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The 6th Man of St. John's Basketball

For the die hard St. John's fan.
The unofficial 6th man. est. '07
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Back to St. John’s 5 Things I Can’t Wait to Do

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Before the season started I was selected to be 1 of 16 participants in a relatively unknown contest involving Volvo cars and Big East Basketball. Like my man Barney Stinson would say, “challenge….accepted!”

So the challenge began with polls opening up on MyBigEastVolvo.com and the stakes keep on being raised with each and every day. Last week the challengers were all informed that winner for the “Biggest Fan of the Big East” would win a brand new “naughty” Volvo S60 car and their school would receive a $10,000 donation.

Volvo has been kind enough to send me out to see the Red Storm play against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden this season while lending me the S60 for the weekend. There are 5 things you need to know about the naughty S60 according to Volvo it’s driving dynamics, bold design, turbocharged engine, sophisticated handling, and innovative technology. Just like Volvo I also have 5 things I can’t wait to do heading back to St. John’s.

Sit in Traffic

The luxury interior of the new naughty Volvo S60. Major upgrade from my first Volvo car which has 200,000 miles and blue I think its leather interior. (Volvo.com)
No matter what day I decide to go, no matter what time of day I decide to go, and no matter which route of travel I decide to go I will always hit traffic heading into New York City. I’m really looking forward to getting plenty of quality time with my future car sitting in bumper to bumper traffic while enjoying the sophisticated sound system.

It’s really quite funny sometimes because you see things like a plastic bag blowing in the wind that are moving at a faster rate of speed than you are. I try to avoid traffic by listening to 1010 wins every 10 minutes (traffic report on the 1’s) to try and at least pick the lesser of evils but it never really matters if I go GW Bridge or Lincoln Tunnel. I’m open to more suggestions!

Seeing Old Faces in Same Places

Sly Fox Inn is located just two blocks away from campus on Union Turnpike.
St. John’s University and Volvo have one very important thing in common. Great tradition! When you go to St. John’s or a game at Madison Square Garden there are so many people you can always count on. One of my favorite traditions going to St. John’s pre and post game is heading over the Sly Fox where the owner Eddie always greets me with a warm smile, firm handshake, and a cold beverage. Double J’s Deli is another place where everyone from St. John’s students to the NYPD go for great deli sandwiches. John the owner is always rocking Red and White! Betty at Dunkin Donuts always knows what St. John’s students need after 2:00 AM.

Within the St. John’s campus you’ll see the same lunch ladies and if you walk around the athletic facilities you’ll hear the custodian yell, “Hey Bayyyy-bay!” You’ll see the athletic trainers cruising Gatorade around on their golf carts and the same public safety officers checking storm cards in the facilities.

Heading into the city to the Garden you’ll see the same ticket scalpers hanging out on the corner trying to sell you tickets for way too much money. Getting inside you’ll see the same ushers checking tickets and escorting people to their seats.

Maybe some people take these traditions for granted but I enjoy every last one of them.

I am Queens Boulevard

Its not often the entourage gets together post graduation but we do our best to keep in touch and meet up each and every year. St. John's enabled me to meet some people I can call friends for life. (Facebook)
To play off entourage and Vinny Chase, “I am Queens Boulevard”

Just like Vinny, E, Drama, and Turtle we painted the town red and we really grew to love a lot of things about Queens. For four years my friends and I all felt like we owned Queens.

With this contest I’m able to fly in my best friend Eddie McDonough up from Miami to see the game with me. A lot of my other friends are in close proximity to Queens so we’ll be round up the old entourage, catch up, and reminisce like old times. We’ll hit up all our old spots and have a good time celebrating the big win over Duke.

The only difference between the guys of Entourage and myself will be instead of cruising a 1965 Lincoln Continental we’ll be in the New Naughty S60.

Feeling the Garden Magic

There is something about Madison Square Garden that just isn’t created anywhere else. You just get this awe about being inside the building and the court shines bright. You’re in the spotlight in the most powerful city in the world.

I’ve been to some amazing games at MSG and there is probably no greater feeling then storming the floor. I’ve done it a few times in my day and one time it was caught on video here.

Now this person who shot the video made a few crucial mistakes when storming the floor.

1. You either have to be the initial surge or third wave because the 2nd wave of people get stopped by the ushers.
2. You have to use some jukes to get past the ushers. You can’t just run straight out you have to plan out your attack.
3. You have to jump and dance around center court. Don’t run on the sidelines of the court
4. Do your thing and get off the court before you get arrested!

City That Never Sleeps

There is one characteristic every St. John’s student gets with their degree and that is the ability to be a quick thinker and great networker. Maybe its just from being in the city for four years but we’re always working to get ahead.

Just as I’m having a great opportunity to influence you reading this to check out Volvo S60 cars (shameless plug) I’ll also be able to meet and greet a ton of people at to promote JohnnyJungle.com.

There is never a missed opportunity meeting people at St. John’s games and I always enjoy talking with each and every person I come into contact with whether its in the subway, on the ticket line, going up the escalator, or in the stands you always take the opportunity to introduce yourself to meet new people. So the St. John’s family should extend this post to others by LIKING, TWEETING, and just introducing the Volvo family to all.



Visit MyBigEastVolvo.com and VOTE for Dave (St. John’s) Show your support by spreading this article!

More on VolvoS60

– VolvoS60 Gallery
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2010-11 Pre-Season Predictions

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As the 2010-2011 season is set to tip off tonight, JohnnyJungle.com staff writers decided to have their first annual preseason predictions put on display. Listed below are game by game predictions for the upcoming season. See what each staff writer has to say about how the St. John’s basketball team will do this season. Feel free to insert your own predictions and reactions in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

[table id=131 /]

Averages

Out of Conference- Wins: 10 Losses: 2
Conference- Wins: 11.5 Losses: 6.5
Total- Wins: 21.7 Losses: 8.3

Take a look at what each JohnnyJungle.com staff member has to say for their predictions and anticipations for this upcoming season.

Dave Krupinski
Owner/Publisher
Column- JohnnyJungle.com
Twitter- @JohnnyJungleSTJ

St. John’s enters the season filled with high expectations from their faithful and Rick Pitino. I am one of the believers that the Johnnies are poised to have a break out season yet I’m also grounded by the fact this is the same team who finished 13th out of 16 in the Big East last season. A lot of fans will point to games that St. John’s “could of” or “should of” won but on the other side there are always games that the Red Storm should have lost too.

The biggest thing St. John’s has going for them is they return a lot of guys who are more familiar with each other than any other team in the country. It also doesn’t hurt that the Big East is continually losing NBA caliber talent every season. So as the Big East continues to slide the Red Storm continue to soar. How much does that close the gap? I’m not sure.

A few games to note….

I think that St. John’s drops the opener to St. Mary’s on the road in addition to them losing to the defending national champs, Duke, at home.

I also think that St. John’s avenges their loss against WVU from last season. Splits at both Notre Dame and Georgetown is likely. A trap game I think the johnnies lose is coming off a projected road loss against Villanova to face Seton Hall at the prudential center. There is a lot of local pride on the line and with South Florida next on the schedule this spells disaster for St. John’s.

Pico Dulce
Editor/Senior Staff Writer
Column- Calm Before the Storm
Twitter- @ECoastBias

I predict a pretty successful season, and am going with the win vs. St. Mary’s more on faith than on what I know about the two teams. There is a lot we don’t know about this team when the lights come on, and facing a very experienced and well-coached St. Mary’s squad in their home in the wee hours is a really tough test. I also think that since Steve Lavin had some strange losses at points in his UCLA, coupled with a roster of players who are still learning their roles and learning how to play Lavin’s style of basketball intuitively… there could be a bizarre loss in there. Davidson or Northwestern could be risky.

Here’s hoping the Justins become a force down low, Coker and Evans get some meaningful minutes, that Polee has flashes of amazing, and that Malik Boothe can be a steady threat in an attacking basketball system. I think all of those things can happen, but it’s only a few months between now and the end of the season. Hard to make big changes that quickly.

Dan Martin
Staff Writer
Column- Over The Airwaves
Twitter- @Dan_MartinWSJU

In a season where there seems to be a lack of true stars (no DaSean Butler, Scottie Reynolds, Greg Monroe, or Lazar Hayward), the Big East is more open than it has been in many seasons. For a team of nine experienced, collectively talented seniors in St. John’s, this spells success. But, this will still not come easily. The Big East, regardless of the season, is always talented and attracts the best talent in the country. For this reason, St. John’s, who is projected to finish 6th in the Big East, will have to use their combination of versatility and experience to win games.

One other major reason for improvement from last year’s 17-16 finish will be the shift in scheme and philosophy of Coach Steve Lavin and the rest of his staff. In games last season against powerhouses like West Virginia and Villanova, halftime leads were squandered and winnable games were lost. This year, Coach Lavin will bring solidarity and a new mindset in games where momentum can swing one way or another and means the difference between a win and a loss.

Look for the Red Storm to showcase their athleticism on defense in new full-court and half-court presses, which will subsequently force turnovers and improve on the low offensive output from last season. These forced turnovers allow the offense to get out on the fastbreak, which is where the Johnnies will be most effective.
With the projected record of 21 wins means that the Red Storm will probably have to win a few games in the Big East Tournament to make it to the Big Dance.

Tim Dimas
Staff Writer
Column- Over The Airwaves
Twitter- @TimmyD_WSJU

St. Johns will go 24-6, plain and simple. You look at the players on this team and the coaching staff and you have to ask yourself, how could they not? Coach Lavin has all the right plays already drawn up. Of course it won’t be an easy task when they face teams like West Virginia, Duke, Georgetown, and Syracuse and so on. Those teams are always filled with a lot of talent but St. Johns will never be out of those games. St. Johns will definitely pull an upset this season and that will be February 26th verses Villanova. They gave them a great game last year at Madison Square Garden last year but as was the case for St. Johns last year, second half melt downs caused them to lose a lot of games. That will not happen this year with Lavin and the new coaching staff. They will not be under coached this season and that’s why they will win 24 games and be on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

Jaden Daly
Staff Writer
Column- Daly Dribble
Twitter- @JadenDaly

Why 21 Wins?

St. John’s has something no other school in the country has, and that’s an unprecedented amount of experience with ten seniors.  However, it won’t be easy early for Steve Lavin as he leads the Johnnies into St. Mary’s on Tuesday night for the season opener.  In what should be a hard-fought contest, the Gaels will get the win, but the Red Storm prove they can stay with NCAA Tournament-caliber teams.  Aside from their matchup against Duke in January, St. Mary’s will be the only other nonconference loss on the Johnnies’ ledger.

When the Big East season rolls around, St. John’s should be 9-1.  Experience alone should be enough to carry the Red Storm past the second-tier teams in the conference, (Rutgers, DePaul, etc.) and their early-season tests will prove to be decisive against squads the likes of Seton Hall and Marquette among others.  Despite what many critics think, eleven conference wins is enough for the No. 5 or 6 spot in the Big East and a first-round bye, good enough to justify their sixth-place ranking in the Big East preseason poll.

David Berov
Staff Writer
Column- Red Eye
Twitter- @DBerov

Experience is the selling point this year for the Red Storm, it’s a big reason I’m giving them some key wins this year. Big East victories over Providence, at home v Georgetown, both games with Notre Dame, Cincy Rutgers, Depaul, USF and most importantly at home against UCONN. The early non conference schedule for St. John’s isn’t that tough aside from St. Marys and their is too much momentum for St. John’s right now to lose that game, it will be tough but I think they pull out a 4-5 point win. Key losses, St. John’s can’t hang with Duke, that has trouble written all over it, worse than the 9 point loss last year. Syracuse will give St. John’s trouble in the paint with Melo and Jackson. Late in the season on the road against Seton Hall is another game I think this team loses. Tough game, rivalry, new coach potential bubble breaking type of game, I’ll give it to Seton Hall. Overall it’s a much better year than in years past. I have the red storm going 22-8. Add that with a couple more wins in the Big East tourney and the Red Storm are in the NCAA tournament for the first time in too long.

Inside The Rotation: Westmont

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Coming into the season there are so many uncertainties. How will the coaching staff change what the seniors have done the past 3 seasons? How will the players adjust to the new coaching staff? Who’s roles increase/decrease? All of these questions are magnified with 9 closely talented seniors.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have close contact to Coach Steve Lavin this preseason having attended Midnight Madness, Big East, and St. John’s media days. So I’ve heard various members of the media ask the question of, “Coach, who is your starting five?”

In my opinion who cares about the starting lineup? From a young age I learned that it’s not who starts the game but who finishes. In my playing days I always wanted to be the player coach wanted in at crunch time. Having almost 60 minutes of the gospel of Lavin on my recorder it was quite obvious by the number of times he mentioned the names Dwight Hardy, Dwayne Polee, and Justin Brownlee that these guys were going to be crunch time players.

So throughout this season I will be paying close attention to the finer details of the game that don’t show up in the boxscore. Here is a look at the rotation in the first half including who entered the game, who came out, the time remaining, and the score. The starting five was Boothe, Hardy, Kennedy, Polee, and Brownlee.

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Additional Notes

-This was a blowout in the first half with the team heading to the locker room with a 39 point lead. Looking at the margin of points difference for each player on the floor. Brownlee +33; Kennedy +32; Hardy +29; Boothe and Horne +23; Polee +20; Evans +7; Roberts, Coker, and Stith +4

-It took Westmont 5 min and 15 seconds to score their first basket.

-St. John’s started the game in what appeared as a 2-2-1 3/4 pressure defense that turned into 1-3-1 in the half court. Westmont’s tempo and spacing was obviously altered.

–Justin Brownlee had two turnovers around the perimeter in the first 5 min of the game.

-Both Paris Horne and Sean Evans missed their first shots off the bench. Both players appeared sluggish to start but provided great energy once they got going.

–Dele Coker came into the game and the offense changed with him posting up in triangles as the ball swung around the perimeter. His hands remained high ready to receive the ball.

-Coach Lavin mentioned the quality of shot selection in something that needed to improve for this season to be successful. After Sean Evans forced his way into the paint and missed two layups in consecutive possessions it was no surprise he was quickly sent to the bench.

–Malik Boothe and Malik Stith were on the floor at the same time for about 2 min. Defensively they caused turnovers but offensively the team became stagnant.

–Justin Burrell was louder on the bench than most of the coaches yelling out instructions.

-Team hit the bonus with 1:18 remaining in the first half

-Team shot 6-9 from 3PT and 9-11 from FT in the first half

In Case You Missed It: JohnnyJungle.com’s pre-game column- Calm Before The Storm

ATTENTION RED STORM FANS: Vote for Dave Krupinski on Volvo’s Big East Contest help make him and St. John’s #1

Preseason News and Notes

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Steve Lavin has been the center of attention for college basketball this offseason (Redstormsports)
This offseason has brought buzz, happiness, and hope for the St. John’s Basketball community. There has been unbridled optimism as the school hired new head coach Steve Lavin, top assistant coaches, and as the staff has enjoyed tremendous recruiting success.

Two weeks from now all of this will be put aside. The season will start and the Steve Lavin era will officially begin on the hardwood, where the buzz comes from wins and losses.  Let’s hop right into the news and notes from St. John’s media day and other preseason tidbits.

“Be quick but don’t hurry”

When I asked Coach Lavin about something he’s really had to hammer to the team, I got the first John Wooden reference of the day. At Big East media day Coach Lavin admitted that he needed to adjust and tailor his coaching style for this team – meaning that he was looking to adjust what they have done rather than change the whole landscape.

“We’re trying to create the habits,” Lavin said. “Where, for instance, on every catch our players are facing, getting squared to the hoop. What I like to call taking a deep breath, that one 1,000 – to see the court, eyes on the rim, and as things unfold you’ll take the appropriate decision. Easier said then done.”

Before I could even follow up and ask Coach how this calmness he is preaching affects tempo, he answered. “Being more prudent, more vigilant, but still being aggressive because we want to play fast. Getting back to the adage of coach Wooden used to say so religiously, be quick but don’t hurry. We want to take advantage of our speed and get out in transition and get baskets, but if not we also want to be intelligent enough and play a high percentage brand of basketball where we make the extra pass, show patience, we get ball reversals, post touch before a shot comes from outside. The biggest challenge of this group is to slow down, take a deep breath, the equivalent of looking both ways before crossing the street but on the basketball court.”

Most commonly named players from Steve Lavin? Dwight Hardy, Dwayne Polee, and Justin Brownlee.

Dele Coker is Prepared

“I work on my jumpshots, hook shots, just being able to be versatile. [The coaching staff] doesn’t just want to limit me to setting screens, blocking shots, rebounding. I work a little bit on my offensive game, its not a priority for me. I know my role is to set screens, block shots, and rebound. But when the opportunity shows itself, I’m ready.”

Dwight Hardy is being prepped to be unleashed against the Big East this year. Expect him to see significant minutes at the PG position. (Icon SMI)

Dwight Hardy “MTP” Most Talked About Player

It really didn’t matter the question that was being asked the answer was Dwight Hardy, Dwight Hardy, Dwight Hardy.

“Dwight Hardy has come in with a mindset and a work ethic that communicates to me that he is ready to have the best season of his career,” Coach Lavin said with confidence.

Dwight will play a lot of minutes at the point guard position this season. Malik Boothe will enter the season as the starter, but Dwight is expected to play major minutes at the position, which would allow he, Paris Horne, and DJ Kennedy on the court at the same time. Don’t be surprised to see all four of these players on the court at the same at points this season running “small ball” as some of the players described it.

Justin Brownlee Expanded Role?

“[Coach Lavin] wants me to be aggressive on both ends of the floor, make plays, rebound, and be one of the top go to guys,” Brownlee told me.

Where does he see himself playing?

“Coach told me I could potentially play four different positions this season. I think I can do that with the offseason workouts that I’ve gone through. I worked really hard and I’m stronger. I think my natural position is playing the three but I don’t mind playing inside.”

The NCAA isn’t only team goal, Brownlee says. “Our biggest goal is NCAA tournament but another goal is winning the Big East. We really want to win the Big East, its our conference and we want to bring it back to St. John’s. I can’t tell you how long it’s been but we want it back.”

Kevin Clark on the New Coaches

“Their knowledge of the game,” Clark says when asked what is different from previous years. “They do things repetitively and it makes you understand the game that much more. They just know so much. It really opens your eyes up and makes the game that much easier.”

When I asked about which coach has stood out more so than other coaches with their practice style, all the walk-ons were giggling when Kevin Clark said without hesitation, “definitely Coach Dunlap. He’s so intense, so passionate about the game. His analogies and one liners will have you laughing for days.” I asked for an example and no one would budge. I sensed some fear that if word got out maybe next practice wouldn’t be so good for the walk-ons.

Going Out Winners

Every senior has nearly the same answer when asked how they wanted their legacy at St. John’s to be remembered.

1. Hard Working
2. A team that went out winners

It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Lavin’s Board

The popular offseason story has been Coach Dunlap’s bat but who knew about Lavin’s board? Coach Lavin has weekly areas of focus in the team’s locker room. The first message was “Listen” – to listen to what the coaches were telling them. To listen in the beginning of practice, to listen when they’re tired, to listen to learn. The most recent message was “Always set good screens” which can be the difference between scoring two/three points or coming up with an empty possession. The players are always checking the board, and since the first message, they’re always listening.

Please check back daily for more stories from media day which will be posted over the course of the week.

ATTENTION RED STORM FANS: Vote for Dave Krupinski on Volvo’s Big East Contest help make him and St. John’s #1

The Gospel According To Lavin

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Steve Lavin has been preaching since the moment he’s been hired… well, even way before that. Lavin has been omnipresent in the media, bringing exposure the St. John’s via to a wide variety of news outlets. St. John’s fans feel like he’s been a gift from God, especially after referencing the 2011 recruiting effort as building Noah’s Ark (having two of every kind of player). So far, he is delivering, getting 5 verbal commitments before he’s coached a game. .

He’s been a miracle worker so far in building a dream team coaching staff, bringing a real midnight madness back to Queens, and recruiting on a more national level than St. John’s fans have ever come to expect. I’m sure St. John’s students are going to ask him to turn water into wine pretty soon.

Steve Lavin is swarmed by the media from the moment he sat down at Big East Media day. (Dave Krupinski)
So of course, at Big East Media day St. John’s table was swarmed prior to Coach Lavin’s arrival. As he sat, it was like the starting gun of a horse race, with reporters jockeying for position and yelling for coach’s attention. Lavin was thoughtful, patient, and of course, articulate with every answer to questions he received.

I could tell some reporters were getting tired holding their recorders in the air waiting for their turn as Lavin wasn’t giving quotes – he was preaching homilies.

After he was asked for the 100th time who was in his starting lineup, he turned and looked at me. I came out firing and asked Coach Lavin, “What type of brand or even characteristics do you expect to put into a Lavin coached team?” He then gave me the on-court gospel according to Lavin:

“Well, you know, we always want to be tough defensively and [have] a flexible offense – that is vital. We have to be able to adapt to our personnel. We want to run, but we want to fastbreak off of our defense. So if you’re not solid defensively you can’t talk about fast breaking. You can sell that in recruiting, and you can have bumper stickers and slogans about it, but until you get stops defensively you’re not going to be able to run out.

“In the history of the basketball you look at the great Celtic teams, the great Laker teams … you look in college basketball, the great Duke teams, UNLV, and Kentucky teams – they all ran off of their defenses. So if you’re not getting stops or shut outs you’re not going to get run outs. While we want to force the tempo offensively, we’re going to do that through being solid defensively.”

So I followed up and asked him if he was implementing his entire system with this current team or does he need to modify things to tailor to this group of players?

“We’re trying to balance implementing a system, but also moving forward in a deliberate methodical way so we don’t give our players too much. In other words: at times less is more. We’d rather master blocking and tackling of basketball in terms of our stance defensively, our principles on the defensive end. In our staff meetings we discuss that challenge.

“How do we implement a system to get ready to play for St. Mary’s, yet not undermine the natural progression and the natural laws of learning? And that means you need time. I’m confident because we have a great team of teachers and highly accomplished individuals in the game of basketball. Our staff meetings are very lively and productive and I think our players will benefit.”

These two answers took almost 5 minutes in recorded time. I could feel bodies pushing up behind me like I was front row at a Bruce Springsteen concert. I had another question but 20 reporters yelled “Coach” after he finished speaking and his attention was diverted. I ducked under the out stretched arms of the crowd knowing I’d see Coach Lavin again soon enough. Lavin was busy spreading more of his good news to the rest of the world.