Signed, Sealed, Delivered?

Steve Lavin is getting advice from an unlikely source.

“The FedEx guy who delivers packages to my place was raving about Dwight Hardy, as if I hadn’t seen the game,” Lavin joked, with a smile. “He’s a big basketball fan so he gets excited. He says stuff like, ‘Watch out for Rutgers, Coach. They’re tough.’”

Whether it was that bump from the postman that has pushed this St. John’s team over the top or something else entirely, the Johnnies stand at #23 in the AP Poll as they face DePaul (7-19, 1-13) at Carnesecca Arena Wednesday night.

In front of a projected sell-out crowd, the Red Storm will be playing with a numbered ranking next to their name for the first time in a decade and the buzz on campus is palpable. “It’s been crazy,” said guard Paris Horne. “It’s been a lot of pats on the back.”

Even with the recent success that has brought national media attention, a spot in the Top 25, and a reenergized fanbase, the Johnnies know they walk a tight rope. With two games this week, a single loss likely means falling from the rankings once again. But, Coach Lavin says it comes with the territory. “You play with a bigger bull’s eye on your chest. The higher you climb on the mountain, the thinner the air gets.”

Filtered through Lavin’s frequent metaphors, the message is still clear: it is solely about basketball at St. John’s. The team discussed possible distractions in practice and is taking things as they come. With such an experienced, senior-laden team, this is the best possible time for this program to have media attention thrust upon it. The sudden spotlight that includes frequent exposure on ESPN, CBS, and major sports radio has made for some interesting circumstances. Both Coach Lavin and the players have become increasingly grateful for unlimited cell phone plans.

“From the court [after the win over Pittsburgh] to the locker room, I had 56 texts messages on my phone,” forward Justin Burrell said. But, that number just scratched the surface of Lavin’s, who said he received between 400 and 450 messages in the 8 hours following the win.

After five wins over Top 15 teams and important road wins over West Virginia and Marquette, the Johnnies enter their game against the Blue Demons in an unfamiliar position: as favorites. First year head coach Oliver Purnell and his team have struggled this season. Inheriting a program that has not had a winning season since 2006-2007, DePaul is still not a team to be taken lightly.

As guard Paris Horne explained, “We still have a lot at stake. [The Blue Demons] have nothing to lose, so why not come out and try to beat us?”

And that is exactly what they will try to do.

Led by 6’8” Big East Freshman of the Year Candidate Cleveland Melvin (14.2 ppg, 5 rpg), DePaul has just one win in Big East play, but has taken a few quality teams down to the wire. After getting their first conference win over Providence on February 17^th, the Blue Demons lost in overtime to #14 Villanova by 2. Previously, they have lost by just 2 points to West Virginia, 3 points to Cincinnati, and 4 points on the road to Louisville.

Melvin, a Baltimore native, is a long, athletic swingman who runs the floor well and plays his best basketball when he can showcase his athleticism in the open floor, scouts say. He can also be a force on the defensive end, rotating off his man to alter shots,  averaging 1.5 blocks per game.

The Red Storm will find themselves in a situation much like Villanova did when the Wildcats met DePaul February 19^th: a ranked team, perhaps looking past DePaul to a match-up with a ranked team on the horizon. The Blue Demons are perfect for the role of spoiler, especially with St. John’s coming off a big win over Pittsburgh.

The key for the Johnnies will be setting the pace of the game from the outset. It has worked against NCAA powerhouses and the formula stays the same against a team like DePaul. It seems clichéd at this point, but the Red Storm will stay focused on controlling the basketball, working the clock, and forcing turnovers on the defensive end.

After the loss to Fordham earlier in the year when St. John’s blew a 21 point lead on the road, the Red Storm began using an offensive set primarily to consume clock and conserve big leads. This typically includes running the shot clock down to as little as 15 seconds before running a play. “We slow the game down and make them play our pace,” Horne explains. “We run our pace and try to get a good shot every time.”

That controlled pace has translated into success and prime position heading toward selection Sunday.

The often-literary Steve Lavin put the above success into poetry this week by distributing Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” to each of his players. The line that opens the second stanza reads, “If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;/If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;” and concludes with “…. you’ll be a Man, my son!”

The Johnnies have tournament dreams that could soon be realized, so long as they do not let those dreams become the only thing they see.