Buzzer Mailbag, holiday edition

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A funny thing happened in Atlanta Saturday: Rick Pitino admitted to his original sin.

Or, well, sort of. In the summer, the big question about an otherwise highly touted St. John’s roster was its point guard situation. At first, North Carolina transfer Ian Jackson — who had a seven-percent-ish assist rate as a freshman and was absolutely no one’s idea of a point guard at any point in his prep career — was the ostensible, questionable, choice. In August Pitino, presumably having seen Jackson play point in practice, dismissed the entire concept of the position altogether: “There are no point guards anymore,” he told reporters. “If you find it, you’re probably describing a guy who can’t shoot.”

You could sort of get the notion. Lots of teams at all levels are doing interesting playmaking things with players that don’t resemble, like, Avery Johnson, or whatever. Still, the tone wasn’t entirely convincing where this current Johnnies team was concerned, especially when you dug in to the roster-building details. Whatever their size or other skills, teams need guys who can dribble.

Then came Saturday against Kentucky — yet another marquee SJU loss, another disappointing moment in a flat start to a season, another indication this squad isn’t close to the national title level some assigned to it this fall — when Pitino admitted all that stuff was cope:

“That’s our fault in recruiting,” Pitino told reporters, referring to the team’s eight second-half turnovers. “We lost out on four different big-time point guards that we went after, and we’ve got to make the best of the situation by, collectively, other people handling the ball and bringing it up.”

“That’s our fault as a staff for not having a big-time point guard that makes people better,” Pitino said.

Besides the comedy inherent in Pitino making it retroactively clear that he totally realized he actually needed a point guard — this was not some big strategic whiff, of course not — it opens up a host of questions. Was Pitino just trying to build his players’ confidence in the summer, knowing all along it probably wouldn’t work? Had he actually slightly convinced himself of what he was selling? Also: Which four point guards did St. John’s miss out on? Given St. John’s clearly sizable NIL budget, how did the Red Storm not land one?

In any case, it felt like an appropriate time for Pitino to come clean. Save a few straggling matchups over the coming holiday period, the noncon campaign is just about wrapped up. Our impressions of teams have evolved accordingly. Kentucky might not be totally screwed. Vanderbilt might be a wagon. Indiana’s flaws might be fatal. Houston’s offense might have some juice to it yet. The Big East might just be putrid. And so on. This slice of the college hoops calendar is a fitting moment for reflection.

Which also makes it a great time for a mailbag! Which is what I’m going to do this week — your questions, our answers, the usual.

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