D'Angelo Harrison Marvels in Return to Red Storm Starting Lineup

Despite entering the season in coach Steve Lavin’s doghouse, it took only one regular season game for St. John’s sophomore D’Angelo Harrison to find his way out. After coming off of the bench and leading the Johnnies to a win in the season opener against Detroit, Harrison was inserted back into the starting lineup Thursday when St. John’s went to Charleston, South Carolina to take on College of Charleston.

And much like the first game, Harrison led the way for the Red Storm, scoring 21 points in 39 minutes en route to a 64-53 win. Impressive from the start, Harrison scored 7 of the team’s first 22 points, giving his team a double-digit lead that they wouldn’t relinquish for the entire game.

Harrison did his part looking like a leader on the court, he also sounded like a leader after the game. “”We have more experience on the road with our backcourt now,” Harrison said speaking not only on his performance, but the stellar evenings had by fellow sophomore guards Phil Greene (10 points, 4 assists) and Amir Garrett (11 points, 4 rebounds). “We have really good chemistry which we carried on from this summer.”

Another testament to Harrison’s leadership was how St. John’s protected the ball, only turning the ball over 6 times.

The three-man tandem have come a long way since last season’s struggles, which Lavin acknowledged after the game, “I thought they showed, not only their athleticism and quickness, but a smart brand of basketball.”

Lavin was also impressed with the defensive effort of his young team, who despite not getting the seven blocks or so that they’ve grown accustomed to getting from freshman sensation Chris Obekpa, held their opponents to 37.5% shooting from the field, and forced them to commit 14 turnovers.

St. John’s will continue to test their road readiness,  as they take on Murray State on Friday. Win, lose, or draw, one thing’s for sure, Harrison won’t be seeing much of the bench moving forward.

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