St. John’s basketball extends winning streak to 16 games

The SJU Basketball team is currently ranked sixth in the nation. They sit with a 20-2 overall record, 13-0 in the MIAC and are on a 16-game win streak. With three games left in the regular season, the Johnnies look to continue this momentum. Senior Griffin Rushin said the team’s key to success this year has been the players’ chemistry as well as their work ethic.

“We compete for each other and work hard in practice every day. We have been playing with each other for three or four years now, so we have a good sense of what each of us are good at and where we excel on the court,” Rushin said.

At the height of their season, the team has been focusing on the little things during practice.

“We try to improve every day and fine tune all the little things. Competing in practice allows us to tighten up what we think we need to improve on,” Rushin said.

As it’s his senior season, Rushin said he’s going to remember the time spent with his teammates the most. Junior Kyle Johnson believes the team’s success this season is due to the experience on the team. With three fifth-years back and multiple seniors, Johnson said most of them have been playing with each other for a few years now.

“A lot of young teams make mistakes, but we’re able to adapt on the fly because we have lots of experienced players on the team,” Johnson said.

Everyone has been in lots of different game scenarios, which, Johnson said, helps them be a well-versed team. As the team prepares for the remainder of their regular season and heads into the MIAC tournament, they’re keeping a focused mindset.

“Being on a 15-game win streak, there are outside voices saying you need a close game or loss to focus, but it’s not going to take a loss for us to focus. Teams might start to plateau, but we’re still rising and getting better,” Johnson said.

For Johnson, his favorite moment of the season so far is the Washington D.C. trip the team took right before Christmas. They met up with an SJU alum, did some sightseeing, won their two games and won the tournament overall. Senior Ryan Thissen says the team’s mentality has been a key factor of their success this season.

“Everyone has bought in to what we are trying to accomplish. We take every game one by one and never look ahead. It’s all about staying in the moment and playing for each other,” Thissen said.

With the team’s talented roster, Thissen said this has been another contribution to their success.

“Every player on the roster has played a huge role. The scout players give us great looks when we are preparing for games, and without them it would be difficult to feel prepared for the games. We have multiple guys that on any given night can have a huge game for us,” Thissen said.

In preparing for the upcoming MIAC and national tournaments, Thissen said they are taking it one step at a time and not overlooking anyone.

“The goal is to always win championships, and to get there we need to win one game at a time,” Thissen said.

Thissen’s favorite moments from the season so far have been the team trip to Washington D.C. and getting to see his teammates every day.

“Just showing up every day and practicing with the guys has been the most enjoyable for me,” Thissen said.

Head Coach Pat McKenzie attributes the team’s success to the depth of players the team has.

“We have great depth and are able to play a lot of different guys and lineups, which allows us to find who has the hot hand that night,” McKenzie said.

The team’s chemistry has also played a huge role.

“It’s a very tight-knit group and they have great chemistry. They don’t care who scores or who’s playing because if we’re winning and playing well, everyone is happy,” McKenzie said.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, McKenzie said they’re focusing on keeping everything consistent. They take it one day at a time.

“We’re not looking ahead, but rather onto the next task. We think what can we do today to put ourselves in the best position to get a win,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie looks forward to seeing how far this team can push it.

“You want to keep the thing going as long as you can. I’m excited to see what lies ahead for this group,” McKenzie said.