After just one game, Steve Donahue thinks this freshman is one of the ‘next great St. Joe’s guards’
Ranson had 17 of the Hawks' 28 bench points in their season-opening win over Longwood.
St. Joseph’s men’s basketball coach Steve Donahue thought his team executed when it needed to in its 82-73 season-opening victory over Longwood.
He pointed to the Hawks’ 8-3 run in the final 90 seconds Wednesday night at Hagan Arena as a “good sign.” But he said his biggest takeaways are always going to be on what his team needs to do better.
“I think we played really good basketball [for] 20, 25 [minutes], just not 40,” Donahue said. “But I love that we figured out a way to win this game because there’s times where they could have got the momentum.”
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Donahue suggested that going deeper on the bench can help the Hawks play a more complete game, but they did score 28 points off the bench, led by freshman guard BJ Ranson’s 17.
He exited the game with six minutes left because of cramps, which Donahue said is a testament to how hard he plays and how he “gives it his all every single day.”
“He’s a playmaker,” Donahue said. “He’s going to be one of those other next great St. Joe’s guards, in my opinion, just because of all those things. And we never had someone like that, that can make three or four hard shots in a row. He has that ability.”
Ranson was one of four Hawks double-digit scorers, led by Jaiden Glover-Toscano, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Khaafiq Myers had a career-high 17 points, and Austin Williford had 10, .
Since several older players are new to the team this season, Myers it’s up to returners like himself, Williford, and Glover-Toscano to step up as leaders.
“We were here last year, we had a good year last year, so we need to bring that energy back this year,” Myers said. “We’ve been through it, so we know what it’s like. So just bringing those guys with us, and we know what it’s going to take, and we’ll be willing to do anything to figure it out down stretch.”
One of those newcomers, 6-foot-11 Davidson transfer Sean Logan, was a major contributor defensively. He had six blocks, seven rebounds, and seven assists and was a “facilitator,” in Donahue’s words, despite picking up three of his four fouls in the game’s first 26 minutes.
Donahue said that in addition to Logan’s six blocks, he “probably discourages about four” other shots. He also thinks relying on a four-guard strategy for some of the game with Myers, Glover-Toscano, Williford, and Ranson partially because of what Logan brings.
“Glover and Wilford are such two-way players,” Donahue said. “But Sean just adds another dimension … I thought we got easy buckets at times because of Sean’s ability to pass.”
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The Hawks will host Lafayette on Saturday (4 p.m., ESPN+).
