Freshman Advice: How to Become Kings of Queens

For a kid that has played basketball all his life, few things are more life-changing for a player than the first year of college basketball.

This upcoming season, seven freshmen will enter the college ranks, not knowing what to expect. Nurideen Lindsey and God’s Gift Achiuwa have both played at the junior college level, but, even for them, this will be a big change.

After spending four years in New York, the country’s largest sports market, graduating senior Paris Horne said these nine student-athletes will have to learn how to stay in a confident mindset.

“The mental aspect of the game is important. The Big East is a battle night in and night out. From the first place team to the last place team,” Horne said.

With teams like Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Notre Dame and UConn always bringing in top-tier talent, the new members of this St. John’s basketball team will have to step into the gym and hit the weights, adding muscle, to compete against the size and physicality that the conference brings every night.

“The Big East is a lot stronger and faster, so getting conditioned and having a strong work ethic is important,” said rising sophomore Dwayne Polee II , who said this past year that he struggled, at times, with his lack of bulkiness against larger opponents. As the season progressed, Polee added weight to be able to fight down low with big players like Gary McGhee, Rick Jackson and Carleton Scott.

Polee will have a big role in helping to shape the younger talent coming in, alongside Malik Stith, who will be entering his junior season with the Red Storm.

As the only player on the roster with two years of Division I experience, Stith understand the importance of off-season workouts and how crucial they will be for these first-year players.

“Coming into this summer off-season, it’s going to be tough. This past off-season was probably one of the hardest,” Stith, the Hempstead native, said.

With Polee most likely helping to groom athletic front court players like Maurice Harkless, Norvel Pelle, Sir’Dom Pointer, Amir Garrett, and Jakarr Sampson, Stith will be in the back court showing D’Angelo Harrison and Phil Greene the playbook.

Polee and Horne both said that asking questions during practice was vital to gaining knowledge of the system. The coaching staff is filled with sharp minds like Mike Dunlap, Rico Hines and Tony Chiles, who all know a thing or two when it comes to the college game. Picking their brain will be key for the new Red Storm players.

It won’t be an easy task for these nine fresh faces, as they take the court in Queens, but they have already been given the nod of confidence from Sports Information Director, Mark Fratto.

“Having met each one of our incoming men’s basketball student-athletes, I believe that our fans are really going to embrace this class,” said Fratto. “Each are obviously superior athletes and talented basketball players, but beyond that, all of the new Johnnies are intelligent individuals with outstanding, dynamic personalities. I’ve been impressed with how well-spoken they all are, and I think St. John’s and NYC will love them as much as they will love NYC and St. John’s.”

“The 2011-12 recruiting class will comprise the foundation of the St. John’s program moving forward,” said Lavin. “The arrival of this group, along with a returning starter in Dwayne Polee II and junior guard Malik Stith, will carry the Johnnies into the future.”

The talent is there and the support is clearly behind them, now all that is left to be seen is if this new St. John’s Red Storm basketball team can collectively become the Kings of Queens.