Lavin Era Begins With Madness [JohnnyJungle.com]

There has been a buzz swirling around St. John’s campus all week about Midnight Madness. An hour prior to the scheduled release of tickets today students were already wrapped around Carnesecca Arena ensuring their attendance to the event. Only 90 minutes past before 1,200 tickets were distributed which surpassed the total amount of people at last years event.

Once the doors opened students, alumni, and fans alike poured into the arena with an energy it hasn’t seen in quite some time. John Anderson of ESPN’s Sportscenter and ABC’s Wipeout kicked off the event thanking fans for helping him avoid a boring night of covering Nascar and Brett Farve. DJ S&S got the beats pumping soon after while the St. John’s Women’s team put on a dance performance before their scrimmage.

The party really didn’t start until “Big Lav,” as John Anderson likes to call him, came out. The crowd erupted and rose to it’s feet for the first time (without there being a T-shirt tossing).

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great article!!
i don't know what dunlop is doing with the big men, but dele coker???  he was awesome.  yes, no one played defense.  but he scored at will...something like a dozen points in ten minutes.  polee was also an eye opener...also scoring at will.

the jungle contingent was out in force...good to see.  the crowd was also very large.  close to three thousand, i'd guess...and they weren't just there for pizza.  half of it was still left over.

it was a great night.  for the yankee fans.  you could have come.  the score was 5-0 when people left.  you wouldn't have missed the comeback.

Despite the fouls, Coker's had talent, and a mid range jumper. He just wasn't left out on the floor enough.

Coker was sent to the bench permanently for his play against Cornell.

It's like Roberts blamed him for the embarrassment of that loss.

Still, i have no idea why Cornell isn't on the schedule this year.

http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/101510aah.html

"I want to start by expressing our genuine gratitude to everyone here tonight," Lavin began. "We are all overwhelmed by the turnout tonight and the support, the passion and the energy that is on display. Looking ahead to this season, it is imperative that we take the energy that's on display tonight and sustain it throughout the season so that we can continue to make the climb through this rugged BIG EAST."

A men's scrimmage that featured plenty of high-flying slam dunks and alley-oops was followed by the slam dunk contest with freshman Dwayne Polee Jr., redshirt sophomore Quincy Roberts and senior Paris Horne vying for dunking supremacy. With women's basketball players seniors Centhya Hart and Sky Lindsay, and junior Da'Shena Stevens serving as guest judges, Horne took home the crown with his rendition of the East Bay Funk Dunk originally made famous by Isaiah Rider in the 1994 NBA Dunk Contest.

he college basketball season officially kicked off last night, and the opening festivities of the regular powers were showcased on national TV. There were Duke, Kentucky, Connecticut, Gonzaga and Memphis, and, thanks to one man, St. John's.

Let the heightened expectations begin.

In front of an amped crowd of 3,315 at Carnesecca Arena, Steve Lavin's first year as St. John's head coach officially began. Following six unsuccessful seasons of Norm Roberts, the St. John's faithful displayed no ill effects from a trying tenure, substantially satisfied in the new leadership of the man with slick suits and slicker hair.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/lavin_brings_storm_WRZ2jFDA9MsvgxcA6NiR5O#ixzz12X4UH91W