’s visits No. 16 Providence and Big East contender UConn on the road in the span of five days. It is jumping right into the fire.
“The biggest challenge is going to be locking back in as a team, and moving on one accord,” Champagnie said. “I feel like we’ve had a lot of time to ourselves and we’ve been doing a lot of individual workouts, individual this or individual that, or a small group. Finding a team rhythm is going to be our biggest [hurdle].”
Champagnie did point out one positive: Rest. He feels fresh after the time away. Alexander, who was battling a bunch of leg issues, was able to get a significant break. Then again, the available players will have to log big minutes now it seems. But that is one area that doesn’t concern Champagnie.
“I’ve been in the gym every day — night, morning and during practice, so I’m good to go,” he said. “I’m trying to play.”
The Big East announced new dates for two postponements. St. John’s will host Butler on Feb. 18 and visit Georgetown Feb 21. The only game left that has to be rescheduled is a home game against Marquette.
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