Anthony Ramos

Harrison Out; St. John’s Looks to Down Providence at the Dunkin

March 2, 2013 by Anthony Ramos Leave a Comment

St. John’s has had a strange week. From playing a good 20+ minutes against Pittsburgh on Sunday before being outplayed the rest of the second half to Orlando Sanchez gaining his year of eligibility for next year. But nothing was stranger than waking up Friday morning and hearing leading scorer D’Angelo Harrison has been suspended by the team for the rest of the season. Harrison is being suspended because of conduct detrimental to the team an will not play in the rest of the regular or any postseason games this year.

With all that transpiring the Johnnies will head north to Providence where their tournament dreams hang in the balance and will be without their 17.8 points per game scorer.

Last season the young Johnnies put a beating on Providence in their first game of the Big East season at Carnesecca Arena where Moe Harkless broke the Big East scoring record for points in the first conference game at 32. The Johnnies rolled 81-67 to start an up and down year to say the least.

The Red Storm holds the series edge at 57-42 but the Friars have won 12 of the last 16 contests between the teams dating all the way back to 2001.

Game Information
Date: Sunday, March 2nd, 2013
Location: Dunkin’ Donuts Center- Providence, RI
Time: 8:00 PM EST
TV: SNY
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)

Providence Friars (15-12, 7-8)
Head Coach: Ed Cooley

The Friars come into their lone matchup this season with the Red Storm on a hot streak. The Friars have won four of their last five including big victories over Cincinnati, Notre Dame and at Villanova. After starting the Big East season losing four of five it looked like another down year for the Friars and Ed Cooley. But the Friars have been able to turn their season around and look for another big win against a good team.

Bryce Cotton is the player to watch for the Friars averaging 20.2 points per game in 37 minutes shooting at a 45% clip from the field. Cotton had 22 points in 39 minutes in a win at Rutgers last Saturday. Cotton shoots well from the field and will be a problem for whoever has to clamp down on him defensively. In such a big game like this for both teams it would not surprise anyone if Cotton wants to go off and send the Johnnies packing while putting Providence on the bubble.

As for the front court of the Friars is filled with two big boys, Kadeem Batts and LaDontae Henton. Batts and Henton both score in double figures at 14.8 and 13.7 a game respectively. Henton rebounds a bit better at 8.3 rebounds per game to Batts’ seven per game. Henton and Batts will be a big matchup for the Red Storm forwards to deal with and can cause problems on the glass which has been a Red Storm weakness.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F Kadeem Batts
F LaDontae Henton
G Kris Dunn
G Bryce Cotton
G Vincent Council

St. John’s (16-11, 8-7)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

The Red Storm is going to need to figure out what kind of team they are and fast when they arrive at Providence. Down their leading scorer it will be important to see who will take over his role in the starting lineups and who will take the shots. Harrison was struggling on the court lately but his presence was still very important to this team.

Jamal Branch returned on Sunday against Pitt but was limited to just three minutes off his MCL injury. It will be important for him if he is 100% to be the new floor general. If Branch has an open shot or a lane to drive it is now in his hands. It is rough to ask that of a kid who has only played 11 games with this team because of injury and transfer rules. But if he is up to the task then he must take the reins of the team.

JaKarr Sampson, the new leading scorer of the team, will probably be taking more shots and teams will be looking more at him defensively. Sampson had a decent outing against Pitt scoring 14 and grabbing six rebounds on 6-11 shooting form the field.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
G Marc-Antoine Bourgault
G Phil Greene
G Jamal Branch

Keys to Victory

• Battle of the Board: Never Bigger- Providence is a very good rebounding team. At +3 for the season on the boards against opponents the Friars are averaging 37 rebounds a game. The Johnnies are -4 on the glass and are averaging 36 while giving up 40. D’Angelo Harrison was a good rebounding guard so his rebounds will also be missed from here on out. It will be on Chris Obekpa, Sampson and Sir’Dominic Pointer to lead the way.

• Picking up the Slack- D’Angelo Harrison had been averaging 35 minutes a game this season in 27 games. Those minutes will be distributed elsewhere and whoever is called upon to take those minutes off the bench will have to produce and build an opportunity for themselves down the stretch.

• Bench– Amir Garrett, Chris Obekpa and others will be looked at as more important now with a player down. Garrett is averaging 5.7 points and 4.4 rebounds a game in 20 minutes. He could see his numbers increase and get a bigger role going forward. If not Garrett it could be Felix Balamou the freshman guard who provided spark off the bench early in the season only to see his minutes and production dwindle.

• PG4- Phil Greene is also a more important part of this team. Greene had a decent game against Pitt scoring 11 points and shooting 5-13 from the field. Greene can look great in flashes but can also look outplayed in some also. Greene will have to step up and be a leader and get an important road victory that this team sorely
needs.

Final Prediction: Providence Wins, 64-58

Red Storm Need a Win Over Pitt to Get on Right Side of the Bubble

February 23, 2013 by Anthony Ramos Leave a Comment

St. John’s got the win they needed against South Florida on Wednesday and look to help their resume with a big home win against the #20 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm are still squarely on the bubble according to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi. A win against the Panthers can boost the chances with only three games remaining after this home contest.

The Panthers are coming off two loses to Notre Dame and Marquette after rolling off three straight against Syracuse, Seton Hall and Cincinnati. Their loss against Notre Dame on Monday was a struggle like the team hasn’t seen this year as they scored only 42 points and lead at halftime. Pittsburgh is averaging 69.9 points a game this year.

Last year the Johnnies lost twice to Pittsburgh, once in the regular season where the Panthers won at home by 20. The second time was in the Big East Tournament when they eliminated the Johnnies and ended the season for the “Fresh Five.”

Game Information
Date: Sunday, February 24th, 2013
Location: Madison Square Garden- New York, NY
Time: 12:00 PM EST
TV: MSG
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)

Pittsburgh Panthers (20-7, 8-6)
Head Coach: Jamie Dixon

Jamie Dixon and his Panthers have a big team that will present some problems for the Johnnies. The Panthers play with a traditional two forward, two guard and center lineup. The most important player on the court for the Panthers in their upset win over Syracuse was center and seven-footer Steven Adams. The freshman from New Zealand is averaging 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting almost 60% from the field.

Tray Woodall is very familiar to Johnnies fans as the senior guard has been wrecking havoc against the Red Storm for four years. Woodall leads the Panthers in scoring with 10.9 points per game as well as dishing out 5.3 assists. Woodall scored 11 points, two rebounds and two assists on 4-9 shooting and was the only Panther in double digit scoring against Notre Dame. Woodall will be looking to take over and not have Pitt drop it’s third straight game.

Junior forward Lamar Patterson is second on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game and grabbing 4.3 rebounds a contest. Patterson will most likely match up with Sir’Dominic Pointer as the two do it all forwards will be battling it out in a big matchup.

Projected Starting Lineup:
C Steven Adams
F Lamar Patterson
F Talib Zanna
G James Robinson
G Tray Woodall

St. John’s (16-10, 8-6)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

The Red Storm got the win they needed against South Florida and will look to be the authors of another huge upset of Pittsburgh at the Garden. Two years ago the senior laden, first year Steve Lavin team beat #4 Pittsburgh at the Garden on a last second layup by Dwight Hardy. The moment lead to the Johnnies making the tournament for the first time since 2002.

This year the Johnnies will be lead by freshmen and sophomores but look to finish off that same type of upset. D’Angelo Harrison finished with 18 points, four rebounds and five assists against South Florida and shot 5-11 from the field. It looks like his shooting slump could be over and that would be huge for the Johnnies if Harrison could be consistent with his shot in a big game.

JaKarr Sampson has a knack for coming up with a big game and he showed that with another outstanding performance against South Florida. Sampson scored 20 points and had seven rebounds on 8-15 shooting. Sampson can be a huge boost for the Johnnies in a game like this and they will need him to keep up the good work on the boards as well.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
G Marc-Antoine Bourgault
G Phil Greene
G D’Angelo Harrison

Keys to Victory

•   Big Team, Big Rebounds- Sunday will be a must win in the rebounding category for the Red Storm. After having trouble on the glass in the early season, Pointer, Chris Obekpa and Sampson have picked up the slack. Obekpa has raised his rebounding average to six per game only second behind Sampsons 6.7. It will be crucial to box out and get position on Adams and Patterson in the post.
•   Bourgault from three- Marc-Antoine Bourgault has gotten some major minutes since Jamal Branch went down with an injury and has done a good job with his playing time. Bourgault had 10 points on 4-7 shooting in 26 minutes against the Bulls and any kind of production like that can help the Red Storm in any game. •   Be bad– The Johnnies need a classic performance from Sir’Dominic Pointer. The bad man had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists against South Florida and a repeat all around performance will go a long way towards building that resume one win at a time.
•   Guard play- Phil Greene had a lousy 0-7 shooting performance against South Florida after scoring 21 against Louisville. A consistent performance from Greene is needed as Jamal Branch is still day-to-day with an MCL sprain.
Final Prediction: St. John’s Wins, 65-64

Red Storm Heads Back to Queens for Final Campus Game Against USF

February 20, 2013 by Anthony Ramos Leave a Comment

St. John’s is coming off a road trip to forget and will welcome the South Florida Bulls to Queens for their final regular season game at their on campus home. The Johnnies hope to be revitalized by their home crowd that hasn’t seen them play for almost a week as they are coming off a loss at Louisville six days ago.

The brutal back to back at Louisville and Syracuse was a huge test for St. John’s without their head coach Steve Lavin on the sidelines because of the passing of his father. The Johnnies fought valiantly but just didn’t have enough to pull out a huge win. Sophomore guard Jamal Branch is still unlikely to play with his knee sprain and Lavin said it could take one, two or more weeks to heal fully.

Last year the Bulls defeated the Johnnies 64-49 in Tampa as the Bulls made their surge to grab an at large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The tables have turned this year and it is the Johnnies looking to secure a home win and make a case for the selection committee and the Bulls are struggling and will not see a postseason this year.

Game Information
Date: Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
Location: Carnesecca Arena- Jamaica, NY
Time: 7:00 PM EST
TV: SNY
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)

South Florida Bulls (10-15, 1-12)
Head Coach: Stan Heath

Returning their star forward and a couple others from last years NCAA Tournament team this was supposed to be a more positive season for Stan Heath and his Bulls. But the Bulls have only won a single Big East game this season and are looking into falling to the bottom of the Big East again.

The star of last years 20+ win team was Victor Rudd. Rudd the athletic 6’9 junior is averaging 11.4 points per game as well as grabbing 6.8 rebounds. Rudd is shooting 38% from the field and 26% from three. Rudd averaged 15 points in the tournament last year including two wins. The Bulls and Rudd fell short in the round of 32 as they fell to Cinderella as Ohio advanced to the Sweet 16.

Joining Rudd in the front court is Toralyn Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. The 6’8 senior is going toe to toe with Rudd in the front court trying their best to help the team recreate its magic from last year but so far it has not gone as planned. In their last game against Louisville, Rudd scored seven points and had nine rebounds while shooting 3-12 from the field. Fitzpatrick had nine points on 3-9 shooting and got disrupted by the play of the big Cardinal forwards.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F Victor Rudd
F Toarlyn Fitzpatrick
F Kore White
G Anthony Collins
G JaVontae Hawkins

St. John’s (15-10, 7-6)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

St. John’s and Steve Lavin had a tough week but they need to put it behind them and look forward to their matchup Wednesday night. The Johnnies went 0-2 on their road trip and while they played poorly and turned the ball over too much they did play hard and despite the score were in the games in the second half.

JaKarr Sampson did not win an award for his performance last week and was brought down to earth a tad against Louisville. Despite a great game against Syracuse, Sampson was 4-15 from the field with eight points and nine rebounds against Louisville.

Marc-Antoine Bourgault is still playing well in extended minutes since Branch went down. The junior guard had six points, three rebounds and two steals against Louisville in 22 minutes. Phil Greene had one of his best games to date as he lead the team in scoring with 21 points and three assists on 9-18 shooting. If Greene’s hip is getting better and he can become another scoring option it can really open up things for this team down the stretch.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
G Marc-Antoine Bourgault
G Phil Greene
G D’Angelo Harrison

Keys to Victory

•   Cleaning the glass- You have to give freshman forward Chris Obekpa credit where credit is due. Obekpa has been getting much better at the art of rebounding. From earlier in the year where all he wanted to do was block shots, the 6’9 Obekpa pulled down 12 rebounds against a big Louisville team and is now averaging 5.9 boards per game on the season.
•   Mr. 1,000- D’Angelo Harrison didn’t quite bust out of his slump but did have a better shooting night against a good team. Harrison has 18 points to pass 1,000 for his career and the sophomore guard became the 48th member of the club and eighth fastest to do so. Harrison will need to score down this stretch of games and be the clutch shot that the Johnnies need.
•   Protect your house– The Johnnies have played well at home, amassing an 11-3 record between the Garden and Carnesecca Arena. The Bulls have one Big East win against Georgetown at home. The last time they won on the road was January 2nd against UCF.
•   Just win baby- A home game in late February against a below .500 team. This game has to be won by the Red Storm if they want any chance of being called on Selection Sunday. There are a lot of stats and names you could throw out there but pretty much St. John’s needs to win this game either by hook or by crook. Just win.

Final Prediction: St. John’s Wins, 62-50

Red Storm Looking for Signature Win on the Road Against Louisville

February 13, 2013 by Anthony Ramos Leave a Comment

The St. John’s Red Storm will enter the KFC Yum! Center to face the #12 ranked Louisville Cardinals on Valentine’s Day looking to break some hearts. The Red Storm are coming off a road loss to Syracuse where they played tough but were out classed down the stretch by a better team. The loss was not back breaking for the Red Storm’s chance at the NCAA Tournament though as they will have a chance at a statement win at Louisville.

Louisville is coming off an epic five overtime loss at Notre Dame on Saturday and will be looking to rebound but the Cardinals have been mortal lately. They have lost four of their last seven after opening the season 16-1.

Louisville leads the season series against the Johnnies 10-6 and has won three of the past four meetings. Last season the Cardinals came to the Garden and put a beating on the Johnnies winning 73-58 in a game that was never close.

Game Information
Date: Wednesday, February 14th, 2013
Location: KFC Yum! Center- Louisville, KY
Time: 9:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN (Mike Patrick, Jimmy Dykes)
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)

Louisville Cardinals (19-5, 7-4)
Head Coach: Rick Pitino

The Louisville Cardinals and head coach Rick Pitino are perfectionists and losing four of their last seven games is pretty unusual. Especially when the Cardinals boast some of the best players in the country including two of the best guards in the nation.

Queens native Russ Smith who spent three years at Archbishop Molloy in Briarwood under legendary coach Jack Curran. The junior guard is averaging 18.3 points per game and 2.6 assists on 40% shooting from the field. Smith is quick and gets in the lanes and makes things hard for the defense, especially with backcourt mate Peyton Siva always around.

Siva is averaging 10.3 points and six assists a game on 43% shooting from the field. The dangerous backcourt can bust a defense.

Another Cardinal to look out for is Chane Behanan. The 6’6 small forward is averaging 11.2 points per contest and dropped 30 points and 15 rebounds on 13-20 shooting in 56 minutes against Notre Dame in their five overtime classic. The sophomore forward will be next to stud 6’11 center Gorgui Dieng who is averaging 9.9 rebounds and will be a problem for the Johnnies on the boards.

Projected Starting Lineup:
C Gorgul Dieng
F Chane Behanan
G Russ Smith
G Peyton Siva
G Wayne Blackshear

St. John’s (15-9, 7-5)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

JaKarr Sampson has racked up his league leading sixth Big East Rookie of the Week award and it certainly was well deserved. Sampson averaged 19.5 points and six rebounds while shooting 58.6% from the field in a win against Connecticut and a loss to Syracuse. Sampson lead the way in the loss at Syracuse with 21 points and six rebounds on 10-14 shooting. Sampson kept the Johnnies in it as long as he could with his spectacular play.

D’Angelo Harrison is still struggling and only racked up 13 points on 4-13 shooting from the field. The sophomore guard who started the season so hot has cooled down the past month or so. Harrison is not shooting at the same clip he had been but is still very important to this team in all that he does. Harrison and Marc-Antoine Bourgault, who had three points on 1-7 shooting, are the three point threats that will help break down a defense, especially with do it all sophomore point guard Jamal Branch still nursing a knee injury.

Branch who sprained his MCL against Georgetown on February 2nd is unlikely to play in his third consecutive game, although Branch is traveling with the team and is listed as day to day. Steve Lavin will not coach as he is still with his family following the passing of his father, Cap. Rico Hines will be on the sidelines for the Red Storm as acting head coach.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
G Marc-Antoine Bourgault
G Phil Greene
G D’Angelo Harrison

Keys to Victory

Hit the glass- Louisville is a good rebounding team, they’ve got length and size and the Johnnies will need their best to hit the glass. The Cardinals average 14 offensive rebounds a game and our out rebounding their opponents by five per game. Chris Obekpa, Sampson and Sir’Dominic Pointer will have their hands full with another big team. They were able to pull even with a big Syracuse team splitting rebounds 30-30 but extra chances for the Orange sunk the Johnnies in the end.
D’Angelo’s Slump: Part Deux- D’Angelo Harrison is still in a slump. The sophomore guard who is 17 points away from the 1,000 career point club and can hit that mark with a signature game against the Cardinals, although I’m sure Harrison would trade the points for a huge road victory.
Oblockpa– Chris Obekpa hasn’t been blocking two many shots lately although he is still one of the top shot blockers in the country with 102 on the season. But if he’s blocking shots or not he is still an important big body that can change the way the guards drive in the paint or how many rebounds Dieng gets. Obekpa will be a big part of the game for St. John’s on Thursday night/
Hit em while they’re down- The Cardinals have been slumping lately, if the Johnnies can get out to a hot start, hit their shots, defend and rebound it will be huge. The Cardinals are coming off of a disastrous loss where they blew an eight point lead in the final minute, then went on to lose in five overtimes. The Cardinals can be vulnerable and if the Johnnies want their big resume building win this could be the game to make it happen.

Final Prediction: Louisville Wins, 65-61

St. John’s Red Storm Travels Upstate to Play Syracuse

February 8, 2013 by Anthony Ramos Leave a Comment

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

St. John’s is coming off a big home victory over rival Connecticut and will travel through the blistery snow all the way to Syracuse in upstate New York to take on another old rival. The Syracuse Orange are currently tied for first place in the Big East and a win by the Red Storm would be huge.

After winning six of their last seven the Red Storm are surging at the right time. The Red Storm have entered ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s projected bracket as a #12 seed but still has work to do with seven games remaining in the regular season. There is a long way to go but head coach Steve Lavin talked about the NCAA Tournament projections.

“The goal of any college basketball player or coach is to be able to participate in one of the world’s greatest sporting events: the NCAA Tournament. Having the opportunity to do something special in March is what we all dream of,” said Lavin. “When I came to St. John’s and recruited these players, the objective was to go dancing in March…They are a young team, and I don’t want to change the fact that they are who they are. We recruited a very special group. We know we’re young and have a long way to go. I really enjoy working with this group. I want players that aspire to do special things.”

With Syracuse leaving the Big East for the ACC this was going to probably be the last game for the Johnnies in Syracuse. But these two teams will play a home and home series in 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. Syracuse leads the all time series against the Johnnies 49-37, a series which dates back to 1912. The Orange won last years meeting at Madison Square Garden 95-70. Syracuse has won seven straight and 13 of 14 against the Johnnies.

Game Information
Date: Sunday, February 10th, 2013
Location: Carrier Dome- Syracuse. New York
Time: 3:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Dan Dakich)
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Brandon Tierney)

Syracuse Orange (19-3, 7-2)
Head Coach: Jim Beoheim

Syracuse is having a very good season up to this point as they have taken care of business and are ranked ninth in the country. Syracuse is lead by senior guard Brandon Triche who is averaging 14.5 points and 3.5 assists a game on 43% shooting from the field. Triche had an off game last time out against Notre Dame when he still scored seven points and six assists in a 63-47 win.

Syracuse boasts a big backcourt of CJ Fair, Rakeem Christmas and Jerami Grant. All listed as 6’8 the basket will be protected by maybe one of the biggest trios St. John’s has or seen all year. Fair is averaging 13.9 points and 7.1 rebounds. Christmas is averaging 3.5 blocks and 5.4 rebounds while Grant 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds.

James Southerland, another 6’8 forward has missed the past six games after an academic suspension. Southerland had a hearing on Friday and the result is expected to be ruled before game time Sunday so it is possible he could play. Southerland is averaging 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds off the bench for the Orange.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F CJ Fair
F Jerami Grant
F Rakeem Christmas
G Brandon Triche
G Michael Carter-Williams

St. John’s (15-8, 7-4)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin

At this point of the season St. John’s has a chance to make a run at the postseason. A chance they never got last year, and leading the charge is freshman forward JaKarr Sampson. Sampson racked up 18 points and six rebounds and one huge block against Connecticut. Sampson was more physical and set the tone like never before for this young Red Storm team. Sampson leads Big East freshman in scoring at 14.5 a game and leads the team in rebounds at 6.6 per game.

The emergence of junior guard Marc-Antoine Bourgault has been important for the Red Storm. In the past two games Bourgault is averaging 11.5 points while shooting 47% from the field and 55% from three. Bourgault will possibly be a zone buster against the Orange with his sweet stroke.

Sophomore guard Jamal Branch who sprained his MCL against Georgetown is unlikely to play in his second consecutive game.

Projected Starting Lineup:
F JaKarr Sampson
F Sir’Dominic Pointer
G Marc-Antoine Bourgault
G Phil Greene
G D’Angelo Harrison

Keys to Victory

•   Free Throws!- For as many games that free throws have cost St. John’s, free throws sealed the game against UConn. As a team they were 24-31 and closed out the game. In one of the better attempting games for the Storm, D’Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene and Bourgault hit all their free throws. Even 31% free throw shooter Chris Obekpa went 2-3 from the charity stripe. If they get to the line they have to take the free points against a team like Syracuse.
• D’Angelo’s Slump- D’Angelo Harrison is in a slump, but could his clutch performance down the stretch against UConn be the start of him coming out of it. The sophomore guard who is 30 points away from the 1,000 career point club will need to have a big game if the Red Storm want to have a chance against the #9 Orange.
•   The Bad Man– With Sir’Dominic Pointer he claims that he always feels like he’s the baddest man on the court. Mr. Do It All will have to be that against a tough Syracuse team that will be physically imposing. Pointer had five points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal against UConn.
•   Foul Trouble- Against UConn, Obekpa and Sampson both got into foul trouble. Obekpa only played 13 minutes because of it but Sampson was able to not foul out until there was 4 seconds left on the game clock and the win in hand. It will be a very physical game and the Red Storm’s big men will have to be smart with their fouling, especially if the Johnnies are in the game and can’t afford to lose either.
Final Prediction: Syracuse Wins, 70-60

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