St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico knew that she had something special with one of the top recruiting classes in the country to go along with a solid foundation returning. She just wasn't sure when everything might come together for the Red Storm.
So far it's been a lot quicker than even she could have hoped for.
``I didn't expect us to have the magnitude of success we've had this early,'' Barnes Arico said. ``I knew our freshman class was very talented, but once you come to college it's a different experience especially in our league.''
With a 35-point win over Louisville on Wednesday, the Red Storm reached 20 victories for the third time in Barnes Arico's eight-year tenure at the school. It was the second fastest that St. John's has achieved the 20-win plateau with the only quicker time coming back in 1982-83.
``It really is great what we've done so far and I want them to enjoy it,'' Barnes Arico said. ``But we're just beginning to tap our potential.''
St. John's had back-to-back 20 win seasons in 2004-06 under Barnes Arico, but that group was a much more experienced team.
``Last time we were here it was mostly upperclassmen so I knew we were reaching our potential,'' Barnes Arico said. ``This group is still so young they are getting better every day and their confidence is really high.''
The Red Storm are led by sophomore Da'Shena Stevens, who averages 13.9 points and 7.5 rebounds. She was the Big East freshman of the year last season. Freshman Shenneika Smith - a New York City product - is second in scoring at 12.3 points. St. John's also starts first-year point guard Nadirah McKenith, who averages 7.1 points, 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
``The biggest challenge with the freshmen is their consistency, but they just keep getting better,'' Barnes Arico said. ``All I hear about is Nebraska and it's so interesting that their six seniors stuck together and now they are No. 3 in the country. That's the kind of freshmen I feel we have right now. They might be champions some day.''
The Red Storm, who were picked 12th in the preseason conference poll, have garnered national attention earning a spot in the Top 25 the past two weeks. It's only the fourth time in school history that St. John's has been ranked.
``I came up from practice that day and had a text on my phone from a former assistant saying congrats you're ranked,'' Barnes Arico said. ``I quickly ran down to the locker room and showed the phone to the team who passed it around and cheered.''
It wasn't long ago that St. John's was at the bottom of the conference. Before Barnes Arico took over in 2002, the Red Storm had won just three Big East games in the previous two years. Now the team is sitting in fifth place in the conference and, barring a complete collapse over the last few weeks of the regular season, look to be headed to the NCAA tournament.
``I think winning has been good for our confidence but we have to take it one game at a time and not overlook anyone and play each game one at a time,'' senior guard Kelly McManmon said.
St. John's has a tough schedule coming up with a matchup against No. 1 Connecticut on Saturday. The Red Storm then host No. 4 Notre Dame on Tuesday. St. John's has lost the past 25 meetings against Connecticut, but played the Huskies close last season in New York, losing by 13. It was the only time that the Red Storm have been within 15 points since beating UConn in 1993.
``We're just taking it one game at a time,'' Barnes Arico said. ``Obviously we have a monumental task against UConn, but we really have nothing to lose.''
