It appears the preseason hype about Simeon Wilcher was legit.
At least it was Monday night.
The former top-40 recruit out of Roselle Catholic, who struggled in a limited role as a freshman, started his sophomore year with a strong performance.
Wilcher scored a team-high and career-high 17 points and made 7 of 9 shots from the field in St. John’s 92-60 rout of Fordham at Carnesecca Arena.
“Everything just feels like I’m just playing, going with the game, and not really thinking too much,” Wilcher said. “Last year, I was thinking too much, just so excited to get out there that when you get out there, you got too much energy and you don’t know what to do with it. Last year, that kind of held me back a little bit, and now just finding that peace between my ears is what has helped me a lot.”
Coach Rick Pitino has said since summer that Wilcher is one of his best players, and it sure looked like it against Fordham.
He made quick decisions, knocked down jump shots and finished off strong drives to the basket.
Gone was the freshman who so often seemed uncertain a year ago, who let a mistake turn into multiple ones.
“A lot of hours [in the gym] and just having that confidence in myself,” he said. “Sometimes I do struggle with getting in my head with missed shots. Coach P always tells me I can’t do that, just kind of look forward to the next shot, and that’s how I played tonight.”
It was a forgettable evening for RJ Luis.
The junior forward was in foul trouble all night, limited to 13 minutes.
He was called for two offensive fouls on drives and to top it off, he was whistled for a technical foul for kicking the ball into the stands after fouling out with 5:16 remaining.
“I’ve been coaching a long time. That was probably the biggest shock I’ve had in coaching,” Pitino said of Luis, who had 12 points. “That is so not RJ. Not indicative of him as a person. Unfortunately, he’s going to pay the consequences for doing that. It was an act I can’t believe he did. He’s right now running to Manhattan.”
Pitino was joking about Luis running to Manhattan.
“Not starting [the next game] will be the easiest thing he’ll go through,” the coach said. “He got frustrated, he made a very, very selfish play by kicking the ball. You forgive him, you move on. … He knows that embarrassed his mom, his dad and himself.”