Back in the heyday, a Chris Mullin led St. John's Redmen took Lou Carnesecca all the way to the 1985 Final Four.
Remember when St. John’s had an actual good men’s bball team we could support? The state of the Red Storm REDMEN Program is beyond pathetic. Norm Roberts might be a nice guy but he couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag. Look. We’re not saying he’s the only reason for the total suckage as it stems from the top where Father Harrington needs to be put out to pasteur.
Just so you know, I don’t take any joy in dissing my alma mater. A university with a proud history and basketball tradition now is the laughingstock of the Big East. How else can you describe it when they lose to an awful Rutgers team? Nothing against RU but they had how many conference wins? If you can’t beat the Scarlet Knights, you should just pack up. Ser—ious—ly!
Earlier this season, things looked promising when St. John’s got off to a 6-0 start even posting wins over Siena and Temple. Hell. They were even competitive against Duke, falling by nine. Wins over locals Hofstra and Fordham were a refreshing change. But then came a disappointing loss to Cornell in the ECAC Holiday championship. A game that Roberts’ club got out to a quick start building a double digit lead before the Quakers chipped away and outexecuted them on essentially their “home court” at MSG.
They entered Big East play 10-2 with the real season beginning. A close loss to long-time rival Georgetown in D.C. wasn’t alarming. But after getting schooled by that basketball power Providence, they fell to Louisville falling to 0-3 already. A hard fought two-point home win over former Railsplitter star Lance Stephenson, who admittedly chose Cinci over St. John’s due to coaching (Bob Huggins >>>>> Roberts)- was encouraging.
The Redmen then followed up by blowing out lowly Depaul by 20 improving to 2-3 in conference play and 12-5 overall. Not a bad position with six weeks left to try to reach the goal of postseason play. However, it’s been all down hill since with a flat SJU falling by 16 to inconsistent Uconn minus Jim Calhoun in Storrs. Ten point losses to powers ‘Nova and Pitt weren’t bad but it’s all about results. Coming close only counts in horseshoes.
It’s one thing to lose to quality competition in what’s one of the elite conferences also featuring title contender Syracuse who’s not on the schedule until March 3 at the OrangeDome. But quite another to lay a proverbial egg against a Rutgers program that probably will get Fred Hill fired. Tuesday night, St. Anthony’s product Mike Rosario toasted them for a career high 33 going 13-of-22 from the field including three from downtown and four-for-five at the line in RU’s 84-72 win.
It’s a little sad when a local kid rips up a school who once got that kind of talent, advancing to the 1985 Final Four thanks to NYC kids named Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and Mark Jackson. There also was a pretty darn good team in 1999 which upset Duke in Cameroon behind 40 from Bootsy Thornton, whose winning trey I can still see clear as day cheering with buddies. He connected on seven. A foreign concept to a program that never lands those type of shooters. I’ve seen better shooting at Berkeley Carroll in my four years scoring games in Park Slope.
As for that 1998-99 team which went all the way to the Elite Eight before Scoonie Penn broke our backs, they boasted kids like Ron Artest (pre-nutso), Erick Barkley, Tyrone Grant, Reggie Jessie and Lavar Postell who were tough as nails with five of the six from the metro-area with just Postell coming from another gritty area in Baltimore. Artest starred at La Salle Academy while Barkley hooped it up for Christ The King. Jessie played for Bishop Loughlin and Grant for Lincoln’s next door rival Grady in Coney Island. Those games will always matter.
To this day, me and T will tell you that Barkley got fouled on his three-point tying attempt in the waning seconds. None of it matters anymore. It’s just the last time St. John’s was that close to another Final Four. To hear then Coach Mike Jarvis tell it, he was awfully proud of what his guys accomplished that year:
“Any loss is tough. When you get this far, it’s tougher. I told our players to remember the journey we took. I want them to reflect on what we accomplished and how well they played. I can hardly wait until next year.“
They wouldn’t get back to that point in 1999-00 and haven’t come close since. Instead, a once proud program that still ranks as one of the all-time winningest in NCAA history along with the seventh most tournament appearances (27), is now an afterthought. Unable to make a serious dent in their own city due to a vast majority of local kids wanting to taste big campus life and play in front of huge crowds in prime time on CBS/ESPN. Who could blame them? Outside of The Garden where some of SJU’s home games are played, there’s little appeal to keep some of the best talent from winding up elsewhere.
How can they compete with the Kansas’, North Carolinas, Dukes, UConns, UCLAs, Kentuckys, Texas’, Novas, Marylands, etc? Small-time thinking doesn’t get you much in today’s game with so much exposure. This is what they’re dealing with. If only the university opened its collective eyes in time to see the reality check.
This isn’t to say that a few of Roberts’ guys aren’t good. Anthony Mason, Jr. has battled back from injuries to return. Had he stayed fully healthy, who knows how good he could be? Now, the NBA is unlikely. Perhaps he’ll wind up playing overseas.
The most talented player on the Johnnies is the versatile D.J. Kennedy, who combines good ball handling skills with the ability to finish near the bucket. He also can knock it down from the outside shooting 36.6 percent from three. The junior from Pitt has good size (6-6, 213) and speed. Not just one-dimensional, the club’s leading scorer (15.5 PPG) also pulls down six boards and distributes (3.0 APG). Kennedy is a ball hawk defensively and just might have NBA potential. But how much recognition will he get playing for a struggling program? Granted. It’s in the Big Apple. He’s got one more year left. Hopefully, he’ll get sound advice.
CTK product Malik Boothe hasn’t been the same since a thumb injury. The undersized point guard has good speed and vision but it’s a shame he’s missed time the past two years. Now, he’s got one more season to go. It just seems to go this way now for St. John’s. Anything that can go wrong usually does. Junior Paris Horne is another versatile player who showed promise last year averaging more than 14-per-game while chipping in the rebound, assists and steals department. However, his scoring has diminished due to JUCO transfers Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee.
There’s also hardworking Sean Evans who does a lot of good work inside but the junior from Philly has also dropped off a little and isn’t a consistent finisher, missing too many chippies. If you looked at the roster, one could conclude that there’s more depth this year. But when you sit down to watch them play, the sad realization sets in that they aren’t being coached. Look at their offensive sets. It’s way too much one-on-one without enough ball distribution and movement.
While the effort’s up to par at the other end, unless Roberts can address the offensive woes (cue Dicky V’s brick city), then he’s not getting the most out of them. This is his sixth year. More than enough time to improve. Yet here they are at 12-9 and a putrid 2-7 in the Big East with No.6 West Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt and ‘Cuse all still on the sched. And that doesn’t include other teams like Seton Hall, Marquette and South Florida, who all boast better records. South Fla upset the Hoyas last night. Can anyone picture the Redmen doing that? I refuse to call them Red Storm because I still believe in Tradition.
Sure. St. John’s women’s soccer team is huge and deserve all the accolades they receive. Even the women’s basketball team is garnering a lot more respect, making the Top 25. Will the men’s program ever see the light of day ever again? Unless they change their philosophy, it’ll continue to be a losing battle.
LET’S GO REDMEN LET’S GO REDMEN LET’S GO REDMEN
