Red Storm Look Ahead: Five Possible Starting Lineups for St. John’s in 2011-2012

With so many new players coming to the Red Storm next season, Steve Lavin has some decisions to make about how to shuffle his lineup. Below are some ideas about how Steve Lavin could play his cards in 2011-2012:

#1 The Most Likely

Nurideen Lindsey, D’Angelo Harrison, Maurice Harkless, Jakarr Sampson, God’s Gift Achiuwa

This lineup gives the Red Storm the best fit at every position and a good overall mix of different skills at each spot.

In the backcourt, St. John’s will have a good combination with the slashing, driving Lindsey and the long-range shooting Harrison. Harrison also has the ability to attack the basket, but he will be the main 3-point shooter on this team.

In the front court, 6’6” Maurice Harkless will be a versatile swing player that can play on the perimeter, in the mid-range, or get to the rim. Scouts look at Jakarr Sampson at the power forward position and see a player capable of winning Freshman of the Year in the Big East. He is still raw, but he can do work in the paint and take defenders off the dribble when he faces up.

And, at center, God’s Gift Achiuwa brings bulk and muscle to the lineup. He is a 6’9” natural power forward whose brawn will allow him to drop to the center position. If God’s Gift plays more of a role like Justin Burrell did last season, where he comes off the bench, expect Norvel Pelle to start at the 5.

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#2 Length/Run-and-Gun

Nurideen Lindsey, Amir Garrett, Maurice Harkless, Jakarr Sampson, Norvel Pelle

Steve Lavin and his pressure defense will be a staple of the 2011-2012 Red Storm. With a lineup like this, Nurideen Lindsey is “small” at 6’4”. Garrett has a motor that doesn’t stop running, with an incredible vertical leap and active hands. Harkless, Sampson, and Pelle, at 6’6”, 6’8”, and 6’10”, with the same lanky, long body type, will wreak havoc when teams try to bring the ball up the floor.

The turnovers that they force will turn into an up-tempo offense and some fireworks in transition. All five can play above the rim and few teams will be able to match up with this arrangement of size, length, and speed.

SNY’s Jon Rothstein has compared this St. John’s teams to the versatile West Viriginia squads of the past. What they may lack in true, powerful size, they will undoubtedly make up for with hustle, length, and athleticism.

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#3 True Fab 5

Phil Greene, D’Angelo Harrison, Maurice Harkless, Jakarr Sampson, Norvel Pelle

There have been early, rather loose connections made between this incoming class and the Fab 5 of Michigan during the early 1990s. If Lavin goes with the set of players above, he will have the true Fab 5.

This probably isn’t going to be a typical lineup, but Lavin could use it from time to time. Phil Greene will share time with Malik Stith at the back-up point guard position, and he brings a different set of skills than Stith. He attacks the basket well and can knock down a consistent jumper in the mid-range. If he falls back during the season and Stith excels, he could lose minutes, or vice versa.

In addition to having the “gimmick” of featuring all freshmen, the Red Storm have an impressive front court in this set, one that could be the full-time starting front court, depending on what Coach Lavin decides to do with God’s Gift.

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#4 Defensive Lockdown

Malik Stith, Amir Garrett, Sir’Dominic Pointer, Norvel Pelle, God’s Gift Achiuwa

Coach Lavin did a good job during his first season in Queens finding the right times to change pace. One “mode” the Red Storm employed was the slowed-down, defensive-minded, shot clock-eating set. With the distribution-oriented Malik Stith at point guard, St. John’s will bleed the shot clock down to 15 seconds and work from there.

In addition to a slow offense, the Red Storm will lock down on defense. Sir’Dominic Pointer, 6’6” tall and built like an NFL linebacker, is regarded as one of the best on-ball defenders in the Class of 2011. Alongside Pointer, Garrett brings length and athleticism to the perimeter defensively.

Down low, Norvel Pelle’s long arms keep the offense away from the basket, and Achiuwa brings the Ben Wallace-like rebounding and size as a complement.

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#5 Size

Nurideen Lindsey, Sir’Dominic Pointer, Jakarr Sampson, Norvel Pelle, God’s Gift Achiuwa

When the Red Storm match up against some of the bigger teams in the Big East like Syracuse and UConn, they may have to go with size over shooting (Harrison) or perimeter offense (Harkless).

Lindsey, at 6’4”, is a tough match-up for smaller point guards. Pointer, with his muscular build, poses the same problem for opposing shooting guards. And, lastly, a frontcourt of players who are 6’8”, 6’9”, and 6’10” is tough to find anywhere.

It is true that St. John’s will lack a “true” big man like former Syracuse center Rick Jackson, or the type of player Georgetown typically recruits (Roy Hibbert, etc.), but three players 6’8″ and above will help fill that gap. The Red Storm will have long big men that keep players out of the paint, not necessarily true bigs who grind down on the block.