Men's team lacking a 'killer instinct'
Bill San Antonio, Sports Editor
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Sports
The best athletes in sports
have what is known as a "killer
instinct."
Peyton Manning has it. Michael Jordan had it. Derek Jeter. Mariano Rivera. Kobe Bryant. Tiger Woods. They all have it. LeBron James has shown flashes of it. Larry Bird mastered it. In fact, anybody who's been in a Gatorade ad within the last 10 years has it. The list goes on and on.
You'd recognize the killer instinct if you see it. It comes out to play late in a close game, when the superstars look like
Michael Jackson during the middle of the "Thriller" video and do inhuman things on the
fi eld. They want the ball in their hands. They itch for that at-bat, that inning on the
mound, that last possession. They want to be the one to take over the game and bring
home the win.
That said, no member of the St. John's men's basketball team has it.
D.J. Kennedy might have had it. As the team's leading scorer, at times he is everywhere at once and gravitates to the
ball at both ends of the fl oor.
Last season, Paris Horne may have had it. The guard upped his scoring output nearly six points and put on a shooting display
every night.
In the past, Anthony Mason Jr. might have had it. He currently ranks as one of St.
John's all-time best three-point
shooters and is the face of the
men's program.
A week ago, we thought
Dwight Hardy had it.
Hardy grabbed steals on two
consecutive possessions, got
to the free throw line each
time, and made all four free
throws en route to the Red
Storm's fi rst conference win of
the season against Cincinnati.
But none of these players
have it. We learned that Saturday
against Villanova.
St. John's shot 56.5 percent
from the fi eld in the fi rst half
and 60 percent from three-point
range, taking a 38-37 lead into
the locker room and leading by
as many as 11 thanks to Hardy's
11 points.
But in the second half, the
Wildcats shut each of these
have what is known as a "killer
instinct."
Peyton Manning has it. Michael Jordan had it. Derek Jeter. Mariano Rivera. Kobe Bryant. Tiger Woods. They all have it. LeBron James has shown flashes of it. Larry Bird mastered it. In fact, anybody who's been in a Gatorade ad within the last 10 years has it. The list goes on and on.
You'd recognize the killer instinct if you see it. It comes out to play late in a close game, when the superstars look like
Michael Jackson during the middle of the "Thriller" video and do inhuman things on the
fi eld. They want the ball in their hands. They itch for that at-bat, that inning on the
mound, that last possession. They want to be the one to take over the game and bring
home the win.
That said, no member of the St. John's men's basketball team has it.
D.J. Kennedy might have had it. As the team's leading scorer, at times he is everywhere at once and gravitates to the
ball at both ends of the fl oor.
Last season, Paris Horne may have had it. The guard upped his scoring output nearly six points and put on a shooting display
every night.
In the past, Anthony Mason Jr. might have had it. He currently ranks as one of St.
John's all-time best three-point
shooters and is the face of the
men's program.
A week ago, we thought
Dwight Hardy had it.
Hardy grabbed steals on two
consecutive possessions, got
to the free throw line each
time, and made all four free
throws en route to the Red
Storm's fi rst conference win of
the season against Cincinnati.
But none of these players
have it. We learned that Saturday
against Villanova.
St. John's shot 56.5 percent
from the fi eld in the fi rst half
and 60 percent from three-point
range, taking a 38-37 lead into
the locker room and leading by
as many as 11 thanks to Hardy's
11 points.
But in the second half, the
Wildcats shut each of these
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