Federico Mussini took his bumps as a freshman, playing out of position at point guard out of necessity, struggling against quicker and stronger opponents. But he never complained.
A year later, he returned to his natural position of shooting guard, but his role was severely diminished, backing up dynamic freshmen guards Marcus LoVett Jr. and Shamorie Ponds. And, again, the native of Italy has never protested.
“He’s a consummate teammate,” St. John’s coach Chris Mullin said. “In general, those European kids are groomed the right way and they grow up, not only learning the game the right way, but are very focused on team and competition and winning.”
That’s why Mussini was so happy Saturday — the sophomore significantly contributed to a victory, his first time beating Georgetown in four tries. He had 16 points and two steals in the win. Mussini has been at his best lately, scoring in double-figures in three of the last five games. He equaled a season-high 20 points in a loss at No. 13 Butler on Feb. 15. After missing three games with an infection in late November, Mussini got off to a rough start in Big East play, his minutes and field-goal attempts well down.
“I know I need to bring energy every night and do the best that I can from the bench, especially on defense,” Mussini said. “And on offense, I just take my shots.”
Mussini has made a lot of his limited opportunities. He’s averaging 8.0 points in 18.4 minutes after notching 10.7 points in 29.3 minutes last year, and is shooting 42 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range, both higher than last.
“He’s as valuable [as he was last year], minus the minutes, and one thing we had to do last year was have him on the ball all the time and it wasn’t even fair,” Mullin said. “He understands with Marcus and Shamorie and Malik [Ellison], that these guys can create shots for him and that’s really his strength,” Mullin said.
St. John’s (13-16, 7-9 Big East) will need his production Tuesday, when it visits Creighton (8 p.m., CBSSN), if it hopes to snap its recent road woes. The Johnnies are 2-5 in the league on the road, have dropped three in a row away from home and have been manhandled in the five losses.
“To be a good team, the first thing you have to do is protect home court. And to be above average, you win on the road,” Mullin said. “So I think we’re making a step towards playing well at home and the sooner we do that on the road, that will be the next step.”
Ponds was named Big East Freshman of the Week for a league-high fifth time Monday. … Sophomore forward Tariq Owens (ankle) will be a game-time decision, according to a source. He injured his ankle in the second half against Georgetown.
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