Rick Pitino has raved about Keyshawn Hall’s offensive ability throughout the fall, and it was on display on opening night.
The Auburn transfer, one of the best scorers in the powerhouse SEC a year ago, scored St. John’s first seven points in setting the tone for the evening.
The Red Storm raced out to a big early lead and cruised the rest of the way in a 78-63 victory over Monmouth at Carnesecca Arena.
Hall scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half and Ian Jackson tallied 13 of his 15 in the second stanza as the new-look Johnnies maintained a double-digit lead throughout.
Newcomer Quinn Ellis chipped in eight points, seven assists, five steals and five rebounds on a night in which St. John’s only shot 41.9 percent from the field and went 6-of-20 from 3-point range. It was a quiet debut for Tounde Yessoufou, who surprisingly came off the bench and was held to 12 points.
Despite trailing by 18 just 8:11 after the opening tip, Monmouth did give the Red Storm issues with its methodical offense. St. John’s couldn’t really pull away until Jackson hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 6:29 left that extended the lead to 19.
The Johnnies looked the part of a work in progress, as Pitino has said for weeks. There were impressive stretches, especially early, but also missed assignments on defense and spacing problems on the offensive end of the floor. Monmouth, it should be noted, nearly beat Seton Hall in an exhibition game and could be better than its preseason projection of No. 5 in the CAA.