Thursday will be a first for Chris Ledlum.
Forget playing in the Big East Tournament. He’s never even attended it.
That will change when the senior forward makes his debut in the quarterfinals against Seton Hall at the Garden.
“I have family members that have gone, so they tell me about it, they tell me how great it is,” the Brooklyn native said. “I have a little bit of an idea. They said there’s just a different energy. It’s not like a regular game, like a regular Big East game. When it comes tournament time, it’s a lot more electric in the building.”
For Ledlum, this won’t just be his introduction to the Big East Tournament. It will also be the first conference tournament he has played in during his four-year college career.
Harvard qualified for the Ivy League Tournament only once in Ledlum’s time there, and that was in 2020 when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s kind of crazy,” he said. “I know it will be really cool. Definitely excited.”
The 6-foot-6 Ledum has been at his best of late, averaging 12.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks during St. John’s five-game winning streak.
this season. Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Dealing with an ankle injury since late December, he hasn’t let it affect him, and it has improved lately.
“I think his ankle is better. Since he hurt his ankle, he was at 60 percent, 70 percent, 80 percent, now I think he’s near 100 percent,” coach Rick Pitino said. “He’s playing very good basketball right now.”
While Rick Pitino has expressed displeasure at the direction of college basketball in the transfer portal era, which has driven out some legendary coaches and makes it harder to build cohesion from year-to-year, he isn’t planning on going anywhere.
“When I kept saying to you guys how difficult this is, it’s difficult as hell. A lot of coaches don’t want it,” he said, referring to the ever-changing rosters. “We all have to determine whether we want it or not. If you’re a young coach, you better want it, because what else are you going to do? Write for The Post?
“Here’s the way I look at it: Every year I’ve been coaching, I say: Did you have fun, did you have a great time? If the answer’s yes, you grind it for another year. You just live in the precious present. …. I look it as, what’s the alternative, is the alternative better? And for me the answer is probably no. I suck at golf. My horses are slow. So I don’t know what [else] I would do.”
Pitino said he is expecting four to five players from this year’s team to return next year.
Freshman Simeon Wilcher and sophomore Zuby Ejiofor are believed to be two of them, and St. John’s will be adding three freshmen and several transfers.
One change the Hall of Fame coach will make this offseason is lessening the emphasis on player development and focusing more on teaching his offensive and defensive system in summer workouts.
“I was making them better basketball players, shooting, dribbling and all of the offensive moves,” Pitino said. “I probably should have spent more time developing the offenses and the defenses. You learn this new climate now and that’s what I would do [differently] going into next year.”