http://www.newsday.com/sports/college/ny-spbbstj1109,0,6492658.storySophomores must deliver for St.
Norm Roberts' players are older, perhaps wiser.
But can they be better?
Roberts got a five-year contract extension at the end of a tumultuous 2007-08 season to hush the growing chorus of critics who have grown impatient with St. John's basketball under Roberts -- effort, hustle, but no success, with a 48-67 record in four seasons.
Last season was particularly harsh, with seven freshmen who played significant minutes and one star junior, Anthony Mason Jr., who hobbled in and out of games with a chronic ankle problem. The 11-19 record seemed like a setback.
"Nobody knows what's going on with our program except for us here," Roberts said last week, sitting behind his desk on a day off from practice. "Obviously, the administration here feels we're going in the right direction. Now we've got to see the dividends pay off, while we're playing in the toughest league in America."
The Johnnies are in what seems a perpetual tough spot: They need to win to draw fans to Madison Square Garden and elite recruits to the cozy campus on Utopia Parkway in Queens, but until they get the fans and the recruits, they have a hard time competing with the BCS-school visitors who bring big dough, big fan bases and big-time programs with them.
Given that and the 14th-place selection among the 16 Big East teams by the conference's coaches, the Red Storm players will have to play with a chip on their shoulders night after night.
"It's just pure motivation," Mason Jr. said. The 6-7 senior had offseason surgery to correct his ankle problem, and now he needs to be the team leader in spirit and on the scoresheet.
"I really think our mentality has changed," he said. "Our young guys know it's not high school anymore, they're not freshmen anymore. Our mental focus is strong, and it's going to have to be."
Those sophomores will still be the core behind Mason. Malik Boothe, a solid, 5-9 guard, will run the point, carrying on a long-standing tradition: He becomes the third Christ the King alum to play point for the Red Storm in the last decade, following Erick Barkley and Omar Cook.
Justin Burrell, a 6-8, 240-pound forward from the Bronx, will be counted on after a freshman season in which he averaged a team-high 31.5 minutes a game. Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy will man the wings, and Sean Evans and Dele Coker will be counted upon up front.
"We all had to grow up as freshmen a lot faster than we thought," Boothe said. "Justin, especially, had to play ahead of what he really was."
Another thing that didn't help last season: the conference schedule. You have to play everybody once, but the Red Storm seemed to run into the hot top 25 team for all of January and most of February.
The Johnnies still have to go to Pittsburgh, Villanova, West Virginia and Marquette, but everyone else comes to the Garden this time.
That's only a small bit of good news. Another small bit: Lincoln High School phenom Lance Stephenson has the Red Storm on his list, and a commitment from him, even for one year, would energize the school and the city.
If there's any other good news, it'll have to be a pleasant surprise from a team few expect much from.
"Our best players have to be our best players every night," Roberts said. "We can't get a good game from someone here and there. We have to fight through it."
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