Lasting Impressions

Red Storm Rises Past Charleston 64-53

November 16, 2012 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

Joshua S. Kelly-US PRESSWIRE

St. John’s sprinted out of the gate to take an early lead and never looked back. The veteran laden Cougars fell victim to Lavin’s “Quick Sand” zone which was extended to 94 feet.

The Red Storm dominated all facets of the game from start to finish beating the Cougars (1-1, 0-0) 64-53. The 2-0 Red Storm were led by D’Angelo Harrison who scored a game high 21 points.

“We were much more calm out there,” said Harrison.

As they should be as the Red Storm led by as much as 20 points in the first half. The Red Storm will advance to the next round of the Charleston classic to face Murray State.

While Coach Steve Lavin is excited by the athleticism of his team, it’s the way the Johnnies are playing that may be shocking this early in the season.

“They not only showed athleticism and quickness but smart basketball, too,” Lavin emphasized.

For the second straight game both Phil Greene, newly dubbed PG-IV, and Amir Garrett scored in double figures along with Harrison. Garrett finished with 11 while Greene added 10.

Coach Lavin is happy to get his first road win of the season but knows the excitement is short lived.

“We will have to recalibrate and get ready for another tough opponent tomorrow night.”

Check back tomorrow for the preview on the Red Storm’s next game against Murray State.

Harrison’s 2nd Half Redemption Propels St. John’s Past Detroit in Season Opener

November 14, 2012 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

The buzz around St. John’s season opener wasn’t about the team’s first game or the return of Steve Lavin to the sidelines. Everything was centered around D’Angelo Harrison’s dismissal from the starting lineup due to disciplinary reasons.

It was evident from the start D’Angelo Harrison was missed with St. John’s failing to get a shot off in 35 seconds in their first offensive possession. Harrison picked up two quick fouls and sat for long stretches in the first half.

Dealing with offensive woes, St. John’s also had their hands full in defending Detroit’s Ray McCallum. In the first half, four different St. John’s players guarded McCallum. Sir’Dominic Pointer was designated the assignment first, followed by Amir Garrett, Phil Greene, and Christian Jones. The Red Storm centered their defensive game plan around the Titan’s leading scorer.

“We wanted to have a collective awareness at all times of where he was on the court. I thought while he had some stretches of impressive play, we made him work, and hence the 8 for 23,” said Lavin about defending McCallum.

McCallum had 17 points midway through the 2nd half and St. John’s was struggling to find an answer defensively when Steve Lavin went to a zone he used to run at UCLA.

NCAA Basketball: Detroit at St. John's — St. John’s Red Storm center Chris Obekpa (12) attempts to block the shot of Detroit Titans guard Ray McCallum (3) during the first half at Carnesecca Arena. Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

St. John’s played a matchup zone that Lavin calls “quicksand,” one which utilizes the team’s length and prevents dribble penetration is something that he liked to run a majority of his career at UCLA. At the 9:19 mark in the 2nd half “quicksand” made its debut in Carnesecca Arena.

“There was a 7+ minute stretch where they only scored 4 points.” Lavin said, crediting the change in defense as the turning point in the game. “It was just enough to unnerve them.”

While the defense was fueled by Chris Obekpa breaking the school’s single game record, blocking eight shots, it was Harrison sparking the offense creating off the dribble. Harrison scored 13 of his game high 22 points in the final 8 minutes of the game.

Lavin admitted he is learning new things about his players and team with each and every day of practice but he knows his team is prepared to play all 40 minutes. While Lavin’s calls from the sideline may have guided the Red Storm to victory, it was really the preparation instilled into the players all off season. As Lavin said of his team,

“That’s a sign of our style of play. As well conditioned our kids are we can wear teams out and throw that haymaker late.”

St. John’s Season Ends With 73-59 Loss To Pittsburgh

March 6, 2012 by Jaden Daly Leave a Comment

Playing in the Big East tournament for the first time didn’t faze the all-freshman lineup for St. John’s. The Red Storm just ran into a buzzsaw.

After leading briefly during the opening half; the experience lacking in the 12th-seeded Red Storm (13-19) proved crucial, as Pittsburgh (17-15) ran away to a 73-59 victory in the first round of the Big East tournament. With the win, the Panthers advance to tomorrow’s second round; where they will meet Georgetown, while the long season endured by the Red Storm comes to a halt on their home court of Madison Square Garden.

“We had a lot of easy baskets that didn’t go in,” said assistant coach Mike Dunlap, who has filled in admirably for a recovering Steve Lavin. “The story was, we had plenty of good looks. We just couldn’t finish.”

While Pittsburgh plays on, St. John’s recovers from a trying season that we will review in our final batch of lasting impressions.

Lasting Impressions
– Given the hands they were dealt throughout the season; from Steve Lavin’s health to the multiple decommitments and departures, the Red Storm did more than just survive this season. Give St. John’s a lot of credit for not only staying the course, but competing harder than ever down the stretch even though the results never panned out in their favor.

– Two positive aspects come from this loss. First, God’sgift Achiuwa had arguably his strongest outing at the Garden, grabbing a career-high twelve rebounds. Second, single season rookie scoring leader D’Angelo Harrison posted his first career double-double with twelve points and ten rebounds.

– Legendary head coach Al McGuire once said that the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores. Given the talent on this team and their exposure to the beast that is the Big East, nothing but great things can be expected for a bright future in New York City.

– Finally, instead of awarding a game ball, we will instead award a season MVP honor that will be shared among two deserving candidates. D’Angelo Harrison was at times St. John’s most consistent scorer, but we would be remiss if we did not mention newly crowned conference Rookie of the Year Moe Harkless. The forward from Queens capped off his dominant freshman campaign with a 25-point performance that solidified his standing as either a potential pro prospect should he go down that road, or the next big star to come from the Big East. All in all; while it could have been better for the Red Storm, it could very well have been worse, and these players should be congratulated and applauded for a job well done after their unfortunate circumstances.

St. John’s Falls In Final Seconds, Loses 61-58 To Rutgers

March 4, 2012 by Jaden Daly Leave a Comment

Twelve months later, the Scarlet Knights got their revenge.

Playing for the first time since the controversial finish in their Big East tournament matchup last season at Madison Square Garden; Rutgers (14-17, 6-12) got a tip-in emphatically slammed home by Dane Miller with 9.3 seconds left, (10 points, 10 rebounds) and drained two free throws on their ensuing possession to escape with a 61-58 victory over St. John’s (13-18, 6-12) in the regular season finale for both teams.

The Red Storm had two chances to win after Rutgers took the lead; but D’Angelo Harrison (17 points) missed a three-pointer with two seconds left that would have given St. John’s the lead, and narrowly missed a half-court heave that rimmed out as the buzzer sounded. With the win, Rutgers secured the No. 11 seed and a Tuesday night meeting with Villanova in the Big East tournament. St. John’s falls into the No. 12 hole with the loss; and will face Pittsburgh for the second time in seven days on Tuesday afternoon at 2pm, the fourth consecutive year that the Red Storm are playing in that time slot.

As St. John’s recovers and prepares for a rematch with Jamie Dixon and the Panthers, we leave you with lasting impressions from a rock fight in New Jersey.

Lasting Impressions
– Although the two teams each managed 42 rebounds, Rutgers attacked the lane more than St. John’s. “They absolutely beat us from pillar to post off the glass,” said assistant coach Mike Dunlap.

– Much to the credit of their all-freshman lineup, St. John’s played most of the second half with seemingly the whole team in foul trouble. In fact, Amir Garrett was the only Red Storm player who did not accumulate at least three personal fouls. “We were able to keep our guys in the game,” said Dunlap. “They were hanging on four (fouls) forever and a day.”

– Amir Garrett picked up nine rebounds last night, and the disparity between offense and defense was very impressive. Six of Garrett’s nine rebounds came on the offensive glass; and all of those half-dozen boards were picked up in a first half that could be best described as the basketball version of Friday evening traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike, with whistles stopping play nearly every other minute.

– Finally, Dane Miller picks up game ball honors. Not only did Miller provide Rutgers with the game-winning basket, but he also fought his way to a double-double to provide a positive end to what has been a junior campaign filled with maddening inconsistencies for a player once considered among the Big East’s rising stars. “It was a beautiful thing of execution,” said Rutgers coach Mike Rice when asked about the winning play after the game. “Something good happened finally. It’s a fitting moment, especially after how he (Miller) has played the last four weeks of the season.”

Red Storm Win Streak Snapped In 89-69 Road Loss To Pitt

March 1, 2012 by Jaden Daly Leave a Comment

The most superstitious of fans sensed the worst when the Red Storm took to the court.

Wearing their alternate black uniforms; the same third jerseys that St. John’s has won a grand total of one game in over the program’s 104-year history, St. John’s (13-17, 6-11) was competitive in the first half before being done in over the final stanza in an 89-69 loss to Pittsburgh (16-14, 5-12) at the Petersen Center, where the Panthers are now 6-0 all time against New York City’s college team.

“We really wanted to play well for our seniors tonight,” said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon after four-year players Ashton Gibbs, (19 points to lead the Panthers) Travon Woodall and Nasir Robinson were honored prior to the opening tip. “We felt it was our last time with them playing here, and I’m happy we played so well.”

Despite yet another stellar performance from Gibbs; voted the Big East preseason player of the year, St. John’s rewrote its illustrious history when D’Angelo Harrison broke the single season record for most points scored by a freshman with his 21-point outing last night. Harrison’s latest 20-point game was enough to vault him past former Red Storm point guard Erick Barkley on the milestone list. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment,” said Harrison; “but I’d rather get a win for our team every night. Any guy on our team is capable of getting a record like that.”

The Red Storm conclude the regular season with a trip to New Jersey to face Rutgers in a matchup that will determine St. John’s seeding in the Big East tournament next week, which will be explained along with the game itself in our latest batch of lasting impressions.

Lasting Impressions
– Last night’s loss precluded St. John’s from securing the No. 9 seed in the Big East tournament. With a win Saturday night at Rutgers, the Red Storm will secure the No. 11 spot and a 9pm tipoff on Tuesday night. A loss could potentially drop them as far as the No. 14; which would also be in the 9pm game, but more likely into the 12/13 pairing that is showcased in the same 2pm time slot that St. John’s has drawn in each of the first three seasons under the current tournament format.

– St. John’s kept the game close in the first half, only trailing by five when Pittsburgh took a 38-33 lead into the locker room. From there, the Panthers shot 68 percent (17-for-25) over the final stanza to pull away one basket after another.

– An ankle injury to Moe Harkless in the first half helped Pitt take advantage inside and muscle their way to a 31-17 rebounding edge on the Red Storm. Harkless returned, but the Panthers found their way to the paint when they were not draining NBA-range threes with the several open looks they received.

– Finally; although it came in a losing effort, Phil Greene (18 points, seven assists) is awarded the game ball. Greene played a full 40 minutes and only turned the ball over three times while shooting 8-for-12 from the field against Pittsburgh’s smothering defense. Through numerous stretches in the first half, Greene seemingly could not miss. His mid-range game was even more effective, hitting one rainbow after another from various spots inside the three-point line.