Transfer Aaron Scotts defensive prowess looking like St. Johns game-changer

Repeatedly last year after defensive problems cost his team games, Rick Pitino lamented St.John’s shortcomings when it came to lateral quickness, having too many offensive-minded players and lacking size at multiple positions. When I think of ways in which St.

John’s roster has improved, the first player that comes to mind is Aaron Scott.The senior is defense-first – you don’t play at North Texas otherwise.

He has good size on the wing at 6-foot-7.He can guard basically every position, so lateral quickness is obviously a strength. That was all on display Monday night in St.

John’s season-opening rout of Fordham.In the 24 minutes that Scott was on the floor, St.

John’s was plus-29.He scored 12 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers and added five rebounds, two steals and two assists.

He did the little things winning players do, whether it was diving for loose balls, creating deflections or helping when a teammate was beaten off the dribble. Of the newcomers, Scott was overshadowed by the more splashy adds of coveted point guard Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith.He never averaged more than 11 points in his three years at North Texas.

But he was a key part of a team that went 75-29 in that span and won the NIT in 2023.Pitino told The Post before the season that Scott and Zuby Ejiofor have been his team’s two most consistent workers.

On Monday night, he struck a different tune, downplaying Scott’s performance, which looked strong to this reporter. “I thought he was good tonight, I want to see greatness.… I love Aaron, awesome guy.

I just thought he was good tonight, not great,” the Hall of Fame coach said.“He’s capable as a senior of being great.

He would attest to that as well.” Pitino has extremely high expectations for Scott.On opening night, he looked like a piece that was missing a year ago. Below are some other takeaways on the St.

John’s opener: The biggest surprise for me was how well USC transfer Vince Iwuchukwu looked.H...