Bullish on Senior Night

They came to St. John’s hoping to be the crew that turned the program around; many of them from New York City, others from a short plane or bus ride away. They’ve seen friends leave the program, frustrated with losing or in hopes of getting more playing time, they’ve stressed about who was going to coach them from year to year, they’ve seen friends from AAU ball play on the sport’s biggest stages, while they practice and study in Queens.

It’s been a long 4 years for most of the seniors – 5 for Rob Thomas – and the seniors have seen their share of losses, blowouts, with few moments of glory. This year, aided by junior college transfers Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee, those seniors have gotten a taste of the big time.

They deserve a hearty round of applause.

Applause for D.J. Kennedy and Paris Horne, who worked hard to provide scoring and gritty defense for the Johnnies.

Cheers for Sean Evans and Justin Burrell, brought in to be part of an imposing and athletic front line.

Hosannas for Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee, who came from junior colleges to be a part of a Red Storm surge.

Props to Dele Coker and Rob Thomas, who may not have become the basketball stars they thought they might.

Hearty praise for Kevin Clark, the walk-on who worked hard to be part of basketball for four more years.

And an ovation for Malik Boothe, the undersized tough guy from southeast Queens, who truly represents the Red Storm seniors’ dogged determination.

It’s been 4 long years, and here’s something the team can hang their hat on – this year’s 19-10 record makes the seniors .500 in their career as a class.

The senior night game does have an opponent, South Florida. At first – and second – glance, the Bulls look like the perfect Senior Night patsy. They are far, far worse than the Seton Hall Pirates. They are one of the few teams St. John’s destroyed in a game last year -and on the road, to boot. At 9-2, South Florida feels the loss of star guard Dominique Jones, who went to the NBA.

This final game is a chance for the team to end its season on a high note and for the seniors to feel the love of an adoring crowd. Will St. John’s seniors win one last time in Carnesecca, or will they end their regular season on a sour note?

Let’s get it.

Click on photos below for bigger versions. All photos by Icon SMI, except Kevin Clark photo, courtesy of Red Storm Sports.

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South Florida (9-21, 3-14 Big East)

A list of luminaries South Florida has lost to: Florida Atlantic, with Sun Belt coach of the Year Mike Jarvis. Southern Mississippi. Central Florida, Kent State, James Madison, Cleveland State. But they beat DePaul twice, and Providence once, which tells you…

This is a bottom of the barrel Big East team. Stan Heath had been building to a year at full strength, but transfers out and in, Dominique Jones’ departure, and inconsistent play from his stars has hurt the Bulls.

The one good thing about South Florida is that they are big. They have four players with legit size along the frontline in Jarrid Famous, Gus Gilchrist, Ron Anderson, and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick. The shortest of the group runs 6’8″, the slimmest 230. That group brings the one strength of the Bulls to the table – offensive rebounding to get more shots and solid defensive rebounding.

Gilchrist is the most multi-faceted, but he takes a lot of long jumpers (and will shoot the three). He also left the team for a day earlier in the year. He takes a lot of shots, is mobile, but turnover-prone. When he’s on his game, he can be an all-league player, but Gus is often coasting or drifting.

Jarrid Famous is tall, reasonably athletic, but his agility is… well, he’s awkward at times. He is also the best at scoring inside the arc, sticking close to the basket on many plays, and is a danger to the team when he doesn’t; he’s not an adept post defender. Fitzpatrick has an outside game too, and can be a bit of a load to handle; he’ll play small forward for stretches. Ron Anderson transferred from Kansas State and provides a LOT of rebounding in his limited minutes on the floor. He can hit a jumper and is a consistent player; he could be dangerous.

The rest of the team is a hodgepodge of junior college newcomers, recruits who have not yet emerged as forces, and a transfer. At point guard, the Bulls are led by Anthony Crater, a former Ohio State transfer. He is fast and athletic and cannot seem to transfer his physical gifts into basketball plays. He plays 33-35 minutes and is a good passer, who is prone to a number of turnovers. He’s improved his three point shooting from 19.6% last year in Big East play to 30.8%, but he’s also not likely to take more than 4 shots in a game.

The guard and wing positions are manned by a combination of players, mostly tall guards. Hugh Robertson is a 6’6″ guard who can hit some jump shots but hardly gets to the line; he is the best perimeter defender. Shaun Noriega is the best shooter on the team, it seems, from the perimeter; he’s hit 42.4% of his shots from outside, and he needs to be defended. he doesn’t put the ball on the deck, so he’s less of a factor than he could be.

Jawanza Poland has taken a third of his shots from the perimeter, and hit just under 19% of those attempts. He has some passing ability. Sophomore Mike Burwell gets some time, and has a perimeter stroke.

Keys to the Game

Defend intelligently. Seton Hall had many attempts where the Red Storm defender was a good 3 steps away from the shooter when the shooter got the ball in his hands. The Red Storm defenders have to fight through screens and/ or find ways to cover opponents faster. Open treys can kill a good effort. So can fouls caused from being wildly out of position.

Force turnovers. The Bulls are poor ballhandlers, especially along the front line; St. John’s needs to force them to lose the ball.

Don’t cough the ball up. St. John’s hasn’t been great at handling the ball against pressure recently, and they need to improve – meet the ball, throw fewer wild passes, dribble better.

Keep the Bulls off the offensive glass. The Bulls are strong on the offensive glass, getting more shots with their big men. St. John’s has to neutralize the one thing they do well with their size.

Attack mode. Kennedy and Hardy and the big men must all look to attack, draw fouls, and get inside for points. The Red Storm are not a good jump shooting team; they need to get the ball inside.

Prediction: A senior night win, 70-58 St. John’s