On Thursday night, Red Storm fans got a sneak peak into the 2009-2010 basketball season during the Red Storm Tip-Off. The event, which drew 1,200 students and fans, really should’ve been held in the newly-renovated Carnesecca Arena as many fans entered and left as they saw that there would be limited fold-out seats available and would have to stand for the duration of the event. Had the event been held at Carnesecca, it is likely that most of the students and fans would’ve stuck around for a while longer.

With that said, St. John’s made many improvements from last year’s event, such as allowing the general public in, cutting down on the total time of the event and not letting their be dead time in between events.

The scrimmage between the men’s and women’s team was held in a quarter-format, with the women taking on the women, men taking on the men, and a mix at periods of time. One of the players that really stood out was Sean Evans, who showed an explosiveness that was rarely seen in his first two years for the Johnnies. Dele Coker also is much more physically imposing this year, as he has toned his body and can easily maneuver up and down the floor.

Dwight Hardy, one of four newcomers, immediately showed what he would bring to the program, as he nailed a three immediately after checking into the game. Omari Lawrence and Justin Brownlee played sparingly, but Lawrence seems to have shed some weight after his prep year at South Kent, and Brownlee is a versatile forward that could likely play the 3 and 4. Malik Stith came into the game and managed well, but it was hard to tell what type of an immediate impact he would make for the program.