St. John's Basketball: Shamorie Ponds nearly records triple-double versus Fordham

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Shamorie Ponds has a big night as St. John’s basketball cruises past Fordham.

St. John'sRed Storm90

Normally it takes months of adjustments for freshman to acclimate to the world of college basketball.

That doesn’t apply to St. John’s unflappable freshman Shamorie Ponds.

On a light night of college hoops on Thursday, Ponds had a near triple-double that helped lead his St. John’s Red Storm squad to blowout victory over the Fordham Rams at Carnesecca Arena.

The 6’1″, 170 pound freshman from Brooklyn scored 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, dished out nine assists and grabbed seven rebounds in their 90-62 victory. Ponds also shot 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, recorded four steals and only turned the ball over three times.

26 pts, nine assists, seven rebounds from Ponds. #SJUBB #Goodnight pic.twitter.com/NgThefNgW8

— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) December 9, 2016

He was aggressive throughout the night, using his quick hands on defense, toughness on the glass and unlimited range on offense.

“Our guards in general did not play very well and a lot of the credit goes to Shamorie Ponds,” Fordham head coach Jeff Neubauer said postgame. “We saw him play in AAU. We thought he was terrific. He’s much better than that.”

What’s most impressive about Ponds is his confidence and fearlessness.

He doesn’t play like a typical first year player, as he isn’t afraid to take the big shot and has the ball handling skills to break down the defense and create for himself.

It’s clear that he’s ahead of his expected timeline.

Ponds is currently averaging 17.3 points (2nd on the team), 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, and is shooting 50 percent from the field overall. He is even knocking down 44 percent of his threes and a terrific 88 percent of his free throws. Also, Ponds has scored in double figures in nine straight games.

Thursday night’s performance was his best of the season though. The numbers were terrific, but what makes it even more impressive is the fact that he was able to find a high level of production without his counterpart Marcus LoVett (out with a sprained ankle) on the floor.

“I say it’s always a team effort,” Ponds said. “We miss him dearly but when somebody goes down, somebodies got to step up.”

The Rams are a solid defense team, as they force more than 20 turnovers a game (2nd in the nation). They keyed in on Ponds, sometimes collapsing three guys onto the freshman when he was able to break into the lane. But that didn’t stop Ponds from making plays for his teammates and finding the open man out of pick-and-roll situations.

St. John’s is still a young team that is trying to find a level of consistency on both ends of the floor. However, they have won three straight games because of their hot shooting from the perimeter, improved intensity on defense and of course, the dynamic play of their mature freshman.