Brady Dunlap was adamant that his right hip is fine.
His recent shooting troubles have nothing to do with that.
The sophomore wing just needs to make shots.
The first game of the season against Quinnipiac. Robert Szabo of the New York Post
“I'm not shooting as well as I'd like,” Dunlap said on Zoom Tuesday as St. John's prepared to face Bryant on Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena. “That's a bit of a concern, but that's kind of my role on the team, even if the coaching staff didn't really intend for it to happen.” [harp on it]. They think I'm playing well, yada, yada, yada, but I need to make the shot. ”
Dunlap entered this season considered an important piece for the Johnnys. He's a 6-foot-7 sharpshooter who will help keep defenses honest against St. John's slashing guards and wings.
That hasn't been the case lately, with Dunlap going 1-of-11 from long range in the past three games after missing the win against Virginia with a hip issue.
After St. John's trip to the Bahamas, he received a cortisone injection in his hip and an MRI scan revealed a mild labral tear, his father, Jeff, told the Post.
This shot seems to have alleviated the discomfort.
Doctors told Dunlap he could overcome the injury and still play.
He's not the kind of person to make excuses.
Jeff asked about his lower back and Brady said he was fine.
“I tell him, I want to see you get your speed back,” Old Man Dunlap said. “Brady's athletic talent is running, he's fast. He's not a high flyer. He's quick to fill the lane, he's quick to get up on the floor, he's quick to get back. I hope that comes. ”
Dunlap's role at St. John's is a difficult one, as a bench player whose primary job is to knock down perimeter shots.
He's only averaging 4.9 hits per game in 17.1 minutes.
There's a lot of pressure to take advantage of those opportunities.
“I talked to a lot of coaches at all levels, and they told me one of the most difficult jobs in basketball is being a shooter off the bench,” said N.C. State, Georgia State and Cal State Fullerton. said Jeff, a longtime Division I assistant coach. Loyola Chicago State and Western Michigan State announced. “It's a unique position and a unique responsibility, but he's got to rise to the challenge and be better at it.
“He's going to have a game, he's going to light up and everybody's going to go wild and say he's arrived. And he's going to have some games where he's 0-for-7, but nobody You wonder why he's on the team. It's a spectrum of extremes that you run. He has a hell of a role.”
St. John's is shooting only 33.2 percent from 3-point range, a weakness that is expected to limit the team.
The hope was that Dunlap could take a step forward this year and become a key piece in the division.
“I think sometimes you get nervous in a game because you only have five or six shots and you have to take shots for the team.Obviously, we Because we’re not a great 3-point shooting team,” Dunlap said. “Sometimes when you catch the ball, you feel the importance of the shot and it gets a little tight. You have to relax and let the ball fly high and trust yourself and believe in your training. But at the same time, this is just It's basketball and you can play against Bryant and score five or six points. [3’s]”
Rick Pitino trusted him enough to give Dunlap the start in last Saturday's win over Kansas State.
Hall of Fame coaches don't talk to him about his shooting. He's confident the shot will fall soon.
The player who was known as a four-star prospect for his shot-making after going 9-of-19 in the opening game this year will find it.
“Believe it or not, he complimented some of my stops defensively. I feel like I've improved a lot defensively from last year,” Dunlap said of his interactions with Pitino. . “I had seven rebounds in that game, and against Kansas State it hurt that I didn't have any rebounds, but he complimented me on that. He doesn't really bring up shots.
“But at the same time, I'm not an idiot and I understand how important shooting is to this basketball team. I've got to be more of a knock-down guy to space the floor.”
